MABO

“I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want to own.” - Andy Warhol

This morning Australians woke up to see Eddie Mabo's face on a “Google Doodle” on the www.google.com.au home page. Google marks what would have been Mabo's 80th birthday. Eddie Koiki Mabo (c. 29 June 1936 - 21 January 1992) was an Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights and for his role in a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia which overturned the legal doctrine of terra nullius (“land belonging to nobody”) which characterised Australian law with regard to land and title.

Mabo was born Eddie Koiki Sambo but he changed his surname to Mabo when he was adopted by his uncle, Benny Mabo. He was born on the island of Mer (Murray Island) in the Torres Strait between mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea. Mabo married Bonita Neehow, an Australian South Sea Islander, in 1959. The couple had seven children and adopted three more. One daughter, Gail, is an Aboriginal artist and dancer who works with schools in New South Wales as a cultural advisor and serves as the family's designated spokesperson.

Mabo worked on pearling boats, as a cane cutter, and as a railway fettler before becoming a gardener at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland at the age of 31. The time he spent on the campus had a massive impact on his life. In 1974, this culminated in a discussion he had with JCU historians Noel Loos and Henry Reynolds, who recalled Mabo's reaction:

“We were having lunch one day in Reynolds' office when Koiki was just speaking about his land back on Mer, or Murray Island. Henry and I realised that in his mind he thought he owned that land, so we sort of glanced at each other, and then had the difficult responsibility of telling him that he didn't own that land, and that it was Crown land. Koiki was surprised, shocked and even ... he said and I remember him saying 'No way, it's not theirs, it's ours.' ”

In 1981 a land rights conference was held at James Cook University and Mabo made a speech to the audience where he explained the land inheritance system on Murray Island. The significance of this in terms of Australian common law doctrine was taken note of by one of the attendees, a lawyer, who suggested there should be a test case to claim land rights through the court system. Perth-based solicitor Greg McIntyre was at the conference and agreed to take the case; he then recruited barristers Ron Castan and Bryan Keon-Cohen. McIntyre represented Mabo during the hearings. Of the eventual outcome of that decision a decade later, Henry Reynolds said: “It was a ten year battle and it was a remarkable saga really.”

Mabo relaxed by working on his boat or painting watercolours of his island home; however, after 10 years the strain began to affect his health. On 21 January 1992, he died of cancer at the age of 55. Five months later, on 3 June 1992, the High Court announced its historic decision, namely overturning the legal doctrine of terra nullius - which is a term applied to the attitude of the British towards land ownership on the continent of Australia. Henry Reynolds remarked: “So Justice Moynihan's decision that Mabo wasn't the rightful heir was irrelevant because the decision that came out was that native title existed and it was up to the Aboriginal or Islander people to determine who owned what land.”

That decision is now commonly called “Mabo” in Australia and is recognised for its landmark status. Three years after Mabo died, that being the traditional mourning period for the people of Murray Island, a gathering was held in Townsville for a memorial service. Overnight, Mabo's gravesite was attacked by vandals who spray-painted swastikas and the word “Abo” (a derogatory slang term for an Aboriginal person) on his tombstone and removed a bronze bas-relief portrait of him. His family decided to have his body reburied on Murray Island. On the night of his re-interment, the Islanders performed their traditional ceremony for the burial of a king, a ritual not seen on the island for 80 years.

In 1992, Mabo was posthumously awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal in the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Awards, together with the Reverend Dave Passi, Sam Passi (deceased), James Rice (deceased), Celuia Mapo Salee (deceased) and Barbara Hocking. The award was in recognition “of their long and determined battle to gain justice for their people” and the “work over many years to gain legal recognition for indigenous people's rights”.

THE DIFFERENTLY ABLED

“My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn't prevent you doing well, and don't regret the things it interferes with. Don't be disabled in spirit as well as physically.” - Stephen Hawking

The third of December is International Day of People with Disability, a United Nations sanctioned day that celebrates progress in breaking down barriers, opening doors, and realising an inclusive society for all. Disability organisations, businesses, governments and the community come together at events across the country to mark the occasion and celebrate the achievements of people with disability.

