DISTURB ME, LORD

This was written last Tuesday, 21 February 2006


That's precisely what happened to me today. I was disturbed. Extremely disturbed. I am on Day 2 of an 8-week training course given by the Department of Community Services. This is mandatory training for all new caseworkers so everyone goes through this, and I hope every single participant felt as disturbed as I did.

Our topic for today was Working with Aboriginal Children and their Families. I was looking forward to today because I have been wanting to understand the issues involved in working with them. Why did we have positions called "Aboriginal Caseworkers" and why does every single form we fill out in this country have the question, "Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent?" I knew that there was a time in this nation's history where the Aboriginal children were taken from their families and placed with white families. I didn't realize the extent of this, and the implications it had on the generations to come.

For those of you not familiar with the history, this is a summary of what I learned today. When the British came here, they actually classified the Aboriginal people along with the flora and fauna of Australia! Sometime in the 1920s, Aboriginal children were removed from their families because it was deemed that the parents did not know how to care for their children. The children were put into institutions, some were put into foster care, and most if not all of them, were denied access to their families of origin. A lot of the children were maltreated and even sexually abused while in care. Many people took part in various forms of deception. It would be announced that the circus was coming to town. The aborigines would come with their children in tow and when they left, they left without their children. Members of the church would themselves come and take the children away from their parents. Some years later, Aboriginal kids in their teens would be sent to work in affluent white Aussie's homes to work as farm hands and maids. Their wages would be sent to the Australian government, who justified this by saying that the money would be held in trust for them until they reached the age of 21. Today, these people are in their 70s to 90s, or dead. Not one of them has received this pay, which is reported as totalling 69 million Aus dollars. The government also encouraged Aboriginal women to get pregnant by white men because they produced fair-skinned children. These children, and any Aboriginal kid who was white enough to pass for a white person, would then be taken from their family and adopted into a white family. The adoptive family would not even be told of the child's background, and never did they tell the child that he or she was of Aboriginal background. This was for the purposes of “assimilation”. Thus, they were denied their families, their communities, their cultures.

In our discussion, it came out that the purpose of the government was to eradicate the race. It is interesting to note that this was happening in Australia at the time that World War II was happening, when Australia fought against what the Germans were doing to the Jews. They had their own version of "dawn raids". The police and DOCS people would come in the middle of the night and take the children from their families. The families would not be told where they were taking the children. Some families never were able to find their children again. Many children searched for their parents years later only to find that their parents had died.

And here's the punch line. The main people carrying out this order, were workers of the Department of Community Services! That is why the Aborigines so violently oppose working with anybody from the Department. At the end of the day, my friend and I were discussing, "So what are we doing working for this organization? What are we doing working for this government?"

I think the mere fact that I am hearing all of this from an Aboriginal woman in training given by DOCS, shows that the Department at least, is sincere about righting the wrongs of the past. I think it was sometime last year that the Department issued a public apology to the Aboriginal people for all the trauma and hurt they have caused to their people. So I guess the values of my office are still in line with my own values.

But I was so enraged about how brazen these people were, to so boldly take these children away from their parents. I started to examine why I was so affected by this story. First of all, I saw the parallelisms between the oppression of the Aboriginal people and many of the sufferings that Filipinos have gone through from the many people who have colonized us. In both cases, some people with a fair complexion who believed themselves to be superior over people who were not, came to our country, decided it was theirs, tried to erase our cultures and create “little” versions of themselves. I have always been inflamed by the injustices done by the friars during the Spanish Occupation, and people know how in Grade 6, after reading the Noli and Fili, I cried and cried at the powerlessness of some of the characters and was extremely angered by the injustices done to them as well. So I guess it’s no surprise that I reacted this way to the story.

But when I searched deeper, I realized that it also affected me on a personal level. Since coming to Australia, I shared with those close to me that I didn’t feel welcome, that I felt that I always had to prove myself. In short, I felt that there was some discrimination against me, but I couldn’t quite attach a label to it. Then I did reach the point wherein I came to the conclusion that it was discrimination, only to be told by, of course, a white person, that no way could there be discrimination in the Catholic schools! He knew these people personally and they were a good bunch of people. It was me who had the wrong perception. It was my depression that was clouding my perception of how things were. In other words, my feelings and observations were invalidated, and I was told that there was something wrong with me.

I think that is the scary part. People really believe that they aren’t racist, but the cold truth is, they are. And a big part of the problem lies there, that they refuse to acknowledge that the problem exists. I learned from my friend that anti-discrimination legislation only came out in the last 10 or 15 years. Then I started to understand Australian society. Since the law is still very new, it really would be expected that this has not sunk down to the feeling level of the people. Legislation may be in place, but it will take some time for the general public to actually accept this as part of their way of life.

