Australia Day: A Rabbit Proof Mentality? A Fence or a Bridge?

I felt inspired to write this blog as I was shown Rabbit Proof Fence yesterday as part of an educational curriculum to sensitise students to cultural differences.  It is part of learning how to educate early childhood.  

I have seen Rabbit Proof Fence before and was struck by the bravery and strong family bonds of Aboriginal families.  On the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program I was asked to write about my own country.  I hadn’t been educated at school about the indigenous issues such as how half caste indigenous people were taken to missions with the idea of breeding the aboriginality out of them. It came from eugenics perspective not dissimilar to the Nazi’s in their pursuit of the Aryan race, perceived as pure.  

I am from a Welsh/Scottish lineage, I am a white (pink) Australian.  I am mindful how caucasion people have been seen around the world and the belief that they are superior.  Of course it is not true, we are all ‘same same but different’ as the wise Thai’s say.  

The Rabbit Proof Mentality came to me in a flash as I saw the same mentality playing out with refugees, not just here in Australia but around the world.  It doesn’t have to be a white person, it is anyone in the dominant culture who believes they are entitled or they perceive the other as less in some way. Indigenous people like other dark skinned people of a tribal nature were seen the same way through the eyes of what was seen at the time as cultivated civilisations.  In truth the indigenous lived differently and within a different mindset that blended with nature in all its colours.   The mentality sees the ‘other’ it seeks to some how keep it out of its pure bloodline.  We are indeed the same civilisation that has adapted through climate, time, distance and environment to take on features that naturally select us to live in harmony with that environment. I saw clearly when I was younger that the dark skinned people had more lanolin in the skin given they were in higher temperatures. This protected the skin.  When I clowned around the world in a state of joy I never saw cultural differences I only saw smiling or not smiling and treated both the same. I saw the world as my people and it was a very strong remembrance.  We can listen to voices that divide within any community but ultimately our journey is one of self discovery and acceptance of diversity.  You can fight it until the cows come home as they say here or you can accept it as part of the life on earth.  I accept all differences and realise an open mind accepts people as they are.  They do not have to be like me.  I am coming to an understanding that we are all very different and it is up to me to not expect another to turn up my way but to develop compassion and understanding that they are different. I am not just thinking of indigenous I see it amongst people I know.  I see this deep seated belief that those different from me are not part of my group, we can all have the same skin colour I might add.  I realise that it is for me to change not them.  

We move back in time to the White Australia policy. This of course was the mindset at the time around the world. This belief in purity of one culture over others.  Yet in truth it comes from the belief you should be like me for me to be comfortable.  So we socialise people in and force them to be like us so we are okay.  Yet in truth I wonder what happens when we incorporate culture and make it part of the one melting pot, which in truth it already is.  We all are influenced by each other.  There are outstanding qualities in all cultures I have seen.  I see the hospitality and kindness of Muslims, I see the great generosity of Jews, I see the can do attitude of Americans.  I see the culture and friendliness of New Zealanders.  I see the friendship and colour of central and south Americans, I see the beautiful candles and cuisine of the Finish (warmth in the cold). I see the hard working spirit of the Russians, I see the harmony of the Chinese, I see the respect of the Japanese and I see the wisdom of the indigenous here in Australia.  There is so much I see as my heart and mind are open.

Going to theme here – rabbits were introduced into Australia funnily enough they were European.  Some history is at this website http://www.animalcontrol.com.au/rabbit.htm  So they erected rabbit proof fences to solve the problem that extended thousands of kilometers across Australia.  Walls erected to keep the vermin out. Interesting thought.  Yet perhaps the white colonisers were the vermin to the indigenous in the sense that they bred fast and colonised the whole country and destroyed the native culture and vegetation. This country was original mapped by indigenous people, they had their own countries, they had different languages, skin names and a complex cultural story that was interwoven into their sense of belonging and identity. A complexity the caucasians had no understanding of as they had never lived as one with the land in complete surrender to its magic and knowledge and without any sense of ownership.  So two world views found themselves in the same space, they may have been from different planets such was the vast space between them far greater than the expansiveness of this continent. 

I personally do not recognise any ownership of land, I recognise place but I know the planet is sovereign and it is 4 billion years old, no people own it.  It is akin to the mother that birthed life here.  I feel a sense of resonance with the indigenous feeling of respect of land and honouring it. I can even find resonance with not moving rocks as every single item on the earth is there for a purpose. There are no mistakes in nature and it is in one continuous song with many song lines celebrating the unity within diversity.  The planet itself is the greatest teacher to the indigenous and to others who have lost the connection to their birth place.  It is for those who know to tell the blind horseman on the blind horse that he is heading towards the abyss, as Lao Tzu so wisely stated.  I would ask the indigenous who know to share their wisdom. Allow the wisdom in all cultures to unite with the one song so we can live in peace on this planet.

