‘Lucky country’ behind tale of terror

By Nathan Johnston
THE girl who wrote the winning short story at the recent Greater Dandenong Writing Awards said she was trying to illustrate how fortunate she was to live in Australia.
Saihini Naidoo, 12, from Dingley, wrote The Power of War, which graphically depicted the atrocities of the war in Iraq.
She wrote the story in the first person, putting herself in the position of a 12yearold Muslim girl who became a suicide bomber after her parents had been killed in a bomb blast.
Its judging as the winning entry prompted calls from the City of Greater Dandenong council to review its entry criteria, amid concerns it glorified terrorism.
But Saihini, who is not Muslim, said she was merely trying to paint a picture of a girl her age, living in wartorn Iraq.
“It was written in May when it was on the news. I’ve read a lot of war books, and seen the newspapers and the photographs, and all I wanted to do was show how grateful we should be to live in Australia.”
Saihini said she didn’t expect the publicity that followed.
Her mother, Suria, said the timing of the judging, just days before the London bombings, was a major factor in the controversy.
She said her daughter was interested in human rights.
“She was born in South Africa and there were many atrocities in that country at the time. She has entered the Nestle Write Around Australia competition with a story about detention centres. She has a real concern for humanity.”
Saihini said she would one day like to become a journalist, a lawyer, or an author.