What’s scary is that this country has actively recruited immigrants from different nations, and is playing host to refugees from various troubled countries, many of them African. I am afraid that again, they did not think things through, and may be setting themselves up for a big explosion to occur. If a country has not accepted that racism exists in their society, and thus has not dealt with it head on, then this way of thinking is bound to be present, though not in an obvious way. Then you bring into the picture people of different colors, who are viewed as eating up the nation’s resources, job-grabbers, etc. etc, then events much larger than the Cronulla riots are bound to happen. Many of the cultures that have come to move to Australia are extremely nationalistic and would not take any insults sitting down.

Do I want to bring up my kids in an environment like this? What will it be like when they are teenagers? Will I always be in fear that they might get bashed, ridiculed, or oppressed just because they are not white? I hope not.

I feel that I have been hoodwinked. I tend to think the best of people, and I guess this has extended to my notions about this country. I entered this country with a really positive attitude, eager to learn more about their culture, to become part of it, and to share my culture with them as well. I was looking forward to living in a country where multiculturalism was valued and protected. But now I am learning that Australia’s history shows that this is not the case.

One of the things that really got to me was that these outrageous events happened in the last 60 years. Up to 20 years ago, a lot of these things were still happening! And this, in a world power. This, in a society that is supposed to be enlightened and more educated than most.

In my discussion with Mom, she reminded me that in this sense, Australia is a very young country, who has not yet threshed out these issues and actually has not yet established its own identity. It is neither here nor there. It has no culture of its own to speak of. (And to think the aborigines have a very deep and rich culture which the whites attempted to take away from them). Anti-discrimination laws were put into place within my lifetime. The country has a lot of soul searching to do before it reaches an enlightened phase. So in a way, this is a good time to be here. It is a chance to try and do something in terms of awareness and making people challenge their own beliefs and change their ways of thinking. There is a movement for these changes to take place and it would be wonderful to have some part in that.

CATHOLIC AND PROUD OF IT!

I am fast becoming a fan of Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott. I admired the way he handled the news last year that he had a son from a son from a relationship he had in his teens. It was big news because he had just found out he had a son, who was already in his 20s. A few weeks later, it turns out this guy who was supposed to be his son, wasn't his son after all. Tony Abbott didn't make a big deal out of it, but he did acknowledge the issue. The story died a natural death.

This time, he has caught my eye because of his stand on the debate on the Abortion Pill, RU486. Ordinarily, if I got all the facts correctly, the Health Minister usually gets to decide whether to approved the sale of drugs or not. The Pro-choice activists wanted the Therapeutic Drugs Board to make the decision probably because they felt they had a better chance of the drug getting approved there. They knew Abbott was a Catholic, thus their slogan, "Take your rosaries off my ovaries!"

What really got to me was that one of these female MPs who authored the bill, said that Abbott was letting his being Catholic affect the decisions he makes. Hello!!!! And one big DUH!!!! Any person who values the faith that he/she supposedly has in any Higher Power, knows that your actions, decisions and beliefs are shaped by this. This is supposed to influence what is called your C-O-R-E V-A-L-U-E-S. Of course Abbott's decions are influenced by his being Catholic! That's what any good Catholic would do, act according to his conscience, otherwise, how would he be able to sleep at night?

I won't even go into the debate of life vs. choice. This is not the focus of this entry. I just felt that this woman, in that one utterance, showed that she probably doesn't have a deep spirituality, or may not even be a spiritual person at all. I mean, go ahead and pick a fight with Abbott over the issues involved, but to lambast the man for practicing his faith, for acting according to his definition of what is right, shows you are a shallow person and probably don't understand what Faith is. I have found that in this country, there are very few people who act according to their faith.

Then the legislature decided in a vote, to hand over the decision-making power to the Therapeutic Drugs Board. Abbott gracefully accepted defeagt on this issue, but then did not stay quiet. He decided to meet the problem from another angle. He proposed that 24 hour telephone counselling services be made available by established groups Anglicare and Lifeline to assist pregnant women faced with making a choice of whether to keep the baby or terminate the pregnancy. Also, that counselling be included in Medicare bulk billing. Abbott's goal is to decrease the alarmingly high abortion rate in this country.

You know how these women reacted to this move? "TONY ABBOTT IS NOT GOD. HE CANNOT DECIDE WHO WILL AND WILL NOT COUNSEL THESE WOMEN...." Their issue was that Anglicare and Lifeline are church-based organizations.

First of all, with counselling made available through Medicare, women would be able to go to a variety of counselling centres, not just the two mentioned by Abbott. This would surely give women other options if they didn't want to be counselled by a Catholic organization.

