*************
First Nation’s People – Are Reparations Possible
“Past is only meant to serve as a lesson, while present is the path that future takes.”
With the referendum to give Australia’s ‘First Nation’s People’ a ‘Voice’ to the Aussie Parliament coming up soon, it is time to postulate some long term solutions for bringing those very people into the Twenty First Century. A lot of people still fail to realize as to why special efforts need to be made to bring about that change, and why positive action needs to be done by the Australian Government. There might still be another set of people from the Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander communities themselves that may not be open to Governmental action because of the past misgivings. Perhaps it would be prudent to explain a few very basic things to all of them, as to what it would take to bring about a lasting, positive, and forward marching change to the tight knit Aussie community, and why such an action is recommended.
First of all, two things need to be understood in the context of our shared history as a single evolving humanity. A lot of people are under the impression that the large scale European colonization of the world led to an advancement of humanity, and hence benefited everyone. This however is not entirely true, or even true to about half of the extent of it. Consider all the places outside Europe that have become permanent home to the posterity of European settlers. You will notice that any geographically identifiable nation that had an advanced, intricate, and economically thriving culture of its’ own, failed to sustain a permanent European presence post the collapse of colonialism. The only places where Europeans were able to establish a permanent home, like Australia, South Africa, Latin America, etc, were places where the original human cultural groups were isolated into smaller tribal populations, and whose societal setups were rudimentary, irrespective of anyone’s ancient magnificent past. This result is because the advanced culture of Europe was in direct contrast to the advanced cultures of places like Asia, Northern Africa, etc. People from European cultures could not have lived and prospered in those cultures once their authoritarian influence had waned.
This above conclusion of course leads to the argument that European influence on the aboriginal cultures of places that have developed as permanent homes to European posterity is then undeniable. Furthermore, that influence must be considered as positive influence since humanity has advanced scientifically and technologically, and brought the benefits of that advancement to the populations that otherwise might have still been struggling and rudimentary in societal structures. This is perhaps the part of the argument that may arguably be considered as half correct. It is correct that European colonisation exposed the ancient tribal traditions to a much more advanced, and intricate social structure of European society, and lead to a ‘figurative’ carnal enlightenment of those ancient traditions about modern tradition. It is also true that scientific and technological advancements, including medicine and research, have improved the life expectancies of the traditional cultures. What however would not be true would be to say that all impact was positive, if the historical experience of those ancient cultures since the event of colonisation was far from constructive, and if the people belonging to those cultures are still struggling to find their feet in an advanced society growing around them today. Let us consider the example of Australia’s indigenous populations.
Much has been already written, critiqued, and lambasted about the impact of European arrival on local population; the violent conflicts, the impact of modern world diseases, and then later, by ‘Stolen Generation’, and more. Much blood was shed as far as indigenous communities are concerned, and the impact, as I will explain below, is still pulling them down more than Two Hundred years later. All that however is the past, and while that past should teach us as to what kind of actions lead to catastrophic results, it should however not be used to judge or condemn the new generation Aussies, who for all intents and purposes, are genuinely interested in developing a better and inclusive Australia for everyone. Sure, there may be a case where a talented non-white individual might find it hard to find ‘White Aussie’ support like a white Aussie of slightly lesser talent might, but that is down to the fact that all human beings, irrespective of their race or religion or any other denomination, tend to find commonality with, and idolize those individuals that they can themselves identify with.
Consider my own example to understand this above statement. I at a personal level cannot blame Aussies for not identifying with me, and not supporting my Musical endeavours because I know that as a ‘Punjabi’, I might find it hard to support a migrant from ‘Uttar Pradesh’ or ‘Bihar’, living in ‘Punjab’, and singing ‘Punjabi’ songs. This lack of identification with ‘the other’ is natural, even though it might lead to harsh results for the individual at the suffering end, who will often fail to understand why their efforts are not bearing any fruit, while those less talented than them might be living the good life. This all boils down to natural human behaviour, and it sure does not justify labelling people as racists or discriminatory. All that this means is that a special action is needed to deliver an equitable outcome to someone who deserves it. So let’s take a look at the issue of Aussie indigenous populations, and consider why a special action is needed in their case.
Australia was always a resource rich continent; literally untouched, and pristine. Australia’s economy and development has much to thank for to the mining industry, right from the ‘Gold Rush’ days. Then there were huge pastures, and fertile fields. When British colonisation happened, while the indigenous populations were pushed away from their lands by the victorious new arrivals, the British subjects got lucrative contracts, huge estates and endowments, and much more. British culture, followed later by the European culture, thrived, and so did those early settlers. Their lives and fortunes were made, and those that have since arrived from other parts of the world, too found it easy to fit in the new world society, as their own homelands had developed into modern world nations, and readied them for the Aussie experience. They all prospered, while the Indigenous populations watched from the sidelines, unable to fit in a culture that reminded them of their blood filled and painful past.
