Sixty three years ago the global community drew its collective
breath and sighed in relief at the end of World War II. Millions
had died and many more millions were displaced, suffering under
conditions that the so called “civilised” world found repulsive.
In a collective head spin the leaders of the “free world” came
together to assemble what we now know as the United Nations.
Ironically, an Australian politician, Herbert (Doc) Evatt, was
the foundation President of the UN.
Some would argue that Doc Evatt was one of the leading
proponents of what became the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights which, sixty years ago, Australia was a foundation
signatory to. It seems from the historical record that 'Doc' was
indeed a champion of those who suffered injustice and
discrimination. At the launch of the foundation named in his
honour, Indigenous activist, scholar and advocate, Faith Bandler
said of him, “Dr Evatt fought for the oppressed, he fought for
our political rights and civil liberties, our freedom of thought
and action. We would not find it possible to be as outspoken
today as we are if Dr Evatt had not fought for us as a judge, as
a politician and as an Australian.”
Speaking as an Indigenous person, she used the collective “we”
in recognition of the fact that in 1979 our Indigenous brothers
and sisters were able to vote and take part in mainstream
Australian life. But not all of them. Many, as she and others
knew, were still living in appalling conditions which remain
virtually unchanged till today. However, she also recognised
that the legacy of Doc Evatt and herself would not be complete
until all her people were recognised as equal participants in
the 'common wealth' of Australia.
Yet, sixty years after Doc Evatt and others said “never again!”
we find that here, in our very own back yard, Indigenous
communities are living in fear under conditions that our
government would openly condemn in nations far from our shores.
Where is the respect for the “inherent dignity” and “inalienable
rights” of our Indigenous peoples when they are forced by our
government to accept a military 'intervention' on their
homelands? Where is the collective outcry from the Australian
community and the call to “rebellion against tyranny and
oppression” when this occurs just over our back fence? Where is
the collective outrage against the use of race as a basis to
impose another degrading social and economic experiment on a
people whose skin is a different colour from the majority?
I noted a little earlier that I found it ironic that Doc Evatt
was a leading Labor man. He devoted himself to what might, these
days, be termed a 'socialist' agenda. While he might not have
claimed that himself, he did seem to represent all that is, or
should I say, was, good about the Australian Labor party.
Now, sixty years on, regardless of the legacy left to them, the
current crop of Labor leaders seem intent on nothing more than a
continuance of the Howard government's disgusting “intervention”
policy. As I have said before, 'if there was outrage and the
need for intervention in the outback, why not the same in the
upper class suburbs of the big cities where just as much child
abuse and degrading behaviour takes place?' I guess I forgot for
a moment that there are always one set of laws for “them” and
another set for “us”.
I caught the final episode of “The Howard Years” on the ABC the
other night. There was Mal 'the enforcer' Brough, shedding
crocodile tears as he recalled the 'facts' of Indigenous child
abuse and neglect. The fact that these “Facts” were concocted
lies deployed in the dying days of the Howard government in an
attempt to bolster their flagging credentials, was obviously
lost on Mal. As he shed a tear, perhaps more for the fact he was
no longer one of the 'ruling class', Mal studiously avoided any
reference to the neglect and disrespect his government had shown
to the First Australians while they were in office.
As we pause a moment to consider the power of the words in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the sentiments that
lay behind them, we should also reflect on the fact that our
government is ignoring the plea by those who penned it that
“never again” would military force be used to reduce a people to
nothingness. While our government seeks to turf Indigenous
people off their land and out of the towns that will eventually
be bulldozed for the minerals that lie underneath them, we
should be fulminating and taking to the streets in solidarity
with our black brothers and sisters.
“Why”, we should be asking our politicians, “are you introducing
programs to overcome the preventable diseases which shorten the
life span of Aboriginals?” “Why”, we should be demanding to
know, “are you telling us to spend, spend, spend when you do
nothing to lift this people out of poverty?” “Why”, we should be
shouting outside their offices, “do you claim to need more pay
when you “quarantine” the meagre benefits of those who need them
most?”
We should be shamed as a nation that our leaders proclaim
outrage at what Robert Mugabe is doing in Zimbabwe, and it is an
outrage, while they allow similar conditions to prevail here, on
our turf. We should feel shame that while we proclaim our
“success” on sporting fields, we continue to ignore the poverty
that exists in places we would never visit. We should be shamed
that as we give Christmas gifts to each other this year,
hundreds of Aboriginal children will be denied that simple
pleasure because our government chooses to withdraw their access
to 'disposable income'.
A 2005 report by the United Nations “Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination” condemns our governments
and describes in detail the ways in which racism is
institutionally reinforced and supported. The Howard government
responded with an attack on the committee which lead the
Brazilian delegate to reply “As a veteran diplomat, this
statement, with its language describing programs and attacks on
NGOs, reminds me of the sort of statement from communist bloc
countries and Latin American dictatorships that Australia used
to condemn.”
As the world celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of the signing
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, where are our
thoughts? Are they turning to the embedded and institutionalised
racism that prevails in our country? Are they turning to the
fact that we live in a country that is unique among nations in
being condemned for its inherent racism?
Sixty years after Doc Evatt and others struggled to codify the
basis by which human rights would be measured and upheld, we
celebrate this day and hear, perhaps coincidentally, about
another push for a federal “bill of rights”. But we should not
forget that those who said “never again” were remembering
something that is beyond our imagination. The fact is that
today, for many of our indigenous brothers and sisters, their
memories are still being formed.