My View From AliceWhat is your image of Central Australia? Channel 9’s recent series, The Alice, paints the picture of a mysterious and exciting place for sexy young folk to travel and work. Travel brochures sell the exotic desert, natives and fun-loving lifestyle. The media mixes these messages with this year’s headline of degenerate Aboriginal communities. Yet how often do you hear the voice of a local? Well I’m no local but this year I have been sharing with you the joys, frustrations, anger and hope that I have found living in Central Australia. My views have been continually challenged and my ideas constantly evolve. Here are a few more thoughts.
Homelands. Before coming to Alice I knew that land was central to Aboriginal world view but couldn’t really understand why. But having witnessed this relationship I think I am beginning to comprehend it. I’ll make a feeble attempt at explanation. Many of us experience a sense of wonder at the universe when watching the stars at night, or sitting atop a mountain. Most of us understand the feeling of ‘coming home’ to loving friends and family (perhaps for Christmas). Now combine this universal awe and specific sense of belonging - this perhaps comes close to the ‘oneness’ and integral connectedness Aboriginal people feel ‘to country’. This sacred connection between the eternal land, living people, their ancestors and family is the basis for the Aboriginal worldview.
Culture. I frequently see elderly Aboriginal men and women wearing ‘Eminem’, ’50 Cent’ and other labelled rap gear. A contradiction? Culture is often a fluffy word used to describe the exotic appearance and behaviour of another people. However, when I hear Aboriginal elders talk about knowing (or remembering) culture this is not what they have in mind. ‘Culture’ strikes at the heart of the Aboriginal worldview (described above) and is the foundation for ethics, meaning and motivation. Peter Singer talks about ‘taking the view of the Universe’ as a first step in living an ethical life. And when Aboriginal elders bemoan the ‘loss of culture’ by the younger generation this is a major part of what they refer to. Living without ‘culture’ is like boating without a rudder. And it is fully possible to wear an ‘Eminem’ singlet and still be entirely true to culture!The Impact of Inequality. Richard Wilkinson has written a book by this title, describing the social and health consequences of inequality. Never have I seen this to be more evident than here in Alice Springs. Wilkinson’s research says that relative income inequality is more damaging to health and wellbeing than absolute poverty per se. So perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised to see the poor health of Aboriginal Australians (who almost all subsist below the national poverty line AND are hugely disenfranchised relative to the non-Aboriginal population). But I am still appalled at the magnitude of ‘diseases of poverty’ that my patients present with – childhood anaemia, malnutrition, scabies, chronic ear infections, rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease; early onset kidney disease, heart disease, trachoma, diabetes and its many complications. This inequality is a national disgrace and if my blogs I have made you even slightly more aware and uncomfortable that they will have done their job.
Grog wars. A typical night shift in ED sees every second patient admitted with alcohol related health problems. The victims are invariably the most vulnerable members of society – women, kids, already living in poverty with crappy housing and few obvious hopes for the future. I have described the war between locals and the grog lobby (alcohol companies and suppliers) and the painfully slow progress in tackling alcohol abuse problems. The NT still has over twice the national per capita consumption of alcohol! If alcohol issues alone were reduced to the national average the immediate reduction in violence, toxicity and withdrawal would be phenomenal (I may not even being needed for ED nightshifts)!Hope. Despite the stark descriptions of poverty and inequality I have seen this year there is still much hope. I find this hope in the people of Central Australia. I find it in the many non-Aboriginal health and community workers who stay committed to the region despite much better pay and conditions elsewhere. But most of all I find hope in the Aboriginal people whose families trace their origins to the Dreaming. People like my colleagues Emma and David Nungala, who are health workers (and parents) in their own community and will never get the recognition or reward they deserve. People like Willy Tilmouth who offers Alice Springs’ most marginalised groups in the Town Camps social support and representation. People like Maggie Malbunka, who has moved into town for dialysis but returns to community whenever she can to sit with the ‘young ones’.
The ‘NT Intervention’ was a poorly conceived idea that has improved somewhat and will hopefully end up doing more good than harm. But the extent of its success will be relative to how much community voices are listened to and acted upon. We are at least seeing some consultation now with local communities but to really make a significant difference community participation must be drastically increased! We have a new Government who has made some good commitments, but this can easily slip of the political agenda. So if you could all make a small effort and email the PM our voices can help keep the important issues in the forefront (see my previous posts/letters for reference).In Brief - It has been a busy last few months for me, hence my decreased blog frequency. Here’s a quick update:
Fostering – since becoming foster carers, my brother and I have looked after three kids over the past few months ranging from 18 months to 2.5 years. It has been a challenging and rewarding experience, and I have a hugely increased respect and admiration for all parents with young kids (especially with physical or intellectual disabilities!).Recycling – my pet project this year was to start a Recycling program at Alice Springs Hospital. From humble beginnings we have now collected a few tons of glass, tin and aluminium over the past 6 months from hospital residences. In the New Year it will be expanded to cover all hospital residences and double the amount recycled. I’m chuffed (-:
Brother’s Marriage – in November I had a quick trip down to Tassie for my brother Dylan’s marriage to Felicity. It was a beautiful beach ceremony and a fun time with his new in-laws. They are now enjoying a holiday in South America… Bush Trips – I’ve had the chance to make a couple more trips out and about. Last week we went to Redbank Gorge (2.5 hours west of Alice) and enjoyed a long walk and a canyon swim (replete with water snakes, frogs, tadpoles, centipedes and other unidentifiable water creatures).
Bali Climate Change conference – better progress than I dared hope for! Check the story - http://www.avaaz.org/en/bali_report_back/ If you haven’t joined Avaaz, join now…
2008 Plans – I will return to Melbourne at the end of January and return to full-time study at RMIT to complete my Masters in International Development. Then I’ll be looking for an overseas posting for the second six months, who know where…