Each year the UN announces a theme. The theme for 2015 is: Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities. There are also three sub-themes this year:

Making cities inclusive and accessible for all;

Improving disability data and statistics;

Including persons with invisible disabilities in society and development.

The annual theme provides a frame for considering how people with disability are excluded from society by promoting the removal of all types of barriers; including those relating to the physical environment, information and communications technology (ICT), or attitudinal barriers. This has been occurring since 1992 when the General Assembly proclaimed December 3rd as the International Day of Disabled Persons.

Today, the world population is over 7 billion people. More than one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world's population, live with some form of disability. 80 per cent live in developing countries. Factors which place people with disabilities at higher risk of violence include stigma, discrimination, and ignorance about disability, as well as a lack of social support for those who care for them.

Additionally, the disabled face many barriers to inclusion in many key aspects of society. As a result, people with disabilities do not enjoy access to society on an equal basis with others, which includes areas of transportation, employment, and education as well as social and political participation. The right to participate in public life is essential to create stable democracies, active citizenship and reduce inequalities in society. By promoting empowerment, real opportunities for people are created. This enhances their own capacities and supports them in setting their own priorities.

Empowerment involves investing in people - in jobs, health, nutrition, education, and social protection. When people are empowered they are better prepared to take advantage of opportunities, they become agents of change and can more readily embrace their civic responsibilities.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS

“Innocence is always unsuspicious.” - Thomas C. Haliburton

At the weekend we watched a touching and poignant film, Mark Herman’s 2008 “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It is based on the novel by John Boyne and Mark Herman wrote the screenplay. It starred Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Jack Scanlon, Amber Beattie and Rupert Friend. The film is set during WWII in Germany and has Holocaust themes, which some people may find extremely and especially distressing.

The film examines themes from several perspectives and in the first half hour one is lost in the everyday existence of a German family living in Berlin and dealing with the war. The viewpoint is very much from young Bruno’s eyes – an eight-year-old German boy played wonderfully by Asa Butterfield. The filmmakers have done a very clever thing: The accents of the Germans are faultlessly English and one cannot fail to identify (initially at least) with the familiar family environment and the routines of a family coping with the antics of two children. The sympathies of the viewer need be won early in order to increase the force of the punch delivered later in the film.

The family must relocate to the countryside when Bruno’s father (David Thewlis) is promoted and is assigned to take command of a prison camp. His wife (Vera Farmiga) and their two children will of course accompany him to the camp, living some distance away in a mansion behind tall walls. Bruno is bored and as his sister Gretel (Amber Beattie) becomes involved in Nazi ideology, he has to find ways to amuse himself. He discovers a way of leaving the house and gaining access to the delights of the countryside, and soon comes across the “farm” (or so he thinks) where everyone wears striped pajamas. He befriends another child, named Shmuel (Jack Scanlon) who lives behind the electrified fence of the camp. Bruno will soon find out that he is not permitted to befriend his new acquaintance as he is a Jew, and that the neighbouring “farm” is actually a prison camp for Jews awaiting extermination…

The theme of the film is how two innocent 8-year-old boys are affected by evil, and man’s inhumanity to man. The loss of innocence is documented as the movie develops and the children’s characters build slowly to show basic human foibles, but also the grandeur of the human spirit. The mother of the family who has “anti-establishment” thoughts and comes into conflict with her husband shows us what conversations and moral quandaries must have been prevalent in (what one hopes) were more than a few German households during the war. The father’s mother (the children’s grandmother) is also another of these questioners of the regime and this causes more friction and an uneasy situation within the family.

The film is extremely well-crafted with wonderful performances by all the cast, authentic sets and locations, accurate period costumes and a wonderful musical score by James Horner. As the fine English production pays attention to detail, one can simply concentrate on plot, character development and the meaning of the film. It is very hard not to get emotional when watching it and the ending is quite devastating. We were touched and stunned by the film and recommend it highly.

