Activist for East Timor, Acheh and Palestine, Vaclava ‘Vacy’ Julie Vlazna was born 31 August 1946 in Susice in the region of Bohemia after her parents survived the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in WWII_._

As a baby, she nearly died of an infection but received new antibiotics in a trial and fortunately survived. The family fled the Russian occupation of their homeland, and migrated to Australia on the Castel Bianco arriving in October 1949. Vacy thanked her parents Jiri and Vlasta Vlazna for her “political genes”. Growing up in Sydney, Vacy recalled they all “copped the usual offensives, ‘wog’, bloody new Australian’, ‘go back to where you came from,’” so when she visited the Czech Republic in the 1990s she was keen ” to experience wall-to-wall Czechs”. However, she wrote, “the mono-carpet lacking multicultural flair made me feel as alien as I had in Australia. On the plane back … I realised that … Australia was my home.” Vacy became a citizen on 11 January 1995.

Vacy, tall and striking, with a wide gentle smile, was briefly married at age 18. Her second marriage, to Terry Fitzgerald, produced two children: Danielle (1970) and Alan (1972). After divorce in 1977, Vacy became a sole parent, who was studying for an arts degree via correspondence through the University of New England (UNE). After completion in 1983 and a Diploma of Education from the University of Sydney in 1984, she qualified as a high school English teacher. Her passion for study was only spent after completing a doctoral thesis on mysticism and poetry at Macquarie University in 1994.

Vacy described herself as “politically indifferent” at university but a fellow UNE student recalls she cared about justice even then, with “enormous energy for defending the underdog.” As a member of Amnesty International she wrote letters of appeal for years, but her entry into public activism came after hearing Noam Chomsky’s talk mentioning the occupation of East Timor at Sydney Town Hall in January 1995. Vacy picked up an Australia East Timor Association (AETA) flyer on the way out and quickly became a full-time activist, surviving on part-time employment as a HSC teacher at TAFE and casual high school teacher.

Vacy was convenor of AETA for over a year but the rambunctious meetings were not to her taste. Deciding her “voice was strongest through the written word” she left to found and coordinate the East Timor Justice Lobby. Using a formula which she applied to future causes, whenever there were new human rights violations Vacy wrote “urgent appeals” to the most influential powerbrokers, and members would “take action” by sending the appeals in their name.

In order to “see the truth for herself” Vacy visited Timor-Leste 5 times: as an activist, and with the United Nations Mission in East Timor as an Electoral Officer in 1999 and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor as Tertiary Education Officer, Political Officer and District Field Officer 2000-2001, and in 2004 as an “old friend”.

She became friends with many Timorese. For example she met José Antonio Belo. now director of Radio and Television Timor-Leste, in 1996 when he visited Sydney. After he was jailed in 1997 Vacy was one of the prime movers behind a petition and so many letters appealing for his release that the Indonesian military commander bewailed, “how come you are so important?” This saved his life. She also assisted him and his family in the troubled times of 1999 and 2006. As José says. Vacy “was there for the worst times” in his life.

To gain more insight into the depth of Vacy’s Timor activism, read her “invaluable” book East Timor: Reveille for Courage, Olympia Publishers, launched by the Timorese NSW consul-general at parliament house in 2020. See my review

After Timor-Leste gained its independence, Vacy “rolled over” her activism knowledge to set up Acheh Human Rights Online in 2004. In 2005 she was Human Rights Advisor to the GAM (Free Acheh Movement) team in the second round of the Acheh peace talks, in Helsinki. She withdrew on principle, disappointed they chose autonomy rather than independence.

Not one to sit back, Vacy then established Palestine Matters online. As a subscriber to Palestine Matters, I could hold on by the tiniest bit of her coat tail to her “unrelenting” activism. She edited a volume of Palestinian poetry. I remember my name (2016), and was a regular contributor to many alternative news sites e.g. Pearls and Irritations, Palestine Intifada, Palestine Chronicle, Dissident Voice, Al Jazeera, Counterpunch, Global Research, Countercurrents and Independent Australia. She also wrote numerous letters to mainstream newspapers and politicians. Her writing was passionate, angry, and acerbic about politicians’ injustice.

In her last year Vacy sent daily emails listing the latest Israeli violations in the Gaza strip to all federal politicians. Rob Wesley-Smith recalls “In amongst the high stress of collecting and disseminating data on human rights violations and genocide Vacy would send out emails with humorous cartoons to relieve the stress.”

While having a coffee break at her local cafe, in the Northern Beaches on never-ceded Guringai Country (as she would say) Vacy Vlazna suffered a massive stroke, dying on 25 October 2024. She did not want a funeral and donated her body to Sydney University. She is survived by her brothers George and Adam Vlazny, her children Dany and Alan and five grandchildren.

On hearing of Vacy’s death, praise for her activism poured out. Sister Susan Connelly considered Vacy’s “opinion was always well-worth seeking, as she listened, read and pondered with a view to upholding the truth, and was not afraid of confrontation when necessary”. Peter Cronau thought “Vacy was one of the most passionate and fiery of activists who put her activism to the test in Timor when it was needed” while Geoff McKee summed up Vacy Vlazna’s “life as “motivated by trying to help the most oppressed people on earth”.

Readers can find Vacy Vlazna’s articles in Pearls and Irritations here.