The publishers hope that last Saturday’s MDFF gave cause for thought. Read it again here
Our Dispatch today was first published on 15 February 2011. The racist Intervention continues with white Australia’s complicity.
नमस्ते मेरे मित्र
When I wrote:
“…… Many societies would not be so tolerant and forgiving and lacking in bitterness….”
in my last Dispatch, I was unaware that I was paraphrasing John Pilger.
A dispatchee sent me a link to John Pilcher’s acceptance speech for the 2009 Sydney Peace Prize: “…until we look for those whose Australian civilisation has seldom been acknowledged, whose genius for survival and generosity and forgiving have rarely been a source of pride…”
http://www.serendipity.li/cda/breaking_the_australian_silence.htm
The destruction of a society is a complex matter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akoukq5DvAE
This morning at 2:30a.m. we received a phone call. Napangardi told Wendy that a group of kids were “running riot”, and that several people had chased them to no avail. “we called the police but it stopped”, and could Wendy please call the police.
So she did: “this call is being diverted”, “is this Yuendumu Police?”, “No it’s Darwin police”, so she told them what was happening and she was told to hang on, which she did. Eventually “beep beep beep beep” it had stopped, as it had for Napangardi. We went back to sleep.
Last Thursday the Bush Bus to Alice Springs was fully booked, yesterday again a full load got on. In Alice Springs hearings are being held related to the charges arising out of the tragedy that happened last year in the Alice Springs “town camps”. People on both sides of the rift caused by the death feel it is important to attend these hearings, that is how Warlpiri society functions. We are all in this together, even if on opposite sides. An exodus of adults took place, resulting in many unsupervised children roaming the streets at night.
Whatever you think about “tribal punishment” in the 21st. Century, the fact remains that the authorities are determined that the situation should be dealt with according to “the law”. One result of this is that a respected non-drinker Elder that tried to “take the law in his own hands”, spent time in gaol, was admonished by the magistrate that he was a “bad role model” and quit his job as the School’s community liaison officer. His wife quit as a TA (teaching assistant).
Last week I attended an informal meeting at the Central Land Council office in Yuendumu. The main grievance was that people felt disempowered “no one is listening to us” and “we have nowhere to turn to”. The CLC was asked to assist. Not a single person at this “forum” suggested we should communicate to the authorities through the Government Business Manager (GBM), or the Shire Services Manager (SSM), or even the Indigenous Engagement Officer (IEO) that was at the meeting, not in his IEO role, but as a respected and concerned community member. Both the Ginger Bread Man and the SSM are ex-policemen. Coincidentally the SSM quit on the day of the “forum”. Recruitment of the SSM’s replacement has no community input that I’m aware of.
Another grievance raised at the forum was from the Womens Night Patrol: “if we need help, we can’t call Yuendumu Police, we have to ring 000”. At the time, and to my subsequent shame, I privately doubted the veracity of this assertion. I thought it was beyond belief.
One of Yuendumu’s proud achievements was the creation of the Womens Night Patrol. A highly respected member of our community was awarded the OA for this pioneering initiative. Napaljarri sadly is no longer with us, her medals are being held at the Yuendumu Womens Centre (YWC). The night patrol initially was a voluntary effort, and was highly successful in reducing anti-social behaviour. Subsequently it was brought under the YWC and some funding was made available. In 2008 “ownership” of the night patrol was transferred to the Central Desert Shire (CDS). CDS is effectively run from Alice Springs. Minister Macklin (MM) has quoted statistics “ xxx number of Night Patrols are now operating in Prescribed communities”, implying that the Intervention can somehow claim credit for this.
MM is a master of spin. Shame shame shame on you Jenny Macklin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoyuNZEG5cY
(In 1965 I saw the Spinning wheels performing at the Wild Colonial in Lorne and also at Wendy’s residential college, Janet Clarke Hall).
CDS also took over “ownership” of the Yuendumu Community Government Council, which for better or for worse was the “forum” to which we could turn to. Our present IEO was one of the Council Presidents and on one glorious “self determination” moment presided over a Naturalisation ceremony where a number of white people were accepted as citizens of Australia. These “new” citizens now have more rights than the person that presided over their ceremony.
As I talk to people I hear of more and more examples of Warlpiri people being made irrelevant within their own community, but I won’t bore you with these.
Yet Prime Minister Guillard followed her “flag and onion” performance (as Jack Waterford called it in an article in the Canberra Times) in the Parliament about the victims of the floods with a serious “tough love talking to” to Aboriginal Australia. Indigenous Australians have to “change their behaviour” if the Closing the Gap initiative is to succeed. Never mind that perhaps the Authorities need to “change their behaviour”. Never mind that the “Closing the Gap” initiative is a construct of Australian non-Indigenous society… You done me wrong, you dropped a bomb on me….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17lkdqoLt44
Too much ugliness, so here a bit of beauty… enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5QRTZN4Q4
अगली बार जब तक
फ्रैंक
(decode Google translate from Hindi)