This Dispatch was originally distributed 17 October 2012
Lines in the Sand-October 2012
صباح الخير
“…It is this frontier line between Iraq, Kuwait and Arabia, drawn by a British civil servant in 1922 to protect Iraq at the expense of Kuwait, that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein denounced as invalid when he invaded.
In 1922, Churchill succeeded in mapping out the Arab Middle East along lines suitable to the needs of the British civilian and military administrations. T. E. Lawrence would later brag that he, Churchill and a few others had designed the modern Middle East over dinner. Seventy years later, in the tense deliberations and confrontations of half the world over the same area, the question is whether the peoples of the Middle East are willing or able to continue living with that design.” [from an article byDavid Fromkin in “The Smithsoneon” (Fall 1990)]
Check out a map of Africa, you will note many straight lines, undoubtedly drawn by British, French, Portuguese, Belgian, Italian, Spanish and German civil servants. These lines were suitable to the needs of the British, French, Portuguese, Belgian, Italian, Spanish and German civilian and military administrations. Many of these lines (straight and crooked) would have been designed over dinner, allowing the participants subsequently to brag about their designs. You may also note that, as a generalisation, the sandier the soil the straighter the lines. Lines in the sand.
Over a decade ago then Director of the Central Land Council, Tracker Tilmouth, drew a line in the sand regarding negotiations with the owners of the Granites Gold mine (260 km. west-north of Yuendumu). The mining company was told that unless they got serious about greater local participation in the golden bounty being extracted from Warlpiri land, no further exploration licences would be approved in the region. Presently two Warlpiri people are employed at the gold mining operations near the Granites. Tracker’s line in the sand has been well and truly crossed and erased.
On 14th June an ‘Information and Consultation session’ was held at the Yuendumu basketball court. At the time I wrote:
“Do you recall that famous 1970 “Suppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came” poster?”.
The information and consultation session was attended by three locals. The I & C session was to I & C the Federal Government’s $1.5 billion Remote Jobs and Communities Program (the‘RJCP’).
On 2nd October an email was distributed by our GEC (Government Engagement Co-ordinator) which included a media release calling for “providers to deliver new $1.5b remote jobs program”
The joint (several Federal Ministers) media release included the following:
“The Government held around 90 information and consultation sessions in remote Australia earlier this year and is responding to the feedback from individuals, organisations and communities.”
I like to think that the other around 89 information and consultation sessions had more than three locals attending!
You can imagine my excitement when I read further down the media release that Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, had said that:
“the EOI was designed to give small, local organisations the best opportunity to participate”
“We want to see as many local Indigenous organisations delivering the new program as possible. That is why we have committed $15 million to help build the capacity of potential providers.”
“We have also made it a requirement of the selection process, that applicants demonstrate their connection to communities in the regions, as well as their capacity to deliver the services required”
“A series of information sessions for potential providers are being held in all remote regions, providing important information on funding and how to respond to the EOI.”
On the 12th October 1492, Columbus and his merry men first sighted land on the American continent, thereby setting in train events that would lead eventually to civil servants drawing many lines on maps including many straight lines in the sand.
On the 12th October 2012, the RJCP held one of the foreshadowed information sessions for potential providers at Yuendumu. A singular lack of co-ordination was evident when our GEC failed to inform local potential providers about this meeting which was attended by quite a few presumably invited outside ‘providers’ and non-Yuendumu organisations. It was only by chance and a bit of counter-espionage that we were alerted to this meeting.
The session consisted of being read out a long list of requirements and deadlines we would have to meet. I’m not aware of a single local organisation that can jump the hurdles, or navigate the labyrinth designed by the authorities. But, hey! As Jenny Macklin said: “the EOI was designed to give small, local organisations the best opportunity to participate” and of course there is that ‘capacity building’ $15M, we don’t have the capacity to access! Opportunity! http://youtu.be/bZcxOla-Y-s
The ‘management speak’ being read out was almost incomprehensible. So exciting was the information being divulged that the three Warlpiri people that found out about the meeting and unexpectedly turned up, nearly fell asleep, and didn’t return after the intermission. The second half was part of the $15M ‘capacity building’ commitment. It was presented by KPMG whose encouraging motto is the registered trademark “cutting through complexity”. We were told about the difference between partnerships, consortia and joint ventures all aimed at informing us so we could decide how best to join with other local organisations to improve our chances of securing a slice of the pie. The deadline for registering our EOI (‘Expression of Interest’ if you didn’t know) is 14th November. Thus we had 33 days left in which to organize directors or committee meetings to liaise with other local organisations and decide on the best corporate structure, and decide on what to put into a jointly lodged EOI. A piece of cake.
Jenny Macklin, you better think about what you’re trying to do to me … http://youtu.be/hsL9UL9qbv8 Oh Freedom!
Am thinking Yuendumu should form a consortium with its own registered trade mark motto: “cutting through the bullshit”.
A series of maps were handed out showing a series of straight lines. Yuendumu was included on a map in an area stretching east into Anmatyerre country and across the Stuart Highway, north to Wirliyajarrayi, and west to a mysteriously unlabelled Nyirrpi. Another map solved the mystery. Nyirrpi sits on several sand dunes. A line had been drawn in the sand and Nyirrpi thus became part of the ‘Far West Alice Springs’ area. You’ll recall Jenny Macklin’s words: “…a requirement of the selection process, that applicants demonstrate their connection to communities in the regions…. “ The line in the sand surgically removing Nyirrpi from the Yuendumu area, but including non-Warlpiri speakers clearly demonstrate such a connection by the designers of the lines. They reveal their designs on Aboriginal land. Undoubtedly these lines were designed over dinner (about which they will subsequently brag) and drawn by Australian civil servants in 2012 along lines suitable to the needs of the Australian civilian and military administrations.
At both the ‘Information and Consultation’ and the subsequent ‘Information” sessions, the authorities had the error of including Nyirrpi in the Far West Alice Springs area pointed out to them:
…but if you’re not gonna listen
then don’t bother to ask for advice…
I have some hope that in the not too distant future the Warlpiri will draw their own line in the sand when it comes to their relationship, negotiations and so called consultations with the authorities.
None of us should be so presumptuous as to draw it for them.
أشكركم على قراءة هذا
السلام عليكم
Frank
أ