Rebuilding after the fires // share your story

@frog I can absolutely understand that.

It's so hard to see everything you've known be so drastically changed. And it's even harder when it's YOUR community.

I moved away and I think that disconnection makes it harder. For a long time, I refused to leave my house because I was convinced the tree in the backyard would catch fire. I could only calm myself by staying home to see for myself that it wasn't burning.

I live in the Eden-Monaro electorate, which covers a lot of South-East NSW - one of the spots hardest hit by the fires, thankfully my village wasn't affected by the fires but I was due to the nature of my work having spent so much time over the years in many of the affected towns.

Just gonna paste in here what I wrote to my work colleagues earlier this year after I returned to work from two months leave - it explains it all:

"Most of the affected areas in NSW during the 240-plus days of fire the state endured were communities I had worked closely with since I joined the organisation back in July 2003. I didn’t realise the impact seeing the bushfire footage and hearing about them had on me at the time. Nor the impact of the subsequent conversations I had with various fire-affected members and supporters who I had come to know over the years…many of whom I came to consider colleagues, comrades, friends - as you do in an organisation like ours.

I could actually identify the exact spots where Hamish and other journos on ABC News 24 were standing when they did their reports during the fires from towns like Batemans Bay, Mogo, Broulee, Moruya, Narooma, Bermagui, Cobargo, Candelo, Bega, Tathra, Merimbula, Eden etc. They were the same spots where over the years we’ve set up banner hand-stamping events for our Stop Violence Against Women Campaign; the China Firewall during our China Olympics campaign; held vigils against the death penalty; or rallies for refugees and asylum seekers. It was repeated time and time throughout the lead-up to the festive period, January and February. Place after place. Community after community. Not just the south coast but other rural and regional NSW towns I had got to know and build relationships with as a community organiser - Cooma, Braidwood, Wagga Wagga, Albury, Ulladulla (where my elderly demented father was evacuated from), Berry, Nowra, the Southern Highlands, Lithgow and the Blue Mountains.

As I said, in hindsight, I didn’t realise how much impact it had on me. Admittedly, I overestimated my resilience. These were communities I had worked with, and in."

my heart also aches for the animals. In the fires, and also in general climate change related disasters too @Former-Member , @Fizz , @YouAreNotAlone , @frog , @BPDSurvivor

as to know something is coming even a couple of days before , feeling the air pressure in the sky and then the birds disappear ( do not know where they go ) but you don't hear them again until the disaster is over

it is soo wonderful how the community pulls together in a disaaster , and afterwards , we could not go out the back door or the front door due to the fallen trees leading against the doors

Thanks so much sharing your story @YouAreNotAlone and so sorry to hear of the loss of your school friend.
Is there anything that you do that helps you when you see photos or videos of the fires? How do you manage that?

hello @LajW

I'm also in the region @Fizz @YouAreNotAlone

I left my partner behind on new years eve. He insisted that I go, and at the same time refused to leave. I understand both things - very good reasons but it was horrible. When the communications went out was a terrifying time. I get teary thinking about it.

The scale of the 2019/2020 fires is still incomprehensible to me.