WORLD AIDS DAY 2010

“I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample underfoot.” - Horace Greeley

It is World AIDS Day today so I hope you all wore your red ribbon on your lapel! The red ribbon is an international symbol of AIDS awareness that is worn by people all year round but especially so around World AIDS Day to demonstrate care and concern about HIV and AIDS, and to remind others of the need for their support and commitment.

The AIDS commemorative Day was started on 1st December 1988 and is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. This year the World AIDS Day theme is “Universal Access and Human Rights”. It is important to remember on this day that HIV has not disappeared, and that there are many things still to be done around the world, but more so in developing countries.

UNAIDS estimates that there are now 33.3 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2009 some 2.6 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 1.8 million people died from AIDS. Most of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower and middle-income countries.

The struggle for human rights is fundamental to combatting the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. Violations against human rights help the spread of HIV by putting marginalised groups (e.g. injecting drug users and sex workers), at a higher risk of HIV infection. By promoting individual human rights, new infections can be prevented and people who have HIV can live free from discrimination. World AIDS Day gives all of us (individuals, communities and political leaders) to take action and ensure that human rights are protected and global targets for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care are met.

As it is also Poetry Wednesday today, here is a poem about AIDS:

I Still
By Gene Valentine
July 2004

I still ...
miss you even if you don't miss me.
think of you even if you don't think of me.
wonder whether you were really my special friend or just
another man playing pretend?

I won't believe that it was a lie, that all the love,
passion, lust, tears,
laughter, & joy you gave me were untrue but where are you
now? I'm still here
waiting, wondering where you've been & do you still call
yourself my friend?

I still ...
question if you really cared when I became sick & if so,
why were we over so quick?
need you to hold me & tell me how you'll be there 'til
the end.
long to hear your voice again.

It's been 333 days & 999 pills. The virus is at bay now,
but like all enemies
I know that it's lurking in the shadows of my t-cells.
I wonder did this virus touch you too? & if so what will
you do?

Did the meds make you sick? Did you take as many pills as
I or was it 999x3?
I wonder did you sleep well or were you in my same hell?

I still ...
miss you even if you don't miss me.
think of you even if you don't think of me.
want you to be my friend even if you can't make love to me again.
I still... I still... I still...

VARIOUS FEARS

“Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them.” - Brendan Francis Behan

It is “Black Friday” today, a dismal day in many people’s books, but depending on one’s cultural background and superstitious nature, the day could be bad, good or indifferent. In Greek, Romanian, Spanish and Latin American culture it is Tuesday the 13th that is an ominous day, not Friday the 13th. Some people consider the number 13 as very lucky, rather than unlucky. The ancient Egyptians and the Chinese both considered 13 as a lucky number. Cultures with lunar calendars and 13 months don’t associate 13 with anything sinister. However, in the USA, in some buildings the 13th floor is apparently skipped, going from 12 to 14 and some hotels will not have a room 13! In some cities a 13th Avenue does not exist, once again 12th skipping to 14th Avenue. It was rumored in the 18th Century that thirteen people sitting down to a meal together presaged that one of them would die within the year, something which is still maintained by some.

This triskaidekaphobia (irrational fear of the number 13) and paraskevetriskaidekaphobia (irrational fear of Friday the 13th) is long entrenched in the Western, Christian tradition and is long associated with the 13 people attending the Last Supper, with Judas Iscariot being the unlucky 13th person. Another dinner with 13 unlucky guests was in Norse mythology, where Loki, the Norse god of evil, started a riot when he gate-crashed a banquet at Valhalla attended by 12 gods. Witches that clearly oppose themselves to a Christian superstition, have groups of 13 known as covens.

As well as Friday the 13th, today is also International Left Handers’ Day. This reminds me of another irrational fear – sinistrophobia (fear of left side, left handedness). It was established by UNESCO in 1984 at the initiative of the British Left-handers’ Club. Left-handers account between 7% and 10% of the world’s population. Many great people were left-handers, among them Alexander the Great, Aristotle, Cesar, Napoleon, Bismarck, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Einstein and Leo Tolstoy (However, some infamous people were also left-handers, e.g. Jack the Ripper!)

