[Verse 1: Ozi Batla]

The command came, hold your fire

And if I ever meet that man I’ll ask him why we're put on standby while the scenario got dire

Peacekeeper with no teeth, can enforce no peace

And thus becomes an eyewitness to grief

Number of times I wished to leave

Couldn't believe that we were here for nothing more than the lip service

Nothing more than the empire servants, trigger finger, oh so nervous

Number of times I almost let the bullets go, the footage shows

They approached to the checkpoint, with hands raised in civillian clothes

Vince did shoot and he went home, awaiting an inquest, who's to know

If the punishment could be worse than his own thoughts when he's all alone

And I wish he could've been here, when we really needed a shooter

We stood by and watched as the town we protected was pillaged, raped and looted

We were hamstrung, the commands come from HQ

And blood on their hands is the last thing they wanna report the politicians that they answer to

So what am I supposed to do? Why am I here, dyin' of fear?

That the faces staring up at me will continue to appear

And the dreams that wake me up in fits and sweats, and all the counsellor has said

Won’t let me forget about Srebrenica yet

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 2: Urthboy]

Overnight trucks in convoy, butte red cross on the side and the back

Escorted by two junior officers on the off chance they’d be attacked

On a private contract, road's a gauntlet

Trouble none yet reported

Guards get little commission as we bribed the soldier when we reach the border

Now he’s got medical supplies for a refugee camp, humanitarian mission

Held up a week at customs, took over a month to ship from Switzerland

He knows nobody will listen, even as the burials start increasing

So he keeps the frustration under wraps, he's seen that it’s self-defeating

And though he joined up to make a difference, good intentions can turn out vicious

As they helplessly provide aid for camps of disbanded militias

They got caches of illegal arms, hidden away in the countryside

Former colonial rules ensure they get yet more clandestine supply

Seeing aid workers broken down to a shell of their former selves

Til they're not so afraid of death ‘cause they’ve already seen hell

The danger pay is good but every cent that he gets is earned

And he’s alive, but burnin' out, driving through a scorched earth

Then all in all, it’s worth it even if it’s for the little victories

Standing by as a witness to the dark rumblings of history

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 3: Berzerkatron]

We left home as heroes with photo ops and press releases

A handshake from the minister and a speech of freedom

Shining beacons of democracy, the monitors of first free and fair elections

Midwives to assist the birth of a distant fledgling nation

As we taxied out of Williamstown, you could smell the nerves in the Hercules

Excitement and uncertainty, prestigious posting overseas

We deployed through the provinces, our project voter education

To dispel fears of retribution well to local staff and a Thai policeman

Campaign worked and ten months later the ballot was held and turned out greater than expected

The result unknown, then the call came through on the satellite phone

(Projectiles thrown in some locations, mobs attacking polling stations)

HQ called evacuation and ordered our withdrawal

We sheltered in the compound while militias torched the town

The glow of burning buildings as night fell, had tensions running high

The flow of refugees braved razor wire for the protection of our presence

Automatic gunfire rang out premeditated menace

And calls for backup to Canberra were met with silence and indecision

Domestic intervention's outside the mandate of this mission

And at dawn the order came, for all essential personnel

At 0900 the choppers would come to fly us out of hell

Now how can I meet the eye of this man that I’ve worked beside

And tell him that I’m free to leave today while he is sure to die?

I wanna hide, don’t understand how these people can be abandoned

And I wonder, if the minister will be there to meet us when we land