Was just about to start writing but I got distracted by the first few notes from Opeth's latest album Heritage, I admit it's only my second listening but I don't know why there have been so many complaints about it. I've been thinking how best to approach this entry since it has been a really busy week and there's much to discuss, it was also one of those week's that signified a huge change in my life. I'll try and summarize it as best as I can, but I fear I may not to it the justice it deserves.
This previous Wednesday, 5/10/11, I was up early for the Human Rights Conference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. My job was to be at new Parliament house to assist stall owners carry their materials inside. Was my first time through that level of security outside of an airport. Once inside I made my way to the other Amnesty volunteers and quickly toured the building just to familiarize myself with my surroundings. Sometime after 8am delegates began to arrive. As organizers of the conference we had a long list of jobs that needed to be completed throughout the day. Most of the day would be spent upstairs in a speech hall where presentations were being made, but there were a few workshops later in the day as well.
We worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make all the transitions seamless and as a reward were able to join some of the sessions and listen to the speakers. Obviously when it comes to A&TSI issues there comes a great deal of frustration, it's been over 200 years since Australia was invaded and colonized and life for the Indigenous peoples has never even reached a tolerable level since that time. It's been a constant battle for recognition, reconciliation and the right to live unfettered by outside rule. As far as I am aware government policy in this area has failed 100% of the time and that can attributed to the paternalistic approach of the government instead of a collaborative one. We act like we know best instead of asking for their opinion and when we do ask for their opinion it inevitably gets drowned out through the process of western law making.
What struck me the most that day was not the presentations, interesting though they were, but the reactions from the audience members venting their frustrations. These a people who've been coming to such conferences for many decades now having seen very little change being implemented. They criticized the abject racism they've endured for centuries, something that's become institutionalized due to negative stereotypes. They made a lot of fantastic points which I will now try and recall. Prohibition has never worked at any point in time. Many of their peoples are being locked up for small crimes that white Australians would probably get off with nothing but a fine or a slap on the wrist. Approximately 25% of prisoners in Australia are Aboriginal even though they only make up 2.5% of the population. Most of the crimes they're arrested for are related to being intoxicated in public, causing a scene, that sort of thing.
In one workshop a woman from Red Cross said she had contacted 120 employers from one particular suburb and asked them is they would consider employing an Aboriginal person...118 said no. That really struck me, that's how deep this prejudice runs in our society. That is shameful... Here's what needs to happen, the intervention needs to stop, reinstate the racial discrimination act, stop the policies that would force peoples off their homelands and open more collaborative discussions. I think I gained two things from the day, things I already knew but which became starker in my mind. Number one, Australia really needs to own its past, apologies are nice but it severely dilutes the horrors we've caused to the Indigenous communities. We've destroyed them, we've sent them to the brink of annihilation and our daily existence continues that destruction simply by going about our business. We live on stolen land, we've prospered from that crime and it doesn't matter how many years have passed, we still prosper from that crime.
The second thing is that any plans and policies need to be created through collaboration, no more deciding what's best for them just because it might work for us. Something like $25 billion has been spent on this issue or the equivalent of $100,000 per Aboriginal person. If that money had been given directly to the communities I get the impression that a lot more good could have been done. But obviously that's not the way we do things, fair enough, it's not like the Aboriginal peoples are asking for that money anyway. But they are asking to be heard, they know how to best create harmony in their communities, they have many ideas about how to do this. But we insist on treating them like children that cannot do anything for themselves. From this point onward I will view ALL policy related to A&TSI issues as bad policy unless these two factors are not considered.
Yes, I was really fired up by that day and that was the point of it. There may have been many conferences of its ilk over the decades, but the one thing that really set this one apart from the others is this the first time Amnesty International has gotten involved and that's no small thing. There has already been a great deal of pressure put on our government, in particular Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin by our organisation. Whether we're able to make a difference is yet to be seen, but I can confirm that in regards to Amnesty's approach both factors I mentioned above have been met. Our campaign has been designed from the Indigenous perspective. Now that these conferences are over we will continue with our training for the Homelands campaign next week. I will be there, I will learn the facts and I will defend the rights of A&TSI peoples to the best of my ability.
I think I'll leave it here for now otherwise this entry is going to be way too long. I'm going upstairs soon to try and finish my MYOB assessment once and for all. Mum has very kindly offered to help and I was relieved when she told me that despite her almost two decades using the program, the way in which this assessment had been written was really confusing. That makes me feel less of an idiot for not getting it. If we can get it done today I'll try and get to tafe a bit later on to hand it in. Then it'll be time to finally look for work again. Awesome. All right well I think I'll write a second entry tonight if I have the time, otherwise I'll be back again tomorrow morning with the next exciting installment.
Andy Scott
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment