No Africans allowed. Has our way of life come to this?

"There may indeed be problems in the resettling of some African refugees, but these are not strictly of their making; rather, they represent the bridging of a wretched, traumatised past and a new, vastly different, society with its own rules and structures. Just as the refugees must learn to adapt, so, too, should Australians learn to be encouraging, not dismissive. For example, African migrants in Dandenong are able to enrol in a driver-education program set up in response to a spate of incidents, including drink-driving. In May, Victoria Police sent two officers to Sudan to learn about a culture that includes an inherent distrust of those in authority. The man who sent the officers, Assistant Commissioner Paul Evans, told ABC Radio yesterday that such prejudices would be overcome, but in time. "There's no quick fix," he said.


No such compassion or understanding is to be found in the Government's own quick fix. Instead there is dispassion and obduracy, along with the ominous feeling that Australia is tightening its borders for short-term political advantage that can only further this country's unfortunate racially intolerant reputation. Is this really how we want to be seen by the rest of the world?" (Article from The Age)


In a conversation about how best to approach working with the Sudanese Refugee community, I wrote this to a friend a few months ago:

'I think exploring the 'Human Capacity Development' is a really positive way of approaching working with the Sudanese Community in Australia. I have been involved in a volunteer capacity over the last year or so tutoring english and from my experiences, the biggest challenges for them as they arrive in Australia is obviously language, but also social integration. And is there any wonder, in a society that is very private and comes across as quite cold to them. The challenges of living in the australian system - eg. job hunting, guidance in dealing with government support (centrelink -in which most english speaking australians struggle with!), attitutes to authority/police etc. This is to not even mentioning dealing with the past trauma that most have faced.

For me, all of the concerns that i've heard over the last year highlight the need for us as a church to be present with them above all else and supporting them as they face each hurdle. I was embarrassed to be Australian one day when a young sudanese guy said to me "you are the first white person that just wants to be friends". It hit me what impact our culture of being 'cold' on public transport has, the fact that at his university (where he is trying to complete high school as a mature age), you could sit in a class with the same people for 12 weeks, and not even ask someone thier name. Come, sit, listen, go home. That was my experience of university - and if university was where i was looking to make friends, I would be very lonely right now. Is there any wonder on my part that there are barriers to Social Integration? No. Just as growing up in a lifetime of war is foreign to most of us, so too is the culture that we live in here. It takes two to break down those barriers of igorance and misunderstanding, and without making the effort to be in relationship with each other - i can't see the way forward. (And between you and me, i don't think its the Sudanese that are holding back)

Peace

I was asked to talk at Camberwell Corp tonight – just a bit about what I’ve been doing – but connected to the theme of Peace...I was a little confused at first and I think the words I used was “what the hell do I know about peace!? Is the Peace Vigil about Iraq or something??”…cause I’m clueless. But I think God has actually been teaching me a lot about peace lately so I thought I would just share some of those rambling thoughts around what I’ve been doing...

For the past couple of years I have be working for the Asia Pacific Regional Facilitation team, and one of the places we have been most involved with is Sri Lanka. For those unaware, Sri Lanka is the tiny island next to India and has been in Civil War for the last 25 years. The Tamil Tigers in the North are fighting for independence from the Sinhalese population which represents the majority. But there is a strong resentment from the Tamil people of all ages, of the Sinhala majority.

When I first went there 2 years ago, the “peace” agreement was fragile but holding. We were actually able to go up to the North and hold a Tsunami Trauma Counselling Workshop – where we were trying to establish groups of volunteers to go and be community counselors, allowing people the opportunity to share their grief and deal with the psychological impact of the tsunami. Very quickly we established, the tsunami was just one part of a lifetime of war trauma. When the Tsunami came, people actually just assumed that it was the sound of fighting starting again. It was very much a superficial belief in ‘peace’ – they didn’t trust it. I can tell you some great stories about our translator for the week that ended up being a Tamil Tiger spy – just keeping tabs on what we were up to.

But one home visit we did, this tiny little lady sat in her temporary shelter and showed me the last picture she had of her 8 sons…Pointing to each one…war, war, tsunami, war …of her 8 sons, 5 were killed in the war, 2 in the Tsunami, and one had managed to escape to London. After a very emotional encounter, I came away from Jaffna asking a lot of questions about peace….

I have a good friend in Sri Lanka who is a young single officer and from the North and I once asked her the all important question of why did she decide to become an Officer? her response… “Because Tamil and Sinhala marry each other”…Not the response I was expecting but one that I’ve thought a lot about since. For her, The Salvation Army was modeling what society could be like, where Sinhala and Tamil lived together. What a powerful testimony to what we as the Salvation Army can be.

As limited as my understanding is, the peace agreement that was brokered by the UN did nothing to change the attitudes of people in everyday life towards each other, and so the grief and hurt still fuels the division hatred and fighting.

However God has really been challenging me a lot lately about how easy it is to look at places like Sri Lanka, say they should all live in peace without looking at what is underneath, and what’s more, without looking in the mirror on ourselves and in particular the Indigenous situation here in Australia. I won’t even begin on the Government’s intervention but the image of how the Salvation Army are modeling reconciliation in Sri Lanka (whilst not perfect), is a powerful statement. And my questions is…does our church model that same image of Australia reconciled with its Indigenous people??

Daryl Crowden has written a piece on Reconciliation (which I recommend, see his blog link on the right) and I particularly love a part under a section “WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE ARMY?”

“This means taking time to understand the Aboriginal culture, not just to observe and judge the forms, but take time to reflect on the function and meaning behind the often-misunderstood observable behaviours.

Allowing the culture to influence our own. Acknowledging that the culture has impacted our own. Our values are, in part, formed by our common history. We need to face this history truthfully and honestly – acknowledge the part we have played in the current economic, physical and spiritual context of the Aboriginal person and seek to find ways in which this wrong can be redressed. Forgive and be forgiven by hearing and telling the stories.”

But for me that means we need to make the first step to put ourselves in a position that we can actually hear those stories, we have to be in relationship.

Tuesday 18th is National Close the Gap Day – and Oxfam are holding a rally at Federation Sq 12pm – 2pm.

If anyone is interested in joining a group of us going as TSA, you’re most welcome. For me it is about starting to step out into spaces where I can learn about the Aboriginal people, their culture, doing something very small but symbolic to say that I care about the situation and that I want to learn and be changed by it.

I have fallen in love with a quote underneath a painting at THQ that reads:

"The promise of reconciliation begins with the journey of indigenous and non-indigenous people approaching the cross of Christ where we sit and share stories, honoring one another as those made in the image of God. United in purpose, we walk away as partners – reconciled people – committed to being agents of reconciliation"

So that is my small ramble about some thoughts around “Peace”…

Close the Gap Campaign

I just finished reading a government report called "Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage - Key Indicators 2007" and is the basis behind Oxfam's "Close the Gap" campaign. The thing that struck me as ironic was, all the examples of "Things that work" and recommendations were bottom up, community-owned, grassroots initiatives that have proved successful! One that i looked up caught my attention, and I've cut and pasted a little bit below: good stuff!


"The aim of the Empowerment Research Program is to explore the role and contribution that concepts of empowerment and control can make towards better understanding and addressing the social determinants of Indigenous Australian health and wellbeing.



We have utilized two practical programs or tools for studying empowerment and control and their relationships to Indigenous health. These are the Family Wellbeing Empowerment Program and Indigenous Men’s Support Groups. Both of these interventions are ‘inside-out solutions’ that build on Indigenous strengths. The dominant image of Indigenous Australia portrayed by health statistics and the media is a traumatised people plagued by chronic and debilitating disease, incompetent governance systems, alcoholism, violence, unemployment, boredom and appalling education outcomes. Too often these images overlook crucial facts that Indigenous communities, like all human societies, mainly consist of people trying as best as they can to go about the daily business of living a meaningful life. Equally important is that no matter how desperate the situation might look to the outsider, communities often have pockets of exceptional strength, resiliency, creativity and innovation."



National Close the Gap Day is on Tuesday 18 September 2007 - and will give Australians across the nation the opportunity to come together and show their support for closing the 17-year life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians.

For Salvos in Melbourne: A group of us are going to the event at Federation Square 12pm - 2pm. Want to join??

See Oxfam's website for more details: http://www.oxfam.org.au/events/close-the-gap-day/

Its all about Community Ownership...

Following exert comes from an article in The Age, "Another tricky Howard ruse", Gregory Phillips, June 23, 2007

"Nobody denies that sexual abuse and alcoholic dysfunction in indigenous communities is a massive problem. Many Aborigines have long advocated for better services to deal with the issues, and have strongly asserted that alcoholism and sexual abuse are not a part of Aboriginal culture. It is, in fact, a learned behaviour.

Where did Aborigines learn it? It is partly a hangover of the missionary days only 20 and 30 years ago, where sexual violence was routinely perpetrated on Aborigines by police, pastoralists and missionaries, and where the church often forced people to marry against their social and cultural clan systems. This is not an excuse for abuse today, but it is part of the reason people are behaving this way now. Sure, the abuser must take responsibility for these terrible actions, and sure, society has a responsibility to protect children. But to do so only through the law has never worked either here or overseas.

There's no evidence that dealing with addictions and sexual abuse through legal, criminal or administrative systems alone works. It might help alleviate some physical injury and perhaps prevent a small amount of abuse, but it doesn't address the emotional and mental turmoil that gave rise to the behaviour in the first place.

By contrast, Native Canadian communities in crisis with sexual abuse have turned the issue around in 10 years by community-led action, by government being prepared to listen to and trust local community leaders, and by supporting communities themselves to make the abuse of alcohol a socially unacceptable behaviour. "

Apparently governments in developed countries have a clue...

Well I just recieved the link to this article from a friend, a little distressed about the approach that our wise government is taking to addressing aboriginal issues...

Check it out:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=60407

Would LOVE to hear your thoughts!

Community Counselling - Pakistan

Claire Campbell and Alma Acub (team mates) went to Pakistan last week to do a Community Counselling Workshop in communities affected by the earthquake...Here is Claire on her experience there...

“I was working in the shop. After the earthquake I rushed home. On the way I saw a school where many children had died. There were community people pulling the bodiesof children out of the rubble. I could see that they were working hard. I went and got water for them to drink”. (In the Muslim faith it is considered an act of grace to give water to another person).


An initial exploratory visit invited by the Pakistan territory in December 06 had determined that the communities affected by the earthquake would benefit from a holistic response to their needs arising from the disaster. That is, a response that included physical, mental and emotional considerations. During the initial visit it had become clear that psychological and psychosocial influences were impeding the rate of recovery within communities.

Experience with the 04 tsunami had demonstrated that a community counselling approach whereby local people are supported and encouraged to counsel and be there for each other, as their greatest and sustained strength is an effective way to facilitate community and individual healing around psychosocial issues and influences all other areas of their lives.

Consequently, the Pakistan territory invited the regional team to return to conduct a workshop with community leaders in community counselling processes.

The week clearly demonstrated the principles of integrated mission - healing grace within every community and every heart whatever the faith background.

We included in our discussions the issue of faith. We were aware that this could be a sensitive issue among people particularly if being raised by people coming from a Christian organization. We firmly believed however, that faith is one of the key foundations of any community and is something that should be part of any discussion around community healing. We discussed with the Insan team (local NGO) before meeting with the community the best way to phrase and raise the faith issue for discussion. It turned out to be a pivotal point of discussions, with the participants happily talking about the strength their faith gave them, the way in which their faith inspired them to help others after the earthquake and how their faith continues to sustain them "God gave us strength, we must use it". The fact that we as facilitators were from a Christian background was not a hindrance and indeed appeared to be accepted and respected.

The experience demonstrated that when approached with sensitivity for local nuances, faith is a natural part of community life and discussion.

Hope...Where has it gone?

Do you need a new pair of glasses to find it?

