Our trip to the Kimberley, or a section in the Northwest of Australia that is part of the Australian outback, was an amazing and life altering experience. I wrote a paper reflecting on the experience, and after that paper I'll talk a little bit more about what we actually did. It's one of those things that you have to experience for themselves, so I'll just kind of explain it generally, and encourage you to find about it yourselves or make your own conclusions.
The first meaningful part of the trip was when our group stopped at the Beagle Bay Aboriginal Community. As the bus drove through the community I could not help but notice the rundown houses, rubbish on the ground, and overall poor living situation. In the centre of this poor community we arrived at our destination, a pristinely beautiful Catholic church. The artwork inside the chapel was brilliant, with local shells inlaid in the walls and statues. Walking through, I could not help but notice the stark contrast between the poor Aboriginal community outside and the stunning artwork inside. We were required to make a donation to the upkeep of the church, and I dropped my gold coin in wishing that I were giving the money to the community where it was actually needed. Beagle Bay used to be a Stolen Generations community, a place where Aboriginal children were taken from their families and forced to learn western culture and religion. Although that practice has been stopped, the remnants of white dominance and inequality still linger. Only half a day into the journey, it was clear to me that Aboriginal communities continue to struggle with inequality and oppression.
Throughout the journey there were many experiences similar to Beagle Bay, but I learned more from the discussions that we had with Colin, our Aboriginal guide. The moment that I really started to connect with the Aborigines was during Colin’s first talk about the Stolen Generations. I had read about Aboriginal children being taken from their mothers, but I did not really understand the affect on the families until I heard it from someone who had lived through the experience. Colin’s mother had been taken from her family to a mission when she was only 6, and did not see her mother for over 40 years. As a result, Colin’s mother was never able to learn her culture. When she finally found her mother in a nursing home 40 years later, they needed an interpreter to translate because she could not understand her indigenous language. Relating this to my own life, it broke my heart thinking about what it would be like to not communicate with my mom. This example had a powerful impact on the level of sympathy that I feel for aboriginal people. Before, I was surprised and disappointed by the racism I had seen towards Indigenous Australians. Now I am outraged at the racist attitude toward Aborigines, and I am determined to speak up the next time I encounter blatantly racist statements.
The discussion that most greatly influenced me was about racism and the problems of Aborigines communities. At first, it seemed like the community’s problems were their own fault, but the message that I heard over and over again from Colin was that there are two sides to every coin. This means that although it might seem one way on the surface, I can learn a lot by looking deeper and asking questions about why these communities might be in bad shape. For instance, Colin explained how government bureaucracy stops Aboriginal people from receiving the majority of the funds that are meant to improve their communities. Also, racism forms a barrier that stops many Aborigines from finding jobs and improving their situation. For instance, let’s say a qualified Aborigine goes job searching. The man hiring has a poor view of Aborigines, and refuses to employ him. Discouraged, the Aborigine cannot find a job and is forced to live on the streets, or maybe even turns to alcohol. Seeing this, the white person develops a negative view of Aborigines, which starts the circle all over again. This systemic racism is almost impossible to break, and it locks the aboriginals into a lower social class with less opportunities.
(2nd highest tides in the world at the camp where we stayed)
Learning about this cycle made me think of the times in my own life where I had judged quickly without taking into account the other side of the story. I want to be someone who breaks that circle of racism instead of making it worse. Currently, sometimes I did not even pause before categorising someone or writing them off as a drain on society. From now on, I will try to think twice before I pass judgment on anyone that I meet. This also applies to listening to the ideas and opinions of others. Instead of dismissing the opinion of someone I disagree with, I should investigate why they have that opinion and try to understand their point of view. They probably have a perfectly good reason for that opinion, and by asking questions about their belief I can begin to understand how they came to that conclusion. If I can make it a habit to not judge people on a regular basis, my life and the lives of other will improve.
(See? We walked in that area crabbing, and an hour later it was covered, and only getting higher)
The experience in Broome also made me revaluate the plight of Indigenous people across of the world, especially in America. Until now I had almost ignored the importance of Native Americans in society and not considered their right as original owners of the land. It is not that I was insensitive to their plight, I just did not spend any time reflecting on their place in society. As it turns out, Native Americans still struggle to protect their culture and secure equal opportunities for their people. The same problems with health, education, and funding for the Aboriginal communities are also found in the Native American reservations. I had thought a lot about coming back and working to help the Aborigines, but I realised that if I do end up doing missionary work with indigenous people, I should start with the communities that my ancestors brutally conquered.
Finally, I cannot write about the Broome trip without mentioning the time I spent playing with three Aboriginal children of ages one, three, and six. While having fun with these kids, it dawned on me that the smiles and laughter of these children would be enough to soften the heart of the most hardened racists. I think that if everyone had the opportunity to travel to the Kimberley and share those experiences, racism would cease to exist.
Camp Life
So just to explain some things about camp life, as you can see, we camped for four days out in the open. It usually is not an issue, only because it is really hot in the Kimberley and almost never rains in the summer. But, three of the four days that we slept in camp, there was a huge rain storm. The first night, we were awake, and watched as the clouds covered the starts and lighting flashed in the distance. Not really concerned, we had a good time watching the storm, until the wind hit. All of a sudden, dining dishes and other things were blowing around as the wind crashed into the camp. Soon, our guide leaders were running around the camp and putting up tarps, and all of our students rushed into action. See the tents above? Those were all moved under tin roofed shelter, except for the big three rain proofed ones, and then we wrapped tarps around the shelter to keep the water out. We woke up wet the next morning, dried out, and then had a good day. The next night, the storm woke us up around 2:00am and we had to restart the whole process of securing and protecting everything. After that, we moved the sleeping bags into a tin roofed, walled barn and stayed there for the last two night.
So just a little bit to explain the rest of the trip. Our days would start early with talks about a topic similar to the ones I mentioned above. Then we would go somewhere, like to an Aboriginal community or to meet and elder, or do something, like crabbing or making and throwing spears. After the day was over, we would meet up around the fire, talk about the day, eat dinner, and learn more about Aboriginal culture. The weather was around 90-100 degrees every day, and the bugs were horrible. Luckily, we had bug spray and sunscreen, and lots of water bottles helped keep us hydrated and cool. If you have any specific question about the trip, I would be happy to answer, but that is all I feel I should share to a general community.
(It was rough country)
In recent news, I just got back from Surf Camp today, so expect cool things about that in the next update. Cheers from Australia, and I love you all =)