Australia Day. More than a single story

*image is from https://nacchocommunique.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/january-26.jpg

I guess this is one of those topics. You have to be interested to read it. You also have to be ready to accept it.

Its more often than I should, that I hear such closed statements such as 'I'm not racist but..' and I have to work out if now is a good time or not to go in to further discussion about such a topic. The things is, like most things in life, a person has to be ready to listen. They might be ready later or never. The term 'now' is always fantastic for great change and progress but it's always best to identify as quickly as possibly if I'm going to make a situation worse or if now is an effective time to say something powerful. Now seems to actually refer to me chosing between saying 'actually.....' or just be plain old boring and say 'I don't agree.'

Australia Day, like many other public holidays in Australia is a day set aside for celebrating. Also, like many other public holidays you dont even have to feel deeply about the particular holiday as majority tends to go along anyways (wondering what I mean.... how many non christians do you know that celebrate christmas and easter and tell you what those public holidays are really about...their version). Socially, us people, us humans have some very interesting behaviours. We love, we celebrate and we get a bit defensive about it. Public holidays are whatever we want them to be. We love our holidays.

So what happens when say, a particular marginalised group of Australians actually show upset on Australia Day and we arent sure how to make things all better? The truth is that every response is very individual and we have the power to respond any way we wish. Celebrating Australia Day remains to be an ongoing complication, year after year. So why is that? Why is it that even after a National Apology and 'Sorry Day' is Australia Day still get called Invasion Day and why are some people still hurt?

Australia Day marks the anniversary of the arrival of the first fleet on the 26th January 1788. The first fleet arrived to settle the first Penal Colony in Australia (known as New Holland at the time). This was all following the 1770 landing of Captain James Cook who 'discovered' Austraia for 'the first time' and claimed the land on behalf of the British Crown under the doctrine of Terra Nullius. Now, accoridng to British law Terra Nullius has 3 clauses under which a claim can be made. In this instance it was on the grounds that the land currently did not belong to anyone. As you can see though from my image posted above (thanks ABC), there was already over 500 Aboriginal nations residing on these lands. So.... techinically under 'Terra Nulius' the correct clause would find that land should of been under either of the other two clauses, to be obtained by Aboriginal permission or conquest.

In the years of settlement that followed, not only were the people of Aboriginal Nations dispossessed of their lands, they were separated from their food and water sources, caught Western World diseases for the first time without immunity resistance and as a result relationships between colonisers and Aboriginal Australians which had already begun to deteriorate reached tension beyond breaking point. Where retaliation and fighting back was seen as inappropriate or barbaric Martial law was introduced to keep things in check. Shoot on sight. It was wrong to steal from the colonisers because they just didnt understand the acts of these 'natives'. Not everyone was shot on sight, though. This was a harsh time for all people, even the British. Punishment for anyone's misdeeds under British law, depending on the crime, had the potential to result in public hanging, flogging or just being flogged on the spot. British law also gave considerations for the necessity for being drawn and quartered. Got to make a statement, right? Being flogged to death wasnt questioned and it often kept other trouble makers in check. They were tough times.

A little later in history if you were a responsible landowner of good character you could be in charge or take responsibility of your own Aboriginal workers if you wished to employ. All you ahd to do was vouch for one and know where he was at all times. By then there were 'Aboriginal Reserves' it didnt matter which of the 500 nations you were, this had nothing to do with what reserve you went to. Nations were mixed. Not all nations were best buddies, but that's too bad. Reserves also were a 'sorry sight' when considering individual welfare by British standards. Removed from their resources and land rations were sent out to reserves. Children were removed from parents (thats what the Stolen Generation is about) to 'protect them' from themselves. Religion was chosen for the children as was also their new names, birthdates and future. Siblings were separated. Children often grew up in institutions and child abuse was popular in institutions even back then. The solution to the 'Aborigine' problem, decided by the Aboriginal Protection Board was to assimilate them, to breed the Aborigal blood out. Theres also the fact that many people were not paid their wages over many decades, were not even considered citizens and were treated like some kind of subhuman category.

Now, in a later post, perhaps I'll summarise for you what the potential extent of trauma is, what trauma does to people and where trans and intergenerational trauma fits in on top of the individual traumatic experience and secondary trauma. Now there's a tough break. Once you get it you may just see 'how deep the rabbit hole goes'.

Plainly put. Yes we are sorry, maybe not enough of us but we are sorry because this is a big deal. I'm not saying we can't have family over on Australia Day or have a day off work. I'm also not saying that this is all there is to it and that Australia Day is an appropriately dated holiday. I don't have a solution here.

What I do know though, because I get it, I get both sides. According to modern social norms, Australia Day is supposed to be about respecting and valuing all of us, each other and being 'proud to be a citizen'. So...... maybe, just maybe, part of that is taking a moment and just getting it... trying to understand the other side, someone else, someone who isnt happy and isn't going to suddenly decide that it doesn't hurt. There's no quick fix and we need to all accept why. This history is pretty intense and racism still lives on. It is true, even with all that cutesy lovey happy joy joy celebrating and sausages we have, some people still are openly prejudice and vocalise so and they don't want to hear response unless it agrees.

Our citizens' day still has a long way to go because of this limited understanding and all that complicated working out stuff that needs to go on. Some of it is going to be uncomfortable, there's still multiple layers of so much more underneath, but we have to be ready to understand and we have to want to.

I hope you all have a safe, happy and transforming Australia Day, whatever day or year you read this. Everybody is everyone.

-Mez

My lazily pasted Links

http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people

http://www.racismnoway.com.au/teaching-resources/factsheets/10.html

http://w3.unisa.edu.au/unisanews/2011/November/story9.asp