This week a good friend of mine who has inspired me a lot recently in my quest to understand the situation of the Aborignal people here in Australia, sent me an article describing the living conditions of a community in Queensland. And even i was shocked at how strongly i reacted to it, not to the commuinty's situation, but to the way the article was written.

To quote:

"Driving in from the highway, there are glimpses of the coastline's rawbeauty from the pot-holed, corrugated dirt road. But there is little to findthat is beautiful in Yarrabah itself. It's the smell that hits you first — a pungent cocktail of decaying rubbish,damp and the ocean salt, which leaves chalky white splatters on the fewpossessions the people have. The houses are little more than tin sheds and each accommodates two,sometimes three, big families. It's a reality that means as many as 25people sharing each ramshackle space....

Teenage boys kick a football between makeshift goals between the trees. Thedream of playing professional rugby league might just take them away fromhere. A cluster of girls watch them but don't join in. For them, maybe thereis no point pretending...

Edgar Harris has lived in the area for more than 40 years. He doesn't askfor much. "I want my children not getting sick any more," he says. For him,election year budgets and the glossy promises of a bright indigenous futurefor Australia sound like many other promises made by politicians out toimpress voters."I just want a house," Edgar says. "But I don't think we'll ever get it."

This was my reply:

"My intial reaction to this article, probably not what you are expecting....but it is so easy to focus on the negative, and its quite a hard but important discipline to see the strengths in people and communities because it is the complete opposite to what society (and newspapers) tell us everyday. I personally think its time Australia starts looking for, AND SEEING, the strengths in the Indigenous people. To me, he paints a picture of a community just waiting for the government to give them houses. And call me crazy but I refuse to believe that is an accurate picture of the life of the people in that community. In the regional team work, we often find that it only takes a local team building relationships with the community and focusing on strengths to stimulate the community to act themselves. Check out http://ordinarybeautiful.blogspot.com/ and the entry titled "Future". The blog is written by a good friend of mine who lives in South Africa. You will see the difference i'm talking about. No doubt that situations can be completely horrible and just plain unfair, but its about seeing the hope admist the struggle...Does the story sound familiar?

As Christians I think we should know that better than anyone... and we should be living out our faith accordingly."

To share a personal story of my own: In January and Febuary this year, I was in London with my brother and his partner Debra whose kidneys suddenly failed in in November. While i was there, I spent a lot of time with Debra in hospital while she had dialysis and during that time there was so much uncertainty and anxiety about what her future held, whether the kidneys would recover, whether she could have a transplant or whether her condition would simply attack any new kidneys etc. Every Doctor that spoke to us would tell us a different opinion. One day in hospital a nurse came in and began talking to us, and when she realised that this was THE Debra that had got every doctor completely perplexed as to what to do, the nurse shared in a very compassionate way that they all just felt so sorry for her, such a sudden thing to happen to a young girl, they couldn't believe it....and I know this nurse meant very well, but Debra broke down. She didn't need someone else to make the negative even more concrete. On the opposite scale, people that would react and just focus purely on the positive, she would battle to show them that no, maybe it won't. God taught me a lot through Debra about the need for us to acknowledge the struggle and the suffering when we're journeying with people, yet also learning to discipline ourselves in looking for the positives, allowing ourselves to see the hope.

Do we know what the youth are really facing?

My mum came home from school today with a huge smile on her face. She started to tell me about the success of a workshop her school had hosted for the year 9 students run by Jim Stynes (an ex-Aussie Rules footballer) and his organization called ‘Reach’ (www.reach.com.au).

Starting her description of the day with “I have never seen 500 Year 9 students cry…and I was crying too”, I was thinking…sounds really fun! But then she described what sounded like an extraordinary, interactive, fun but liberating day where the kids were asked on a ‘call to adventure’, exploring who they are, their ‘ordinary lives’, the challenges they face, and ‘slaying the dragons’ to achieve their dreams.

One of the most amazing reflections of the day has got me thinking quite a bit tonight...so I thought I would share...

