DAMN
Juan C. Alcaraz
Professor Christie
English 101
13 April 2006
Americans are not always aware of all the incidents happening in the world. Most of the time in America, the American media only informs of events that directly affects the country. This is the fault of our media; if it were not so we would know about the situation with the Aborigines in Australia. However, events that should affect us all on a more humane level are the treatment of the Aboriginal people of Australia. The Aboriginals are an indigenous people who usually live as nomads and hunters. These indigenous groups of people were believed to have crossed there on a land bridge during a period of the Ice Age. As a lot of other ethnic groups before them, they were soon visited by European settlers. The story now is that they have still remained an indigenous group of people but they have also been forced to urbanize and mix in with the European culture and the modern world. While it has been difficult for other indigenous groups to assimilate with the modern world, it has been extremely difficult for the Aboriginals and proof of that is evident in all the violence, substance abuse and racism that they constantly face because although the government of Australia wants to assimilate them into their modern world they are also segregating the Aboriginals.
At this time the Aborigines are suffering from many problems that have limited their success and chances of living a satisfying life in their home land. The Aborigine people are suffering because of the lack of involvement from the Australian government to help them. One of the major problems that they are facing today, as well as one of the most influential, is their education. Part of the problem has been the education system in which the aborigine people are discriminated, According to statistics found on Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, “4% of Indigenous Australians held a bachelor degree or higher, compared to 21% for the population as a whole. While this fraction is increasing, it is increasing at a slower rate than that for non-Indigenous Australians.” The Aborigine people should also have the same right to an education like all the other people in Australia; unfortunately they don’t. Aborigine people actually drop out of school sooner or never get an education that they can use to better themselves because they don’t have the same resources as other people of Australia. This is a major issue that affects the whole Aboriginal community because it limits their job opportunities. As well as facing problems because of their education they are also facing problems with the law.
Another important fact found on Wikipedia is that, “An Indigenous Australian is 11 times more likely to be in prison than a non-Indigenous Australian, and in 2003, 20% of prisoners in Australia were Indigenous.” Facing racism and being more harshly convicted of a crime-even a small one because of the color of their skin-has lead many of the Aboriginal population to give up on the idea of justice and safety. This problem with the law is one of the reasons why domestic abuse is such a big issue as well. The domestic abuse in the community is more then likely an effect from substance abuse. If the law were to control the substance abuse issue than surely the domestic abuse would diminish as well. Many Aborigines are going through difficult substance abuse issues that have limited their life expectancy along with their opportunities to better themselves. It is usually common for people to alleviate their problems with drugs and alcohol and the Aborigines are no different. Although they may not have sought to become alcoholics or drug abusers, drugs and alcohol is very common and easy to acquire in their community. When Richard Bryson, the police operations superintendent was interviewed by Russell Skelton for the Australian newspaper The Age regarding the problems in the indigenous community of Alice Springs he was quoted as saying, “There are problems in Alice Springs but they are complex social problems," he says. "There have been a lot of deaths, a lot of homicides, and the victims are indigenous. They quite often involve domestic violence and the excessive consumption of alcohol."
It is a known fact that in Australia the average citizen is more likely to live twenty years longer then the average aborigine. The reason for this is the lack of medical treatment that Aborigines receive. “Eye and sight problems were the most commonly reported conditions among aborigine patients, followed by asthma, back problems, heart diseases and ear and hearing problems. Indigenous people were three times more likely to have diabetes than non-indigenous people, with nearly one third of those 55 years and older having the disease. One in 10 indigenous children under 15 had ear and/or hearing problems, about three times the rate of non-indigenous” (Whenham 2). If they were to receive more help financially by their government then perhaps they could have better access to hospitals closely located. The country of Australia should be more aware of the problems that their citizens are facing and help their citizens because it is their duty. If they are aware then they should stop ignoring those problems and deal with them now before they lead to violence which will affect not only the indigenous community but the non-indigenous people of Australia as well.
It is obvious that the single biggest reason for all this is segregation. The people of Australia are basically split into the groups of indigenous Australians and the non-indigenous. One more important setback facing Aborigines is stated on Wikipedia as, “There remains significant racism, institutionalized and otherwise, regardless of the huge leaps in human rights, land rights and affirmative action policies that have occurred since Aboriginal people gained recognition as Australian citizens. There remains a large amount of openly voiced resentment in regards to affirmative action policies, and disapproval of the sometimes very confronting and public substance abuse problems that affect the community.” With Aborigines still facing racism issues it is extremely hard for them to overcome the situation they are in right now.
It isn’t fair because both are still citizens of the same country and in the end they are both human beings just like everyone else. More importantly, the issues that the Aboriginals are facing is a humanitarian problem and not a continental problem. One of the reasons why people around the world do not know about this humanitarian problem is because the Australian government happens to conceal much of the information about these incidents and ignore them since they are not very well represented in their country. There has yet to be a leader among the Aborigines who can unite them and reveal to the public all the problems they face. In order for those problems to be resolved the aborigines must find a leader who can represent them well and also make public the issues that they face everyday. They need a leader who can stand up and make it clear to the rest of the Australian people that are not indigenous that the aborigines are still citizens with the same rights as them. The aboriginals are in need of someone who can unite them, someone who can pursue the alcoholics and drug abusers to seek treatment but also someone who they can look up to as a role model. This leader must be strong, but more importantly someone who will defend them and look after the aboriginal communities’ best interests.
Even today in a modern world that has resolved many racial problems the Aborigines are still discriminated and separated from the rest of the people of Australia. This is amazing in it that there is still racism today and the fact that not a lot of people have noticed or even cared about the mistreatment of the Aborigines. Events and decisions need to happen now so the Aboriginals can receive the same education, medical care and legal rights as everyone else in Australia.
