The Invisible Hero (12 page)

‘It looks like they rounded up people who didn't have anything to do with the bomb-plot, Dad. Look at this man there,' I said pointing at a good-looking, dark-haired man in his thirties.

‘Terrible,' said Dad as he read the subtitles. ‘Seems he was a pacifist. It was his brother who was part of the bomb plot.'

The part of the trial being screened was where this dark-haired man who had caught my attention was being cross-examined. The court officials – big beefy men – were hurling questions at him. The young man was trembling. One question he was asked was why he had decided to become an enemy of Hitler's regime. He answered very politely. His voice was quiet and full of fear, but what he said made the men in the court room bellow and roar like bulls in a pen. He said there and then in front of all these scary court officials that ‘Hitler is a great perpetrator of evil'. And when he said that, the angry roar sounded animal.

What courage. Until now, I never, ever knew anyone had dared to publicly call Hitler evil. He paid for it, though.

He was put to death in an unbelievably cruel way – I don't want to write about it. What I saw in that courtroom was definitely not some fearless superman, but a scared little bloke who you could knock over with a feather. He didn't stand a chance, but he still spoke up about what he believed – like Ruth did that day. I don't even know the poor bloke's full name. I think I heard the name ‘Hans' and ‘von' something. I owe it to him to find out who he was.

Well whoever the mystery tree planting hero is, he's taken the attention off my own tree planting programme that is planned for this Friday. I think Dad would call this stealing someone's thunder. I wrote the submission and the Principal said it was ‘highly persuasive'. The local council has donated 200 young trees for us to plant, so we're having a tree planting day on Friday. It's popular because it will be a no books day for Years 7–9, but not as big a deal as I thought it would be. Some kids like Oliver Johnston are saying we all should have bought a tree each so that we ‘own' the project more.

Every time I look at that baby Murray River Red Gum, plonked in the middle of the playground, I wish it would die. It won't, of course. Our goody-goody girl guide, Imogen Webb, has organised a team of volunteers to mulch and water the sapling every day. The core group is Imogen, Oliver Johnston, Mustafa, Waterworks, Dill and Raph, but others are joining up every day.
In Woodtech, Oliver made a carved plaque to go under the tree.

It reads:

and there's a leaf carved next to this.

The Principal has made a big deal of the Red Gum story. He's going on and on about community spirit and humility and inspiring others. I'm not alone in feeling the mystery tree planter has tried to get too much attention. De Grekh and Cheung are pissed off. They keep muttering the sorts of things they'd like to do as pay-back – like pulling the darn thing out, for instance. Of course, I tell them to keep their fire for a bigger fight and that any retaliation should be more low-key. But I don't dampen their loyalty and enthusiasm too much. It could be useful.

I was wondering about what Machiavelli would say about all of this, so I had a read through my notes. Sure enough, he says it's better to choose a side than be neutral. If the ally is on a winner, then you are on the winning side; if they're not, then you have the ally under your thumb. So I might try to put on a brave face and join Imogen Webb's tree watering group, but not yet.

The more I read about Wangari Maathai, the more I realise she deserved her Nobel Prize. She and Mum would like each other. Wangari's husband left her because she was ‘too educated, too strong, too successful'. During the court hearing for the divorce, she told the judge he was sexist and because of that she was put in prison for three days. Then she decided to make women and girls proud of being like she was – ‘educated, successful and talented'.

Maybe Wangari should be our sort of patron saint for the tree planting at this school. Wangari founded her tree planting movement called The Green Belt back in 1977, way before that sort of thing was common. It came out of a small group of Kenyan women sitting around talking. Lots of Wangari's old school friends were struggling to grow food, find firewood and get clean drinking water on land that had been deforested. Her tree planting idea was no happy little game.

Wangari was getting into real trouble with the Kenyan government and big business who wanted to chop down native trees and grow European and Australian timber for export. The sorts of basic rights she wanted for poor people meant she became the enemy of big business and corrupt politicians. That meant beatings and death threats and more gaol for her. What a woman. Just the threat of a beating would have me diving for cover. Or would it, if it was something really important to me?

Wangari's story has a good ending. In 2002 a new president
chose her to be Deputy Minister of the Environment. After all that, I don't know why just Deputy, but it's still good. She has written a book,
The Challenge for Africa,
where she talks of ‘hard-headed hope'. Mum and I discussed what that might mean. We decided it means you have to be realistic and tough and still be hopeful.

And this is truly amazing. In an interview with a magazine journalist, Wangari said, ‘When all else fails you dig a hole, plant a tree and hope it will survive.' Totally wow. That's what's happening here at school right now!

I just carnt beleve it. Sumone has given me a mistry gift. I think I no the person but Il wate to see. It was rapt up with a pees of string. And Im glooing it in this bok of min.

Wel iv only managd to reed an think deply abwot the ferst tow versus. but I rely lik this peom. I undrstan it. Its abowt standing on yor own to feet. Not leting the opins of uther peple get to you becos you can think for yourself and you arnt abowt to be week and start acting lik the peple who lie and cheet and hate and yet you arnt going to act or tork lik yor beta ether. An the secund bit is abowt trumph and daster an not behavin difrntly and not givin up wen evrything is brokn. Wel it remins me of Pop and our frend Ago Cejvan an they mak me wont to be lik them.

So mistry gift pursun thanks a millon whoeva you are.

I'm in shock. Someone is treating me like a charity case. I got a mystery message and a gift in my locker today. Oh, how sweet. Who do they think they are? My gift was a biro with LOVE written down the side and a typed note saying:

Well, I gave the biro to Cheung who thought a LOVE biro was a buzz. He's probably broken it by now. And I stuck the message up on the class noticeboard and scrawled over the top:

Then I got on with the day which was a whole lot more important than useless mystery gifts – tree planting day. The little guys in Year 7 thought I was a hero; I'd got them out of double maths and a spelling test. The Year 8s needed a bit of a kick along. We had help from a National Park Ranger. He took charge of one part of the school where they planted a whole lot of flowering natives to attract the native bird-life. Mr Quayle, Witch Canmore and the Principal oversaw other areas. The SRC organised a barbecue lunch and the Parents' Club donated ice-creams. By the end of the day, all 200 trees and shrubs were planted out with little sticks and bits of plastic wrapped round the sticks for protection. Then a journalist and photographer from the local newspaper arrived with the Shire President and there was a group photo of the President, our principal, the National Park Ranger, Mr Quayle and me.

The journalist asked me for my thoughts on our Tree Planting Day, so I said, ‘Our school's motto is
Learning for Life
and I just have to give all the thanks to our principal, Mr Peterson, and our class teacher, Mr Quayle, for making this real for us. I mean, it's one thing for kids like myself to get these ideas, but you need the teachers behind us. It's been a long-standing goal of mine to see this school become more environmentally aware – and today is a first step.'