Letters For Ranjini
A pregnant mother of 2, imprisoned indefinitely in Australia’s immigration detention system.
“Ranjini was found to be a genuine refugee before ASIO decided last week she is a security risk for Australia. But the government won’t tell her why, and now she’s facing a life in detention.”
Ranjini
As a result, she has been separated from her husband and locked up in the Villawood detention centre with her children. Current law says that she has no right to be told why she is considered a threat, making it nearly impossible for her lawyers to mount a defence. Ranjini faces indefinite detention at the hands of the Australian government.
This page was built to send letters of support to Ranjini, and to demonstrate that Australian citizens do not support anyone being locked up indefinitely without ever having committed a crime.
Please visit - www.lettersforranjini.com for more information and www.julianburnside.com.au/detained.htm for a legal explanation.
Follow - @Ranjiniletters
#FreeRanjini
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She Can’t Help Being Deadly…
… She was born that way!
It comes as no surprise that Andrew Bolt has found himself involved in yet another controversy surrounding race. We all know Bolt lost a high profile case and like the guy who doesn’t accept the umpires decision in a game of street cricket he’s taking his bat and ball and going home. But first he is going to throw around a few names and smash some bins as he marches off down the street.
But Bolt doesn’t simply play with a bat and ball, he plays with peoples lives, with the identity of an entire race and as the most read journalist in Australia, with how we shape public discussion on such issues for generations to come. Bolt and his supporters would have you believe that he lost a free speech case and that he has been silenced. This is a lie!
He breached the Racial Discrimination Act and returned to work as Australia’s most read columnist & blogger who also has a TV show and a radio program. Silenced? And how much did the applicants ask for in damages, landmark case like that would have to get you a few million each surely? Not a cent! No victims here, just folk wanting the record set straight and for Bolt to tell the truth and not abuse them racially. This does not seem like too much to ask, In fact as someone who knows a thing or two about handling high profile court cases I would say the nine individuals who took the case against Bolt are brave for what they did. Brave because going through any legal battle is awful, especially one where you have been wronged and it is played out in the media.
Six months later and we arrive back at the present time and Bolt having come to terms with his error has had the chance to meet with Indigenous leaders, think about the importance of his own Dutch culture to him and apologise to each and all…
Or that is what would have happened if he was indeed sorry, a decent individual or employed by a media company that respected the law. One of the applicants to the case, Dr Anita Heiss, has written a new booked entitled Am I Black Enough For You? and Bolt & co. are fuming. From reading his column and their ranting it seems they don’t believe Dr Heiss should have written the book, it shouldn’t have been published and she shouldn’t be speaking about the case or her identity.
In short, they want Dr Heiss silenced, they don’t believe in free speech and so they’ve taken to Amazon to ridicule a book they haven’t read. All at the direction of Bolt, who in his Column (most read in Australia) spoke about the book and Dr Heiss.
Hold on a moment, who’s free speech is being attacked here?
Let’s get some fact straight. Dr Anita Heiss is an author of considerable standing in Australia. She has been a prolific writer for two decades with successful works across a wide range of genres. A director of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and an author who gives back to the entire community through her promotion of literature and the craft, literacy for all Australian’s and encouraging and assisting up and coming writers with their work. Having been seriously misrepresented by Bolt, something a judge found also breached the Racial Discrimination Act it is only a very nasty individual who would seek to deny her the right of reply.
But to suggest that this is all her new book is about is an insult to Dr Heiss and an insult to anyone who cares about true harmony and understanding in the Australian community. The book is about a woman who comes from the oldest living culture in the world but lives in one of the most cosmopolitan cities on the planet. The story of a woman of colour who has become a leader in her field when very few existed and what it is like to be a high profile Aboriginal Woman in a ground breaking legal case.
What Heiss shows us with her book is that your identity is not one that can be written on an ID card, it is not something determined by where you live and despite any obstacles laid in her way she is not a victim but a success and an example to all of us.
Make no mistake, history will judge this period of time in our Nation. It will judge the fact that Indigenous Australian’s still face a 20 year gap in life expectancy compared to their non-Indigenous brothers and sisters. It will judge how a Government sent the army into communities that needed nurses and teachers and it will judge how a few white men in the media tried to tell the oldest living culture on earth how they should determine their identity.
And then History will turn the page on Am I Black Enough For You? And see Dr Anita Heiss, a writer, an activist, a teacher and a leader who stood up so that future generations can live out their identity as they see fit, not have it questioned or belittled.