For many centuries left-handers have been thwarted, ostracised, constrained and forced to adapt to a right-handed world. Although nowadays most left-handers are not forced to use their right hand, they still have to cope with the inconvenience of using implements, tools, devices and accessories that are designed for right-handers. If a left-handed option is available it is usually more expensive and not readily available.

The third irrational fear I will refer to is xenositiophobia, quite apt for our Food Friday! Xenositiophobia is an irrational fear of foreign food… Fortunately in most Western countries, this is a fear that we see less of as we are exposed to a wide variety of foreign cuisines more and more frequently in the West. We are very fortunate here in Melbourne as we are extremely cosmopolitan and there hundreds if not thousands of restaurants that offer a variety of international cuisines at a standard that often exceeds that of many restaurants in their original countries!

WORLD AIDS DAY 2009

“It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance.” - Elizabeth Taylor

The World Health Organisation has declared December 1st as the World AIDS Day. This year it is perhaps appropriate to spend some time bringing the disease to the forefront as worldwide there has been an alarming jump in new infection rates in the past few years. In Australia, there has been a 40% increase in infections since 2005. Last year, there were 995 new cases of HIV infection in Australia, which according to world standards may translate as a low rate, however, it represents an unacceptably high rate by Australian standards.

The reasons given for this increase in new infections is that there is a lack of publicity campaigns about the disease and its consequences, similar to the ones that were initially launched when AIDS first appeared. The younger generation are inadequately educated about the disease and the message of “safer sex” is not getting through to the Y generation. Better treatments for the disease (at least in developed countries) have meant that the disease is not seen as the death sentence that is was in the past. The optimism and the feeling of invulnerability of the young coupled with non-awareness of what life-long treatment with a cocktail of drugs can mean, have led to irresponsible sexual activity and a high infection rate with the virus.

Increased tolerance to “alternative” lifestyles and increased acceptance of homosexuality have also been blamed for the resurgence of cases of AIDS. However, it is often the young, heterosexual and drug users who seem to be most at risk of infection. Educational programmes, public awareness campaigns, advertisements on TV, radio, newspapers and internet are the way that we can hope to spread the message about HIV and what a terrible price to pay for a “free lifestyle” AIDS is.

What is counterproductive and extremely dangerous is what has occurred in Uganda’s parliament today. A bill for introducing the death penalty for homosexuals was put before it today. The Anti-homosexuality Bill will not only apply to Ugandans who live in the country, but also to Ugandans living abroad who commit such offences, even if homosexuality is legal in the country of their residence. The law proposes death by hanging for serial offenders or those who commit same-sex acts while being HIV-positive. The law further proposes that “touching another person with intent to have homosexual relations” is punishable by a life sentence in gaol. And even more outrageous is the fact that membership of gay organisations, funding them, advocacy of gay rights, provision of condoms or safer sex advice to gays will result in a seven-year gaol term for promoting homosexuality…

Africa continues to have the biggest problem in the world in terms of HIV infection and AIDS. In some countries more than 60% of the population is HIV positive. It is those same countries that have no means of effectively fighting the infection, drugs being expensive or simply unavailable, with the disease spread by poor hygiene (especially in a health care setting where disposable, one-use medical equipment is serially re-used). Lack of knowledge about HIV or downright wrong and fanciful preventative and curative strategies (like the infection being cured if a man has sex with virgins) also continues to increase the prevalence of the infection. In many parts of Africa, anal sex in heterosexual couples is a routine birth control measure. Unprotected anal sex still continues to be the highest risk sexual activity in spreading the virus. Even with Uganda’s draconian legislation against homosexuals, the problem of AIDS will remain in the country, especially if safer sex practices and education about the disease is actively discouraged by the obscurantist government.