In one of the sessions, they asked the group of students from the 4 schools to nominate a person that is very loud, vocal and enjoys putting people down. The nominated kids came forward, and then based on the strongest cheer (ie support for ‘yes’ this kid is in fact the biggest bully), one of the kids was selected (already amazed?). But then they did a trust exercise where he climbed a ladder and the other kids nominated to catch him…asked how he felt, his response was…scared…perhaps like the kids that he bullies. Asked why he likes to bully the other kids and his response was to shrug his shoulders and smile simply saying it was fun. And I’m sure this doesn’t surprise you.

But then, he was asked ‘what is something that has moved you this year, really touched you’…and he started to tell about the loss of both his grandparents in a car accident this year and how he’d been very close to them.

After he shared his story, the audience was asked to put their hands up if they’d seen the boy tease or put down other kids - nearly all from his school raised their hand. Asked if they’d seen this ‘other’ softer side, and barely anyone moved.

So often I think we see the behavior and react before asking why?

The Reach team used the analogy of us all having an inner core, where the spirit of whom we are comes from, not in any religious sense, but it is where we feel our true selves. As life hits us with different challenges, we start to wrap layers around it to protect ourselves… Bullying and gang violence is a big issue here in Australia and it is very destructive. Similarly, youth around the region are facing similar struggles such as the loss of family due to HIV, domestic abuse, depression, suicide…and the list goes on.

If our sole response to the concerns of the youth is to organize events where we can wrap them up and protect them in our church walls…I think we are failing them. We are in denial if we think they don’t see the brokenness in the world or are too young to understand. We need to engage with the youth on what they are facing, strengthening them to make choices that are healthy for them and their future today…If today is a demonstration, the students expressed grief associated with loss of family members, in car accidents, to cancer, family break ups, bullying….so much about relationships. It will therefore be through relationship, we need to engage with them on the same issues they face at home, at school, on the streets…..

The challenge remains to us all...how do we 'engage' with the youth, or our peers, on these issues in our local community....any thoughts??

Youth Leadership

I recently came across a really challenging blog with a post titled "Youth & Sustainability" (http://disasters-and-development.blogspot.com/search/label/indigenous%20peoples) that raised the question of youth leadership in the context of Indigenous Australia.

For those unaware, in Australia, there is massive disparity between the living standards of Indigenous Australians and the rest of the population. Facing epidemic health issues the situation is often compared to issues facing developing countries rather than developed. There are problems of drug & alcohol, domestic violence and abuse and it is a complex political issue. This blog raised the question of why more often than not indigenous youth have been over looked as leaders.

Have a read: "Young men who for various reasons have been dispossessed of the land which traditionally governed every aspect of the social, political, spiritual and political order. They've not only been shut out of their inheritance, but they're told that to be worthwhile, they need an education in the formal education system, and a job in the formal economy. Given that they can't have either of those things, why are we surprised when they get caught up in the excitement and temporary sense of empowerment that physical violence provides?
I know of one community development agency in Australia that's running a "leadership program" that doesn't target those kids that are usually defined as "leaders" - it's not the academic and social over-achievers that are invited to participate. Instead they're inviting the kids who are, in some respects, the very opposite of that.
...
Should we in fact be offering 'leadership' programs to those that are regarded as 'leaders' in the traditional sense, or should we be seeking to build the 'leadership' skills of those who are most marginalised?"

I think the problem is we see leadership capacity through the lens of having an education, qualifications, becoming an expert at something. But if we shift our understanding, to see leadership in the context of relationships with others in the community it becomes much more about thier capacity to care and journey with people because I believe through care and hope, communities can change and move forward working together. These are our core beliefs in 'Human Capacity Development". And that is leadership.

This is exactly what Youth Capacity Development is about. Its about what Rebecca replied to me: "looking for the young people that are doing amazing, community building stuff below the radar...Maybe young leaders aren't those that are most eloquent, but those that are at the centre of organising the games of footy or soccer just down the road..." It is about the relationships we have as youth and the change we can bring in those settings as Christ's Ambassadors.

For this is what Integrated Mission is all about.