Petrified Survivors by Rebecca Hawkins

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The tree – like figure stands strong, rooted to the spot, leaning forward and looking to the sky for light. She and her child are bound together by entwined roots and their shared suffering, unable to move on and forward with their lives until their perpetrators are brought to justice. If in years to come, the world continues to do nothing to bring perpetrators to justice, the victims and survivors who are suffering now will be like fossilised trees who were never able to truly move on, grow and bloom. Through the symbolism within it, this memorial celebrates survival, strength and justice, by putting the needs of both historic and present day victims at the front of the drive for change.

“stronger than a mountain” “proud” “sad but strong” “It will always define me” “My entire life, I have been made to feel as though I should not be here” “Their childhoods taken from them” “we are often blamed for what happened to us” “I cannot erase what I survived from my life” “raising children with unknown fathers”