‘Australia’ as a modern nation has developed on the land and resources of people who have gotten nothing out of their loss. Compare the Aussie Indigenous populations to the Arab population of the Oil rich Gulf nations, and you would understand the difference being in control of your own destiny, and your nation’s natural resources, makes to your community. Can you imagine what the lifestyles of indigenous people would be if they were in control of all the mining income, and agricultural lands that Australia has?
Now of course, it would be wrong to suggest that all the mining income, and agricultural lands should be returned to Indigenous populations now, for that would not be an equitable outcome for those Aussies (including the ‘ravaging’ early settlers) whose blood, sweat, and toil has made today’s Australia possible, or for that matter, equitable to those Aussies who live, breath, and work hard today. After all, the indigenous populations did lose their land to a stronger adversary, and hateful as it might sound to them, it is the enlightened approach of the posterity of that very invading force today, that we are talking about giving an equitable outcome to the indigenous populations.
The Australia that we are talking about sharing today, the lifestyle, the advancement, and the development that we are talking about providing today, all that has been, and is being built by hard working modern day Aussies of all races, religions, and other denominations. So what the indigenous populations had originally lost might have been all theirs to keep, but what we are talking about sharing, and providing today, belongs to those who have developed it since. Equity cannot be a one way street.
So what is really possible and do-able then? I can most certainly suggest a course of action, and explain it to the best of my abilities as to why it should be done, but whether my suggestions are acceptable to both the modern Aussies, and the Indigenous populations, the answer to that lies with the two groups themselves. To put my solution into simple terms I would suggest that; a) Each Indigenous family should be, according to the family size, provided ownership to a new and modern family home within the metro regions across Australia, and b) Depending upon the interests of each indigenous family, they should be helped in starting, setting up, and running a business of their own within the metro areas. For the second suggestion, I further recommend marking an Australian Dollar One Million endowment per family, for their next three to five generations. Now outrageous and preposterous as they may sound to Aussies at the giving end, and insufficient and ill advised as they may sound to the Aussies at the receiving end, my suggestions have been made for very proper reasons.
What has happened in the past cannot be changed; dead can’t be brought back to life, and lost land and resources cannot be returned. What however can be done going forward into the future is; making sure every Aussie has been given a fair initial advantage to succeed, and have a prosperous and happy future. While the settlers and their posterity, and the new arrivals have all managed to make their future in a modern society, the indigenous communities are yet to emerge from their original injury, and have no resources to start a new life on their own in a new world. It might not be possible to return them everything, but giving them decent homes to live and raise their families in, would be a nice start, since that’s what they would have been able to do one their own without an issue, had the European settlers returned to their lands post the collapse of Colonialism, like the people in Asia and North Africa have done. Since the latter is not going to happen, and most certainly won’t be equitable, my suggestion of giving each Indigenous family a decent home of their own is the best alternative in rectifying one major inequity.
Now as to second suggestion; it would be wrong to expect the indigenous populations to forget all their past pain, the ignominy of losing their lands, and simply start working as a part of the work force, labouring their way around. That is, and always would be, like adding insult to an injury. A better approach would be to give each family a choice as to what they would like to do, and then help them become capable of doing that thing, and also setting that thing up for them. Giving them financial boost, like a million bucks, would cover the inequities of the past, and an equitable return for everything that has been taken from them. This would have to be done for their next three to five generations to come, as that’s how long it takes for families to become positively entrenched in a society.
Now of course, as I said earlier, my solution may sound foul to both sides of the equitable action. With most Aussie families struggling today in tough economic conditions, giving away freebies might sound awful and unjust. But people need to remember that these are not free gifts, but rather reparations for the past, designed to develop a better future. My suggestions might seem unfair and too little to the indigenous populations, but they must remember that equity is not just about getting what is yours, but also giving up what belongs to others. Modern Australia has been built, is being built, and will keep getting built by Aussies of all denominations, and not just indigenous populations. The land no longer belongs to the indigenous populations anymore. They share it with everybody else.
This sums up my preferred approach to the issue of reparations for the First Nation’s people. I am sure everybody reading this article would have an issue or two, or perhaps even more, with my suggestions, and might even have better suggestions to make than mine. I suggest they should share them with the rest of the world, along with their arguments.
Take Care,
Fatal Urge Carefree Kiss
*************