Dr Anita Heiss is a proud woman of the Wiradjuri nation, an incredible writer and she is more than Black enough! Andrew Bolt is a convicted racist, one found to be a terrible journalist who relies heavily on google for his research and a man who has contributed nothing to the positive growth of our country. It is only because Bolt lost in court to Heiss that their names ever need be mentioned in the same breath. And with her new book and dignified response to Bolt’s continued attacks she is winning again!
Buy the book here:- http://www.amazon.com/Black-Enough-For-You-ebook/dp/B007C6VAK4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334049266&sr=8-1
The Mist and the Mystical
Kerry van der Jagt escapes to mother mountain to contemplate life and some of its lessons.
I’m standing in a clearing at the top of Mount Gulaga, eyes closed, as Aboriginal guide Lynne Thomas ties a piece of red twine around my forehead. Next she applies a daub of white ochre to my left temple and says: “This will help you see clearly.” I open my eyes to find the world awash with a soft light. “And this is to help you listen,” she says, applying a daub to my right temple. My mind now focused, the forest orchestra comes to life. Bellbirds and frogs erupt into song, their lusty calls contrasting with the murmur of the forest breathing all around me.
“This is to open your heart,” she says, applying a dot to my third eye, in the middle of my forehead. My heart is still hammering from the three-hour climb but under her touch it begins to settle. It’s been hammering erratically for a while now, after a tough couple of months of family health issues. And that’s why I’m here with a group of my closest female friends: to climb the mountain the local Yuin people call the “mother mountain”, a spiritual place of rebirth and healing. All is well now but I’ve been left with an instinctive desire to reorient myself with the earth.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from,” Thomas says. “We are all connected to the earth.” Finally, she places a daub on my chin. “Only once you’ve looked and listened and opened your heart should you begin to speak.”
One by one she performs the ceremony on each of us, before leading the way through a gap in the white ash trees as Aboriginal elder Vivienne Mason claps us in with her music sticks. In true Picnic at Hanging Rock style we are engulfed by a swirling mist as we step across the threshold and enter a world of soaring granite tors and animal-shaped boulders. When I look back I can’t see where I’ve come from.
Focus ... Aboriginal guide Lynne Thomas daubs ochre on a hiker's forehead. Photo: Kerry van der Jagt
I first dreamt up this escapade 12 months earlier when I was on Montague Island volunteering on a Seabird Habitat Restoration Project organised by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). While pulling weeds, I noticed a pool of fresh water. “That water is from the tears from Mount Gulaga,” said the national parks guide, pointing to the mountain on the mainland.
Like a bowerbird, I grabbed that shiny bit of information and held it for another day. A year later I’m back.
It’s a fine spring morning when we set off for the 370-kilometre drive from Sydney to Mount Gulaga, near Narooma on the far south coast of NSW. With plenty of time for detours and distractions, we stop at Tuross Boatshed for fish and chips, Tilba Valley Wines for a case of shiraz, Central Tilba for cheese and, finally, Lyrebird Lodge, our home for the next two nights.
Early the next day we drive to Tilba Tilba to meet NPWS guide Kathryn Brown and Thomas. Protected as a national park since 2001, Mount Gulaga was handed back to its traditional Aboriginal owners in 2006. Today, it is jointly managed by NPWS and the Gulaga Board of Management, which consists of a majority of Yuin Aboriginal owners.
Over the course of the day, Brown and Thomas demonstrate the benefits of this dual partnership: Brown with her scientific knowledge and ability to recognise a stuttering frog or a barking owl at 10 paces; and Thomas, the custodian of so much local knowledge.
It’s getting warm but a 15-minute walk along a farm track brings us to a dappled path in a lush and shady forest. With Thomas leading the way, we are soon engulfed by dense foliage, the trail leading us through bracken-covered gullies and stands of monkey gums.
In time we spread out, the girly giggles of the previous evening replaced by the need for quiet reflection. At this point we are oblivious to the precious gifts that lie ahead: friendships strengthened, priorities redefined, wisdom gained. Later, my friend Narelle tells me: “Learning about the Yuin rituals and beliefs has given me a valuable insight into the various stages of life we all pass through.”
When we stop on a plateau to enjoy the coastal view, Thomas tells us about the Dreaming story of Mount Gulaga. Many thousands of years ago, Gulaga gave birth to two sons, Baranguba and Najanuga. Once Baranguba was old enough, he asked his mother if he could live in the ocean with the whales and dolphins. Gulaga agreed, so the young son swam out and turned into Montague Island. Her youngest son, who wanted to do the same but couldn’t swim, was instructed to stay close and sit at her feet, eventually becoming the smaller mountain, known as Little Dromedary.
