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The Big Issue : Edition 501
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THE BIG ISSUE 26 DEC 2015 – 7 JAN 2016 15 British Columbia – which usually hosts Australia’s entire population of ski bunnies – instead flew in Australian fire experts to help combat hundreds of wildfires. August European geographical union was under threat, and Greece was again bearing the brunt, as huge numbers of refugees sought...refuge. The UN estimated there were 60 million refugees worldwide; in the first six months of the year almost 400,000 asked for asylum in Europe. They were the lucky ones – thousands more drowned trying to make the voyage. Most were fleeing war and persecution in Syria and Afghanistan, Muslim countries at war with themselves, where Western bombs were dropping. Hungary erected a fence along its border to keep refugees out. Protests against – and for – the refugees broke out across the Continent. And some of the 26 European nations that have dropped their borders with each other began to reconsider. September Aylan Kurdi was the name of a little Syrian refugee boy washed ashore in Turkey. The image – for a moment – changed the world’s feelings. Australia offered to take 12,000 refugees, but before too long those efforts were being undermined by demands to take only Christians, not Muslims. Malcolm Turnbull defeated Tony Abbott in a leadership ballot to become Prime Minister. The new leader quickly nailed his colours to the mast, declaring, “I will choose the colour of my tie and the manner in which I wear it’’ – skewering blue-tie Tony and John Howard with a single quip. St Kilda again failed to win the AFL grand final, while the North Queensland Cowboys won their first NRL title, beating the Brisbane Broncos in a game for the ages. October Just what the world needed: Palestinians and Israelis started killing each other again. November The best Melbourne Cup in its 155-year history, thanks to Michelle Payne, the only female jockey in the race. She rode the 100-1 outsider Prince of Penzance to victory – and then charmed the nation with her candour. Decrying her sport’s chauvinism, Payne came out with the best line of the year. “I want to say to everyone else, get stuffed, because women can do anything and we can beat the world.” To make a great story even better, the horse’s strapper was Payne’s brother, Stevie. He has Down syndrome and absolutely charmed the 100,000-plus crowd with his acceptance speech. The next day, new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got in on the act, announcing a cabinet composed equally of men and women. When asked why, he had the perfect answer: “Because it’s 2015.” There was a brief moment of sunshine in Myanmar, which for the first time in 50 years got to elect its leader – Aung Sang Suu Kyi. Then came the atrocity that reverberated in every Western nation – Islamic terrorists rampaged through Paris. The killing of 12 people at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January had disgusted the world. November’s attacks – in which at least 136 people were killed, doing everyday things like going to a concert, a soccer match and out to dinner – had a different effect: realisation dawned that war had come, and was here to stay. The bombing in Lebanon that killed 43 just days earlier, the downing of a Russian jet that cost 224 lives, plus Tunis and Yemen, now seemed like part of one big horrendous story. December Bad-mannered billionaire Donald Trump, the leading contender to become the Republican candidate for the US presidential election in 2016, proposed a ban on Muslims entering America. Many inside and outside the Republican tent despaired at the notion of Trump in the White House. In Paris, world leaders met to set new targets to reduce greenhouse gases. Their decisions might seal the world’s fate – will we have more “Earth’s hottest month” contenders next year? On a bright note, at least Star Wars wasn’t a complete dud. Bring on 2016, it can only get better... 15 THE NEW BOY CRISIS? THIS CRISIS MICHELLE PAYNE PITY PARIS
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