Roger Chao

Roger Chao is a writer and thinker based in the Dandenong Ranges, where the interplay between forest, landscape, and local community deeply informs his work. His writing spans essays, poetry, commentary, and long-form reflections on society, culture, and ethics. Roger explores how ideas shape our collective life and how individuals can contribute to building a more just and sustainable world. Passionate about social justice and civic engagement, he seeks to use language as both mirror and catalyst, inviting readers to think critically, feel deeply, and act meaningfully within their communities.

Roger's recent articles

Beyond machete bans and new laws – tackling youth violence

Beyond machete bans and new laws – tackling youth violence

Victoria's machete ban sends an important signal, but the real enemy is disconnection, the absence of belonging, purpose, opportunity and hope.

Recovering moral imagination in a time of war

Recovering moral imagination in a time of war

There is a moment in every conflict when language collapses. Words like justice, revenge, and security are repeated so often they lose their meaning.

History's wound, still open wide

History's wound, still open wide

Australia, land of Altjira, of oceans wild and skies untamed, Where stories of the Jukurrpa are told in songlines proclaimed.

The siren’s call

The siren’s call

A poem from Roger Chao

Not in my name

Not in my name

In this quiet hour, I summon words, a humble man amidst shadows long, To speak of wounds not my own, to voice a plea so loud and strong. For streets that haunt with harried silence, for whispers in the dark, For the women who carry nightmares in the hollows of their hearts, I say, not in my name, shall this darkness be just fate.

Battle cry of the unbowed

Battle cry of the unbowed

Our voices will be thunderous, a storm that will not cease, A tempest of determination, a wind of lasting peace.