Legend has it that Baranguba (Montague Island) is still joined to Gulaga by an umbilical cord that runs under the sea. Brown reminds us this isn’t as fanciful as it sounds, since Mount Gulaga is an ancient volcano with underground lava tubes. Thomas adds another layer to the story by telling us you can hear dolphins from the top of the mountain. “When I was a little girl, my father taught me to put my ear against holes in the rocks and to listen to the dolphins calling.”
We continue on our way, passing the “grave of the unknown Chinaman”, a legacy to the gold rush days and a reminder of the destruction the mining and forestry industries once brought to the mountain. As I climb higher, the magnetic pull of Gulaga becomes stronger, uplifting and energising me, until finally we reach the saddle where we are welcomed by Mason.
For years Yuin elders have been sharing their stories with visitors, teaching them how to respect the land. Tours were organised through word-of-mouth or the NPWS but with the development of a new draft management plan, the Gulaga Board of Management plan to endorse a range of cultural tours in the near future. In the meantime, all visitors are welcome to climb Mount Gulaga but the elders ask that you stay on the track as some places should not be visited without a Yuin custodian.
After the ochre ceremony, Thomas leads us into the sacred tors where we are quickly engulfed by a mist the Yuin people call a “possum cloak”. The first rock we stop at is the “fertility” or “energising” rock. At Thomas’s invitation, we kneel quietly and meditate before placing our hands on its well-worn surface. “Take your time and breathe it all in,” she says. The pungent aroma of the soil blends easily with the sharp scent of lemon and eucalyptus.
As we continue, she talks about her father, “Guboo” Ted Thomas, a tribal elder and spiritual leader who often called the rocks their “cathedral”.
“This is where I reconnect and feel the spirit of my ancestors,” Thomas says, leading us to a gigantic, three-tiered tor. She explains that the bottom rock represents the past, the middle rock the present and the top one the future. “Everything is connected and is here for a reason.”
She singles out details in the swirling blur of rocks and trees: a giant snake, a breaching whale and a maze where the spirit children play. Eventually, Thomas leads us to a dome-capped rock where she tells us it’s time to use our third eye.
By staring until my eyes water, the picture sharpens, like a magic-eye image, to reveal a woman giving birth; an angelic face with closed eyes, upturned nose and a little chin peeks out between a hefty pair of thighs. “Men can only see a mushroom,” Thomas says with a grin.
While other cultures talk about the birds and the bees, the Yuin people have long brought their boys and girls to the mountain for intimate lessons on life, love and loyalty. If there is a more perfect place to contemplate such wonders, I am yet to find it.
Thomas invites us to add a small rock to an ever-growing circle of rocks. “Gulaga will call you back,” she says. “You are now connected to her forever.”
This piece was first published by SMH.com.au
The Most Humble Champion on the Planet – Daniel Geale
I first met Tasmanian born Indigenous boxer Daniel Geale at a small amateur fight show in Canberra. While he was the star attraction of the night, pausing endless times from his meal to sign autographs in the ten minutes he had to squeeze in a bite to eat, he never failed to smile. But unlike many other elite sportsman who turn up to smaller events to ensure they are seen, Geale was there for the sport. He was cornering (Coaching) young kids, some in their first fight. Some would win, some would lose, but all there that night benefited from having the IBF Middleweight Champion of the World there to share some advice, take a photo and remind all that the very best never forget where they come from.
In 2002 Geale won the Gold medal at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in the welterweight division. Since then he has had a remarkable professional career winning the OPBP & IBF Pan Pacific titles and the IBO & IBF Middleweight titles. Unlike some of his contemporaries Geale never dodges a fight, always gives back to the fans and in what can be a controversial sport is nothing but a gentleman. Now one more time on home shores before a switch to the bright lights of Las Vegas Geale will put his belt on the line in front of his home crowd.
“Grange Global Promotions in conjunction with Main Event Television and Gary Shaw Productions present a feast of world class boxing Wednesday, March 7th 2012 at the Derwent Entertainment Centre, Hobart, Tasmania.
In his last bout on home soil before heading abroad, International Boxing Federation world Middleweight champion Daniel “The Real Deal” Geale faces his toughest test to date when he defends his crown against the number one contender Osumanu Adama of the United States.
The champion wants another taste of hometown support after the roaring atmosphere generated by the D.E.C.s capacity crowd during his 1st defence was compared by heavyweight U.S. promoter, Gary Shaw, to that of a Las Vegas super fight.”
With a quality undercard commencing at 6.00pm, get in early for your tickets to this must-see world title showdown, on sale as of 9.00 am Monday 23st January 2012 starting at $45 through Ticketmaster.com, by calling 136 100 or attending the D.E.C. in person. MAIN EVENT will also broadcast every minute of the entire card live and exclusive to FOXTEL, Austar and Optus terrestrial subscribers as well as to selected FOX SPORTS pubs and clubs.
