Of course there are the not so nice things to see as well. There are lots of alcohol-related issues and family health problems surrounding the Kimberly region. I so often have mixed feelings and at the moment I'm not quite sure how to process my thoughts. In a way I feel the big drinking culture among the white population in Derby is hypocritical and counter productive. It's certainly not helping. The difference is the effect alcohol has on indigenous and non-indigenous people and how it influences their behaviour. Alcohol tends to have a greater addictive effect on Aboriginal people resulting in violence and neglect issues at home. There are countless stories of drunk fathers abusing mothers and children- the male is still much more dominant than in non-Aboriginal culture. There are drunken mothers neglecting their babies and becoming unwell, they no longer produce breast milk and the child is sucking on a dry nipple. The child health nurse will go out to the communities and find these babies who then have to be hospitalised because they are under weight. Later down the track we, as physios, may get a referral for a child with slow development secondary to Foetal Alcohol Syndrome or FASD. But they are low on our priority because half the population tend to have a degree of FASD...
There is a primary school and secondary school in Derby but the majority of aboriginal children stop attending at 12 or 14 years old. Their early developmental delay sets them back to start with, they feel they cannot keep up, they lose interest, parents don't care if they go or not so they fall further behind. Next year they try again but are already behind so they stop going and no one reinforces it. They grow up on the street- getting up to no good, mixing with alcohol, and the result is unemployment.
This is of course a bit of a generalisation. There are a small minority who don't get stuck in this vicious cycle. Sam is one of our Indigenous Therapy Assistants (ITA). He works hard and his daughter received a scholarship to attend high school in Perth. The government have paid for all her schooling, relocation, rent. There is so much money put into aboriginal education and employment, yet so few take or are able to take the opportunities. I am torn between feeling frustrated that they aren't taking the advantage and slightly bitter how unequal it is when we are trying to promote equality and rid racism. And then feeling sorry that they aren't able to utilise these opportunities. I don't know whether to feel intrusive or telling the locals what they should and shouldn't do or whether I should feel good about educating them.
There are times when you think "why are we doing what we're doing? Are we even making any difference?"
The stolen generation is always in the back of our minds and we will always feel guilty about it. I suppose we do what we can and hope that with these baby steps more people will make better choices to eventually phase out the problematic choices.
There is a primary school and secondary school in Derby but the majority of aboriginal children stop attending at 12 or 14 years old. Their early developmental delay sets them back to start with, they feel they cannot keep up, they lose interest, parents don't care if they go or not so they fall further behind. Next year they try again but are already behind so they stop going and no one reinforces it. They grow up on the street- getting up to no good, mixing with alcohol, and the result is unemployment.
This is of course a bit of a generalisation. There are a small minority who don't get stuck in this vicious cycle. Sam is one of our Indigenous Therapy Assistants (ITA). He works hard and his daughter received a scholarship to attend high school in Perth. The government have paid for all her schooling, relocation, rent. There is so much money put into aboriginal education and employment, yet so few take or are able to take the opportunities. I am torn between feeling frustrated that they aren't taking the advantage and slightly bitter how unequal it is when we are trying to promote equality and rid racism. And then feeling sorry that they aren't able to utilise these opportunities. I don't know whether to feel intrusive or telling the locals what they should and shouldn't do or whether I should feel good about educating them.
There are times when you think "why are we doing what we're doing? Are we even making any difference?"
The stolen generation is always in the back of our minds and we will always feel guilty about it. I suppose we do what we can and hope that with these baby steps more people will make better choices to eventually phase out the problematic choices.
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