Banned from entering Australia by the federal government, former United States intelligence analyst turned whistleblower Chelsea Manning instead delivered her message of hope to audiences in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane via video link.
The Australian immigration department denied Manning a visa on the basis of failing 鈥渢he character test鈥, citing as grounds the time she spent in jail for leaking documents that exposed US war crimes in Iraq.
In response to the ban, a petition demanded Manning be allowed to enter the country.
At a September 7 meeting in Melbourne, Manning spoke about her life as a trans woman, soldier, whistleblower and prisoner. She also addressed US politics and data privacy issues.
鈥淔inding out who I am and what I stand for has been a big part of my life,鈥 said Manning.
鈥淚鈥檝e been homeless, I鈥檝e been to war, I鈥檝e been to prison 鈥 I鈥檓 only thirty years old, but I鈥檝e spent the majority of my adult life in prison.鈥
On her time in jail, Manning said: 鈥淚 want to emphasise this point: the most violent people in prison are the guards.
鈥淵ou are in a constant struggle against the prison system itself. They are constantly trying to stir things up鈥
鈥淢y trans identity was weaponised against me: I was denied hormones and my identity was used as an excuse to keep me in solitary confinement for a long time鈥.
At the same time, Manning said she 鈥渨as astounded by the humanity of other prisoners, the ability to come together to look after each other.
鈥淲e had to organise ourselves constantly to protect ourselves from their violence.
鈥淲e also had to form networks among prisoners to get access to basic items like toilet paper that was often denied by prison authorities.鈥
On US politics, Manning told a Sydney audience on September 2: 鈥淲e live in a domestic, violent occupation鈥
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happened is a mentality of we鈥檙e going into a neighbourhood and we鈥檙e not policing it, we鈥檙e patrolling it ... the police are now the military and the military is very much the police force.
鈥淓very minor policing action is now viewed in the lens of national security.鈥
In Melbourne, Manning said 鈥淸President Donald] Trump is not an anomaly or an aberration: he is the logical outcome of the system we have 鈥 a massive anti-immigration system, the world's biggest prison system, the world's biggest military鈥︹
The system was the same under former president Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, Manning said. The difference was 鈥渢hey gave us a warmer, friendlier police state鈥.
Turning to data privacy, Manning said in Sydney that data breach scandals like the recent Cambridge Analytica or Facebook debacles were 鈥渂usiness as usual鈥 for tech companies.
鈥淲henever you鈥檙e using, providing your information for free on social media 鈥 it鈥檚 not really for free, you鈥檙e actually turning over something 鈥 you鈥檙e turning over your personal information.鈥
鈥淭hese are features in the system, not bugs,鈥 she said.
At the Melbourne meeting, she pointed out that 鈥渃ompanies have constantly changing terms and conditions that invade our privacy and undermine our consent鈥.
Arguing something has to be done about this, Manning believes 鈥減eople working in the technology sector need a code of ethics, like doctors have the Hippocratic Oath.鈥
Ending on a message of hope, Manning said, 鈥渕aking change happen inspires people 鈥 We can do more if we come together as a community鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 now spending a lot of time working with organisers from local communities.鈥
鈥淚 found people don鈥檛 need to be told the problems in their community,鈥 Manning said, reflecting on her unsuccessful campaign for the US Senate. 鈥淭hey know the problems. And unlike the government, they often know the solutions.鈥