Second, what exactly are they protesting? Are they against the lowering of the abortion rate? Do they feel that every woman who is convinced against aborting her baby is one point lost in the political contest between choice and life? Does that reflect on the "success" of the pro-choice movement if abortion rates go down? Or are they just out to get Tony Abbott?

I greatly admire Tony Abbott becasue he doesn't come across as a rabid, aggressive,
grim and determined advocate of his stand. He just quietly goes about his way, trying to achieve his goals. He lost this battle, but he quickly and quietly moved on the Plan B. His objectives are still very clear in his mind.

I might be missing something, I might not know all the issues, or the proper terms and titles, but I do know that I admire this man because of his convicitons, and his determination to fight for his beliefs, and the calm and proactive way he chooses to carry these out.

MABUHAY SI TONY ABBOTT!

NOTHING IN PARTICULAR

This is about nothing in particular. I've been wanting to write about something deep or timely, or even political, but I just have not had the energy, nor the proper ambiance around the computer, to come up with a piece like that. However, I have started receiving feedback from my regulars -- why haven't I written anything in two weeks?

Anyway, here's an update on our lives:

BELLYDANCING
Last night I had my second session of bellydancing. It is so much fun! My teacher says that it is all about sexuality, and you just have to let it all out! She tells us to shake our hips, shake our shoulders, and just let all that jelly shake with all its might! It's great exercise too! Last night my ab muscles and shoulder muscles were a little bit sore. I love my teacher's belly dancing philosophy. Although it is about sexuality, and about maintaining eye contact and attracting that person who is watching, you never ever use your dancing to intimidate other women. Because she said, "Believe me, it will intimidate other women!" She also reminds us to always keep our knees together so we maintain a feminine look. To tell you the truth, some of the other students just look like strippers and prostitutes. For them, it's all about sex, not sexuality. There's a big difference and they're totally missing the point!

For me though, I am happy that I don't know anyone in the class. I feel that if I went there with a friend, I'd probably spend half the time laughing and making faces instead of trying to dance sensually. That's what happens with my other classmates, because they are whole groups of girlfriends. Ako pa, I get so consicous about letting go and dancing in front of other people, but here, I am trying my best to just let my body follow the music.

I wish though, that I had one of those swishy skirts with bells and beads. My teacher is selling some, which cost between $70 to $120!!! Way too much. Gogi says there are lots in Greenhills. Problem is, if she does buy one for me, by the time I get it, my lessons would have been over! Bahala na...

SOCCER
Edge has fulfilled his longtime wish of joining a soccer club. He checked out all the soccer clubs advertised in the local papers and he finally chose the St Marys Band Club League. He is in the 15 and up group. Their games start sometime in June, but in the meantime, they have twice a week practices. However, one of the practices is at the same time as my bellydancing, so for the next 6 weeks, he will just have to miss those practices.

At first, Edge was weighing whether he should join the club or not, especially since there was a fee. Plus, he didn't even have a good pair of soccer shoes to wear! He told himself that if he could find a pair of shoes for under $50, that would be the sign that he should join the club. Well, he found a pair for $52. So he thought, well, it's only $2 over. Sige na nga. But when he went to pay for it, it turned out to be only $49! Under $50! It was meant to be!

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
Diego, who in the past has been quite burara and absent-minded, has started to take on a more responsible attitude. In the morning, when he gets up, he turns off his night light and fan, and dresses himself up for school. Last year, I had to nag him through each step but now it's all on his own! Then he is always rushing to school because he wants to get his job done quickly. His teacher has assigned all the boys of his class to set up the trash bins in strategic places in school. Since they are the Year 2 boys, they are the big kids in school and have to take care of the younger ones. I attribute a lot of this improvement too to Diego's new teacher, Mrs. Minol. She has been teaching for 40 years, and she is an excellent teacher! organized, strict, but understanding of students. I think she lets the kids know exactly what she expects, and she gives them responsibilities to give them a sense of achievement. I can see that Diego wants to please her so much. I am so glad he is in her class this year!

PILYO
And of course, Luis the Pilyo. He tells his father, "Dada, I love you, but I love Mama more than you!" Then, he has been telling us that he has a girlfriend in school. He said her name is Danielle. "But not the other Danielle, the good Danielle. I don't like the other Danielle." I asked him if Danielle knows that she is his girlfriend. Luis said, "No......but I'll tell her on Wednesday!" (which is his day at daycare).

Today, Luis told me, "Mama, I love you more than Danielle!" Awwww......that's so sweet! I'm sure when he's 16 and he has a girlfriend, I'll be wishing that he would say that to me too, pero asa pa ako!

Well, I guess that will be all for now. Until the conditions are right for me to write a very profound entry. Ciao for now.