Pilgrims and The World Youth Day Experience

[Gary in Aus]

As most would be aware the Pope has just visited Australia for World Youth Day.

 

I am involved with Surf Life Saving and as part of the New South Wales Government management plan for this event we were invited to assist at the all night vigil held at Randwick racecourse which had been modified to stage the vigil and then the mass the next morning.

 

We also provided 25 IRBs and crews to assist with Popes "boatacade" in case anyone fell into the harbour as they watched from the jetties and the foreshore.

 

After numerous planning meetings and MOU's the day finally arrived and we had two shifts from 3:00 PM until 11:00 PM and 11:00 Pm until 7:00 AM with 40 volunteers per shift .

 

Our responsibility was "Pilgrim Welfare" which was that after pilgrims were assessed at one of the 27 first aid stations as suffering from the cold they would be sent to a muster station manned by two surf lifesavers and then transported in a small bus to the "warming centre" where they were provided with a blanket , warm drinks and snacks and given a place out of the cold to sleep. The temperature dropped to 9 degrees Celcius on the night and this was just too cold for some especially the Fijians, Tongans, Samoans, Phillipinos and any other tropical country. Mind you we did have a couple of americans who expected it to be summer because it was summer when they left home only a couple of days before and did not bring any warm clothes

 

When the vigil and mass was on, the site was the 7th largest population centre in Australia with around 500,000 pilgrims.

 

Our surf lifesavers treated around 240 pilgrims during the night , put out a tent that had caught alight from a candle , caught a man molesting young women on the night , handed out around 2,000"space blankets" and a couple of utes full of muesli/snack bars, a couple of utes full of fruit and a couple of utes full of bottled water all of which we had left over from our surf carnivals?competitions . I am sure these were appreciated by the pilgrims we looked after .

 

The man who was molesting the young women unfortunately molested them not just in sight of a policeman who saw what was going on but also in front of two of our surf lifesavers who are also champion ironmen, the offender was able to outrun the policeman through the crowd but two angry well over 6 foot tall supremely fit ironman competitors managed to crash tackle him into the concrete barrier within moments.

 

I had to attend briefings every three hours with the police , fire ,ambulance etc and at every meeting we were all full of praise for the pilgrims and their behaviour . It was refreshing dealing with a crowd that wasn't affected by alcohol , drugs , violence or bad attitudes . They were a great group to deal with and it made their own and everyones else time easy and enjoyable .

 

Mind you half way through the second shift around 3 to 3:00 AM I was getting tired of all the love and good will and would have been happier if they would go to sleep. The Brazillians partied until 6:00 AM then fell sound asleep and then started partying again at 6:15 AM . They really know how to enjoy theselves.

 

A community group went to court over their exclusion from the event as they wanted to hand out condoms. The court overturned their exclusion and I'm glad they did , their stalls would have been one of the busiest on the night.

 

It was a great event.

[hANNAbONE]

gARY .. I've got some friends over there for World Youth Day.

Seemed to be an awesome time for them.

I could not go myself - and IF I had gone..I would of wanted to stay and romp on your cool roads for another 2-3 weeks.

 

(*I've got cyber friends both on this board and on the Triumph board*)

 

So, for me...it was a good thing NOT going - my wife would of forgotten what I looked like being gone for so long.

 

Thanks for the info and your grand post.!

 

Blessings:

[Gregori]

 

Overall, it sounds like the crowd control was as easy as tending a flock of sheep.

(Oh yeah - nevermind...)

 

The man who was molesting the young women unfortunately molested them not just in sight of a policeman who saw what was going on but also in front of two of our surf lifesavers who are also champion ironmen, the offender was able to outrun the policeman through the crowd but two angry well over 6 foot tall supremely fit ironman competitors managed to crash tackle him into the concrete barrier within moments.

The molestation certainly was unfortunate - but his choice of witnesses to his deeds was only unfortunate for HIM. We can only hope he hit those barriers *really* hard with face and other tender parts...

(And more than once, if I may say so...) ::throaty laugh::

 

Sometimes it feels good to be a sheepdog, keeping the wolves at bay, doesn't it?

 

 

[brennaman]

and a couple of utes full of muesli/snack bars

 

Had to look that one up. Utility Vehicle

 

I had just finished reading an article about his trip. Thanks for your post.

 

Phil

[Woodie]

..Mind you we did have a couple of americans who expected it to be summer because it was summer when they left home only a couple of days before and did not bring any warm clothes.

CLASSIC! ROFLOL

...two angry well over 6 foot tall supremely fit ironman competitors managed to crash tackle him into the concrete barrier within moments.

I'm glad they chose to hit him them. I wouldn't "notice" if they hit him an extra time or two.

The Brazillians partied until 6:00 AM then fell sound asleep and then started partying again at 6:15 AM.

I couldn't do that now, but I take my hat off to them.

 

Thanks for the nice write-up! An Un-Ride Tale.

[Boffin]

and a couple of utes full of muesli/snack bars

 

Had to look that one up. Utility Vehicle

 

 

You'd call them trucks (but small trucks)

 

Great story Gary, thanks for sharing.

[Gary in Aus]

have a look at www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/vehicleentry?vehicleid=15 for the utes we use , we also have some 4wd Toyota as well.

 

These utes hold about 750 kg in standard trim and are very handy , they drive and feel like a car but can still carry a reasonable load if required . They are based on a car rather than a truck.

 

I think the Holden ute is being exported to the US and will be sold as a Pontiac similar to the G8 ? If you want a fast ute have a look at the HSV Maloo .

[Gary in Aus]

It was really good to be involved and a great experience for all of us , I could have posted many pages but thought this was enough.

 

Nearly every pilgrim we dealt with made reference to how safe and welcome they felt in Australia , how easy life was and how lucky we were to live the lifestyle we do.

 

Many also made comments about the personal freedom they felt we had . we assured them we worked very hard to keep it that way but we were being drawn into global standards .

 

It would have been good if you could have made it over , it was a lifetime experience , if you get a chance go to Madrid in three years time.

 

SIDENOTE.

 

We have just had Charlie Borman {spelling ?} ride through town on his way to Sydney as part of his latest adventure. I think the proposed show is called "By any means " or "by whatever means " ,not sure exactly .

 

But anyway around 400 motorcyclists accompanied him on a ride from Wollongong to Sydney via the coast road , over the Sea Cliff bridge which is about 5 kilometres north of my house . This apparently will be used in the closing section of the production.

 

hannabone ,these are the roads you could have been riding on only 65 kilometres from the centre of Sydney. So close!!