WOMEN'S STUDIES 1/JOURNAL WEEK 3

This week's video on Women of the sun set me thinking .It reminded me of my ancestors whose colonial masters treated them in a most demeaning and astrocious nature ,sold them into slavery and sent them off in ships to foreign lands making them loose their roots forever. Even though "Women of the sun 3, Nerida Anderson, was set in a completely different era, the similarities were quite unique.The episode is based on the event known as"The Cumeroongunga Walkout". Nerida who became a leader to her people had been working in the city as a bookkeeper .While she was away in the city conditions on the government established reserve deteriorated so badly that she attempts to motivate her people to improve their leaving conditions. Nerida was independent, she was outspoken , compassionate ,had a resilient nature and was stuborn .Most of all she had her peoples interest at heart compared to the two young male relatives who gave up easily and resigned themselves to fate.The characters in this episode did not feel they were Australian for various reasons .The major one was,obtaining permits to reside on the reserve,they also needed permits to visit family and friends .Their young ones were seperated from them forcibly and sent to live with total strangers and this caused all sorts of emotional problems. They felt alienated from their own country and culture due to the inhumane way they were treated.For instance, their food was rationed to the point of starvation ,healthcare was non available ,Tuberclosis[TB]deaths were commonplace.They did not have ready access to their land and were deprived of their culture.They had no rights whatsoever, in effect,the problems Aborigines experience today could be reffered to as deep root seated and traced as far back as several centuries ago.In the movie ,Mr Felton ,the reserve manager was portrayed as a man with no character ,very low morals with little or no regard for human life.In my opinion, the film makers demonized him unnecessarily, this is because most of the problems were just part of the system,take the leaking roofs , the health system , education,obtainng permits for residential and visit purposes for instance, just to mention a few, were rules and issues that should be addressed by Government , but if blame were to be apportioned ,I would say Mr Felton should bear part of the blame due to the bogous manner in which he run the reserve .He was biased and prejudiced.An obvious example is his sharing of the food ,he gave more to his favorites and then he also created the impression to
Government officials ,that all was well on the reserve.I think, the least he could have done was to have made sure the Aboriginees grivances were forwarded to the right quarters, instead, he implemnted the laws with all rigidity,it was no suprise therefore when through Neridas motivation,her family and the entire population of the reserve,packed their belongings ,left the reserve and their tribal land never to return. The statistics on Housing ,Health, and Crime on Aborigine Women,showed clearly that they are the most disadvantaged and the most vulnerable. Crime rate is overwhelmingly shocking and that is the part that struck me most.The statistics have said it all.Australia has a strong economy and a high standard of living,am at a loss therefore as to why the most obvious issues about the indegineous women has been left to fallow for this long .In my opinion ,if Government finds out why these women commit certain types of crime ,they could put in place strategies to prevent these crimes by training these women in different trades in their own communities, since most of them feel more comfortable amongst their own people, also recreational activities play a significant role in society,indeed it has great meaning for many people,if sport and physical activities are introduced in their communities,the benefits will be high,it will keep them busy and the crime rates wil be reduced.The Government could also see to it that the same rights that the non-indeginous women have had for decades is giving to the indegenous women,until then ,this women wil be sexually violated and be victims of domestic violence and yet continue to suffer in silence.