Perhaps the greatest victims of the disease are babies borne by HIV-positive mothers. In this case, the congenital AIDS that develops in about a third will lead to a short and painful existence for the majority of them if they are born in a developing country. The sight of congenital AIDS in an infant is one of the most heart-rending and pathetic one can witness. The plight of these young children is enough for everyone of us to be active in AIDS awareness and participation in community education programs. Safer sex practices is a given of course, as is the provision of good health services that promote safe, reliable medical treatment and good hygiene practices. The WHO and Doctors Without Borders do some excellent work in providing health care in developing countries. Many volunteers and missionaries who work with these organisations also do their bit to fight against AIDS.

World AIDS Day is a timely reminder to us about the devastating effects of this disease on any person’s life. The virus causing AIDS, HIV, does not discriminate. Any person may be infected and the statistics are sobering. It does not matter if one is heterosexual or homosexual, male, female or transgender, young or old. What matters is being aware of the risks that one takes if engaging in unsafe sex practices (especially if one has many partners), the risks of sharing syringes when using drugs, unsafe medical practices, unsafe body piercing and tattooing practices, and of course, knowing the risks of having a baby if female and HIV-positive.

LEFT HANDERS' DAY

“I’m right-handed, whereas the fellow in my mirror is left-handed. I start shaving from the left; he starts from the right. Differences only in perception, but religious wars have been fought over such.” - Robert Brault

Today is International Left Handers’ Day! On the 13th of August 1992 the International Left Handers’ Club launched International Left-Handers Day, as an annual event that allows left-handers everywhere to celebrate their sinistrality and increase public awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed. This event is now celebrated worldwide, with many regional events to mark the day, including left-vs-right sports matches, left-handed tea parties, pubs that use left-handed corkscrews where patrons drink and play pub games with the left hand only, and nationwide "Lefty Zones" where left-handers’ creativity, adaptability and sporting prowess are celebrated, whilst right-handers are encouraged to try out everyday left-handed objects to see just how awkward it can feel using the wrong equipment!

These events have contributed more than anything else to the general awareness of the difficulties and frustrations left-handers experience in everyday life, and have successfully led to improved product design and greater consideration of our needs by the right-handed majority, although there is still a long way to go! Our language is a prime example of the prejudice that left-handers have had to deal with since the dawn of history. Left-handers have been linguistically abused for centuries! There are hundreds of (mainly abusive) terms for left-handers. There are a lot of phrases and sayings where “right” is good and “left” is bad eg, “being in your right mind”, it will be “all right in the end”, being “dexterous”, as against having “two left-feet”, “a left-handed compliment” (one that is not really meant!), a “sinister” purpose, being “gauche”, etc.

Here is an interesting test from the Club’s pages:

We all, of course, know in which hand we hold a pen, but how far does this bias extend throughout your body? Are you left-eared? Left eyed? Here is a simple test you can apply to yourself.

1. Imagine the centre of your back is itching. Which hand do you scratch it with?

2. Interlock your fingers. Which thumb is uppermost?

3. Imagine you are applauding. Start clapping your hands. Which hand is uppermost?

4. Wink at an imaginary friend straight in front of you. Which eye does the winking?

5. Put your hands behind your back, one holding the other. Which hand is doing the holding?

6. Someone in front of you is shouting but you cannot hear the words. Cup your ear to hear better. Which ear do you cup?

7. Count to three on your fingers, using the forefinger of the other hand. Which forefinger do you use?

8. Tilt your head over on to one shoulder. Which shoulder does it touch?

9. Fixate a small distant object with your eyes and point directly at it with your forefinger. Now close one eye. Now change eyes. Which eye was open when the fingertip remained in line with the small object? (When the other eye, the non-dominant one, is open and the dominant eye is closed, the finger will appear to move to one side of the object.)

10. Fold your arms. Which forearm is uppermost?

If you have always considered yourself to be right or left-handed you will probably now have discovered that your body is less than total in its devotion to its favoured side. If you are right-handed the chances are that you were not able to be 'right' 10 times.

Are you left handed or right-handed? Maybe you are ambidextrous? Tell us about it!