Professor Christie
English 101
13 April 2006
Americans are not always aware of all the incidents happening in the world. Most of the time in America, the American media only informs of events that directly affects the country. This is the fault of our media; if it were not so we would know about the situation with the Aborigines in Australia. However, events that should affect us all on a more humane level are the treatment of the Aboriginal people of Australia. The Aboriginals are an indigenous people who usually live as nomads and hunters. These indigenous groups of people were believed to have crossed there on a land bridge during a period of the Ice Age. As a lot of other ethnic groups before them, they were soon visited by European settlers. The story now is that they have still remained an indigenous group of people but they have also been forced to urbanize and mix in with the European culture and the modern world. While it has been difficult for other indigenous groups to assimilate with the modern world, it has been extremely difficult for the Aboriginals and proof of that is evident in all the violence, substance abuse and racism that they constantly face because although the government of Australia wants to assimilate them into their modern world they are also segregating the Aboriginals.
At this time the Aborigines are suffering from many problems that have limited their success and chances of living a satisfying life in their home land. The Aborigine people are suffering because of the lack of involvement from the Australian government to help them. One of the major problems that they are facing today, as well as one of the most influential, is their education. Part of the problem has been the education system in which the aborigine people are discriminated, According to statistics found on Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, “4% of Indigenous Australians held a bachelor degree or higher, compared to 21% for the population as a whole. While this fraction is increasing, it is increasing at a slower rate than that for non-Indigenous Australians.” The Aborigine people should also have the same right to an education like all the other people in Australia; unfortunately they don’t. Aborigine people actually drop out of school sooner or never get an education that they can use to better themselves because they don’t have the same resources as other people of Australia. This is a major issue that affects the whole Aboriginal community because it limits their job opportunities. As well as facing problems because of their education they are also facing problems with the law.
Another important fact found on Wikipedia is that, “An Indigenous Australian is 11 times more likely to be in prison than a non-Indigenous Australian, and in 2003, 20% of prisoners in Australia were Indigenous.” Facing racism and being more harshly convicted of a crime-even a small one because of the color of their skin-has lead many of the Aboriginal population to give up on the idea of justice and safety. This problem with the law is one of the reasons why domestic abuse is such a big issue as well. The domestic abuse in the community is more then likely an effect from substance abuse. If the law were to control the substance abuse issue than surely the domestic abuse would diminish as well. Many Aborigines are going through difficult substance abuse issues that have limited their life expectancy along with their opportunities to better themselves. It is usually common for people to alleviate their problems with drugs and alcohol and the Aborigines are no different. Although they may not have sought to become alcoholics or drug abusers, drugs and alcohol is very common and easy to acquire in their community. When Richard Bryson, the police operations superintendent was interviewed by Russell Skelton for the Australian newspaper The Age regarding the problems in the indigenous community of Alice Springs he was quoted as saying, “There are problems in Alice Springs but they are complex social problems," he says. "There have been a lot of deaths, a lot of homicides, and the victims are indigenous. They quite often involve domestic violence and the excessive consumption of alcohol."
It is a known fact that in Australia the average citizen is more likely to live twenty years longer then the average aborigine. The reason for this is the lack of medical treatment that Aborigines receive. “Eye and sight problems were the most commonly reported conditions among aborigine patients, followed by asthma, back problems, heart diseases and ear and hearing problems. Indigenous people were three times more likely to have diabetes than non-indigenous people, with nearly one third of those 55 years and older having the disease. One in 10 indigenous children under 15 had ear and/or hearing problems, about three times the rate of non-indigenous” (Whenham 2). If they were to receive more help financially by their government then perhaps they could have better access to hospitals closely located. The country of Australia should be more aware of the problems that their citizens are facing and help their citizens because it is their duty. If they are aware then they should stop ignoring those problems and deal with them now before they lead to violence which will affect not only the indigenous community but the non-indigenous people of Australia as well.
It is obvious that the single biggest reason for all this is segregation. The people of Australia are basically split into the groups of indigenous Australians and the non-indigenous. One more important setback facing Aborigines is stated on Wikipedia as, “There remains significant racism, institutionalized and otherwise, regardless of the huge leaps in human rights, land rights and affirmative action policies that have occurred since Aboriginal people gained recognition as Australian citizens. There remains a large amount of openly voiced resentment in regards to affirmative action policies, and disapproval of the sometimes very confronting and public substance abuse problems that affect the community.” With Aborigines still facing racism issues it is extremely hard for them to overcome the situation they are in right now.
It isn’t fair because both are still citizens of the same country and in the end they are both human beings just like everyone else. More importantly, the issues that the Aboriginals are facing is a humanitarian problem and not a continental problem. One of the reasons why people around the world do not know about this humanitarian problem is because the Australian government happens to conceal much of the information about these incidents and ignore them since they are not very well represented in their country. There has yet to be a leader among the Aborigines who can unite them and reveal to the public all the problems they face. In order for those problems to be resolved the aborigines must find a leader who can represent them well and also make public the issues that they face everyday. They need a leader who can stand up and make it clear to the rest of the Australian people that are not indigenous that the aborigines are still citizens with the same rights as them. The aboriginals are in need of someone who can unite them, someone who can pursue the alcoholics and drug abusers to seek treatment but also someone who they can look up to as a role model. This leader must be strong, but more importantly someone who will defend them and look after the aboriginal communities’ best interests.
Even today in a modern world that has resolved many racial problems the Aborigines are still discriminated and separated from the rest of the people of Australia. This is amazing in it that there is still racism today and the fact that not a lot of people have noticed or even cared about the mistreatment of the Aborigines. Events and decisions need to happen now so the Aboriginals can receive the same education, medical care and legal rights as everyone else in Australia.