There are still unresolved issues today. Clearly ‘Sorry’ was a starting point (national apology for the Stolen Generation [see below], however we need to move closer to one another in a sense of equality, equal value and unity within diversity.  That is the next step. An aboriginal person told me near the Aboriginal Tent Embassy that he felt the people had to overcome and move towards unity. I agreed with him.  I also recall a moment which I told someone recently where my mother was delivering bread to the Aboriginal people camped around the Tent Embassy (mum’s Christian).  I went for the ride (not a Christian) because I wanted to meet the indigenous people.  I stood around the sacred fire with an Aunty and we talked about the Stolen Generation.  I did say sorry but not to be politically correct. I said it because I felt empathy for her pain as having been one taken from her family. I felt the pain of that.  So we hugged.  Then I heard an indigenous man (drunk) chasing a car demanding ‘sorry’. I saw the two approaches, only one would be reconciliation. The other was chasing a dream that cannot be forced, the other cannot take his pain away, he has to stop and be still and heal the wound that he is less, he was never less, he was never inferior, he believed an untruth and that is the source of all pain.  One other experience I’ll share is when I travelled the world visiting sacred sites. I came back to Australia and felt my journey was not complete until I went to Uluru (Ayers Rock).  So I went there with my tent.  I then went to the Rock.  I saw the sign erected by Indigenous to not climb the rock. I wanted to meditate on top and feel the country, however, I decided to respect their wishes and I asked the indigenous to send me a sign if they don’t want me to climb the rock.  That night indigenous women came to me in a dream and impressed on me (without words) to walk the base of the rock. So I walked around and sat on the ground imagining I was them. I was imagining the deep peace. I had seen them in Alice and Fitzroy Crossing just sitting still.  Caucasions like myself would prefer to have a coffee, I felt the deep connection and oneness with the earth.  I used this walk as a walk as them. They did this with the animals when they did ceremony, this is the oneness we are all subconsciously seeking or aware of.  After my dream I felt a sense of awareness to honour all people and if they ask you not to climb the rock do that our of love. I am so glad I deeply listened.

We can only share our stories and evoke the common humanity in each other to really heal the memory of the past. In truth our own stories today are different as we are born into this culture. Not all people agree with the white culture, most are struggling as well as they deal with expensive bills, trying to keep going with work and so many other things and the sense of loss through family break up. There are many suffering mental health issues and young people going on drugs. So the deeper issue is the loss of identity in all groups, the loss of family, the loss of a sense of control over ones life and disconnecting from the real aliveness of life into alcohol or drugs. So in that we can share a sense of pain and despair.  We can join in the sense we are all suffering. However, let’s face what we feel and start to own our part in our pain and recognise only we can take ourselves out of it by examining the thoughts we think.  I am now thinking of Byron Katie who was depressed for 10 years and literally awakened from the illusion.  I wonder whether the indigenous dreaming is really the awakening. The taking on of eagle spirits, kangaroos is a form of blending with the energy of the great spirit that permeates all life.  So when we look through spiritual eyes everyone is our brother and sister. That is what I feel today.  I see the ignorance of the past but I always say to people ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ ignorance and when you ‘know you don’t know’ that is when wisdom arises. Humans are naturally loving, it is fear that causes them to do negative things to each other.  We have to move beyond the violence and hate and really sit around a sacred circle of oneness and really deeply listen to all stories, we will see ourselves staring back. To me that is the real reconciliation. Peace is with us always when we open our hearts to forgiveness and compassion, all are suffering in truth.

I will add an article from the Guardian about changing Australia day and date based on a poll conducted refer https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jan/26/most-indigenous-australians-want-date-and-name-of-australia-day-changed-poll-finds  I personally don’t celebrate Australia Day but I do like to see all the people of all nationalities come out.  I think we need a new flag not the British Union Jack, I think one that blends the indigenous colours with some form of unity symbolism.  I think Australia could be an example of world peace if all the tribes of the world come together here. We are a multicultural country and I really love that. I love diversity. The challenge for us all is to learn to live together without force but in a spirit of acceptance of difference, universal values of peace, love, compassion, truth and respect. That is the world I envisage.  When we achieve this we will see no difference. I felt that as a clown loving everyone.

So with that I want to share Rabbit Proof Fence, an incredible story of indigenous girls who walked nearly 3,000km to go home to their mother after they had been forcibly removed with the mistaken perception of whites they were doing it for their good.  The real story is the girls courage, determination and ability to survive in conditions that are over 50 degree heat, with little food but this determination that there is no place like home.  You cannot break the bonds of love. The mother and grandmother sang them home, they even sent guidance in the form of the eagle.  Do you believe that?  I have no doubt that is what they did. They are the oldest civilisation on the earth and survived more than 50-60,000 years, I think they know a thing or two more than the so-called cultivated civilisations. Perhaps real cultivation is inner peace and understanding. In truth no-one knows what is best for another, they have to decide. There is much we do not know about ourselves that they do know.  The highest knowledge is self knowledge.  The highest love is freedom to allow others their own path. Why build a fence to keep out when we can build a bridge to reach each other but in a way that finds common ground is where we are same same yet different. That is peace.

The download version http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252444/ 

Trailer:  

 

Rabbit-Proof Fence: rewatching classic Australian films

This drama dealing with the stolen generations spoke an emotional truth that was impossible to ignore

 
Rabbit-Proof Fence
 
Rabbit-Proof Fence featured tremendous performances from Everlyn Sampi (in foreground) and (from left) Laura Monaghan and Tianna Sansbury. Photograph: South Australian Film Corporation

@lukebuckmaster

Phillip Noyce’s 2002 film Rabbit-Proof Fence, a hard-hitting Australian drama based on the real-life story of three members of the stolen generations who undertook a long and perilous on-foot journey to return to their mother, made considerably more money in the US than it did at the local box office. In Australia the film grossed about $3.7m; in the States it was almost $6.2m.

The US distributor Miramax advertised the film with the tagline: “What if the government kidnapped your daughter? It happened every week in Australia from 1905 to 1971.” Eric Abetz, then special minister of state, was so incensed he demanded an apology from Noyce and threatened to use federal funds to finance a campaign against it.

“They’re asking me to apologise for the poster?” the director shot back. “Maybe they could apologise to our Indigenous citizens.”

While Noyce and the screenwriter, Christine Olsen, claimed Rabbit-Proof Fence was non-political in its intent, the film generated significant controversy in Australia – including attacks from high-profile conservative columnists. More than a decade later, audiences can perhaps revisit Rabbit-Proof Fence more thoughtfully.

What they’ll find is a film both powerful and pondering, hard-hitting and softly spoken, steered by three tremendous performances from actors who seem to reflect all its emotions on their young faces.

Based on a non-fiction book by the Indigenous author Doris Pilkington (whose mother Molly is one of the three main characters), the film was shot by veteran Christopher Doyle with delicate sun-kissed cinematography that gently soaks up outback settings, belying the traumatic story at the heart of it.

Molly (Everlyn Sampi), Gracie (Laura Monaghan) and Daisy (Tianna Sansbury) hopelessly try to run away from government representatives sent to snatch them and remove them from their family. The kids are taken to a boarding house where they speak in their native tongue and are told: “We don’t talk that jabber, we talk English.” They escape and follow the eponymous fence, using it as a guide to get home.

Kenneth Branagh plays AO Neville, a browbeating public servant who lingers ominously on the peripheries of the story, pounding his fists and hollering about eradicating “half-castes” from existence. If Neville adds a hard heart to the story, moments of kindness from random characters soften it. A woman who catches one of the girls stealing eggs gives them food and blankets. A camper provides advice that saves them a hundred or so miles of walking.

Rabbit-Proof Fence is strongest when it is character-oriented and reflective. During one fence-side moment, Daisy, the youngest of the three girls, sits on the ground complaining that her legs hurt. She is picked up and carried by Molly. It is one of several quietly affecting scenes that, in their own simple way, are more powerful than the film’s many moments of confrontation.

Rabbit-Proof Fence
The young cast beautifully conveyed all the film’s emotions. Photograph: SBS

Another occurs at a remote train station where Gracie strays from the group. She strolls down overgrown train tracks and is interrupted by authorities, who arrive and bundle her into a car. Gracie stares out the back window at Molly and Daisy crouched behind a large wooden log. Molly says: “She gone. She not coming back.” So much of the film is encapsulated in that moment: the unbreakable bond between family; the trauma of being separated; the powerlessness of individuals in the face of government oppression.

 

There are precious few grey areas in Rabbit-Proof Fence. Noyce has no qualms about telling the audience what to feel and when to feel it. Moral interpretations get a little more complicated when the film contemplates the perverse logic ordinary Australians used to enforce stolen generation policies. “The bush natives have to be protected against themselves,” says Neville. “If they would only understand what we are trying to do for them.” 

While films about Indigenous people often carry commentaries on racial prejudice and inequality (such as Walkabout, Toomelah, Red Hill and Australian Rules), it is rare for them to tackle these issues with such powerful polemic. It is impossible to watch Rabbit-Proof Fence and not be in some way affected by it.

The first words spoken in it – “this is a true story” – might have encouraged sceptics to retrieve the proverbial clipboard and red pen. But viewers who picked apart Rabbit-Proof Fence on the basis of factual discrepancies probably missed the point. Noyce’s ultimate aim was to find emotional truth, not only in the story of these three girls, but of countless members of the stolen generations who endured similar circumstances.

Mohandas Gandhi

“God has no religion”

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