HauieTV Webisode I: Hilltop Hoods
Hauie TV
Here, Hauie catches up with Australia’s biggest hip hop outfit, HILLTOP HOODS. They are about to release their sixth studio album, ‘Drinking From the Sun’ on March 9.
HAUIE TV is an on-line show that celebrates and focusses on the hip hop culture in Australia and overseas through interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and rhymes. Hosted by Hau – an MC, a radio presenter, a husband, a father, and a lover of all things beats, rhymes and life.
Find more at:
Website: http://www.hauietv.com
Twitter: @hauiebeast http://www.twitter.com/hauiebeast
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hau.latukefu
Follow The Sun – Xavier Rudd
‘Follow The Sun’ is the first offering from Xavier Rudd since his 2010 release ‘Koonyum Sun’.
The clip was filmed on location at Stradbroke Island, Queensland Australia.
Full respect to the country & community of Minjerribah, North Stradbroke Island. Special thanks to the Yulu Burri Ba Dancers and everyone involved!
More info at www.xavierrudd.com
Greens Select Indigenous Candidate for Inala – #QldPol
Michael Quall is the 2012 Queensland Greens Candidate for the Queensland Electoral District of Inala.
Born in the Queensland regional centre of Toowoomba, Michael has lived in the western Brisbane Suburb of Forest Lake since 2005.
Married 15 years, with 8 children, Michael is a family oriented man, and a former bureaucrat turned community sector manager with an extensive background in social policy and community management. He has worked for the federal, ACT & Queensland public sectors, after commencing a distinguished career at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra in 1993.
Greens Candidate for Inala - Michael Quall
Michael has lived in the ACT, Western Australia’s magnificent East Kimberley region, the Northern Territory and is now back home in Queensland where his eldest son has this year commenced studies at the University of Southern Queensland in Springfield.
Michael has served as the CEO of Aboriginal corporations in Western Australia and Queensland, and has sat on the boards of several NGOs in both Canberra and Brisbane, including Volunteering Queensland and the Youth Coalition of the ACT which he chaired. Michael has also chaired two Ministerial Councils reporting to the ACT Government.
With a career-long passion for politics and a long history of activism in areas as diverse as multiculturalism, Indigenous affairs, disability reform, mental health welfare, employment and community development, and volunteerism, Michael has a wealth of experience to offer the District of Inala.
As well as his work domestically, Michael’s career has also seen him travel overseas – to Canada, where he addressed school groups and other young people on his experiences as an Aboriginal young person growing up in Australia; Germany, where he contributed important debate to a delegation of young people attending the World Conference Against Racism in 2000; and Japan, where he gave a keynote address to the World Youth Volunteering Summit during the International Year of Volunteers. Michael is also a former Young Canberra Citizen of the Year, ACT NAIDOC Young Aboriginal Person of the Year, and a recipient of the Centenary Medal.
Michael’s lifelong passion has always been, and remains, social justice and human rights.
A man dedicated to family, community and social justice.
At the forefront of Australia’s Reconciliation and anti-racism movements for many years, Michael knows it is time to step up and make a significant contribution to politics in his home state of Queensland. A former ALP member, he now passionately believes in the message of the Australian Greens, and strives in his own life, and to encourage others around him, to live the ideals of a compassionate, caring, and sustainable existence.
On his father’s side, Michael is a descendant of the Larrakia people, traditional owners of the region around Darwin, in the Northern Territory. His mother’s family are several generations of regional Queenslanders – former naval sea men and women; pig, cattle and cotton farmers; publicans; mining and transport workers; sunshine coast retirees.
For more information:- https://www.facebook.com/inala.greens.2012?sk=info
And follow him on Twitter:- @InalaGreens2012 or email:- inala@qld.greens.org.au
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Hauie TV (Aussie Hip Hop)
Hauie TV http://www.hauietv.com
An on-line show that celebrates and focusses on the hip hop culture in Australia and overseas through interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and rhymes. Hosted by Hau – an MC, a radio presenter, a husband, a father, and a lover of all things beats, rhymes and life.
This is the jump off. First episode dropping in March!
Website: http://www.hauietv.com
Twitter: @hauiebeast http://www.twitter.com/hauiebeast
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hau.latukefu
Instagram: @hauiebeast
The ‘Stolen Generations’ Testimonies
The ‘Stolen Generations’ Testimonies’ project is an initiative to record on film the personal testimonies of Australia’s Stolen Generations Survivors and share them online.
The Stolen Generations’ Testimonies Foundation hopes the online museum will become a national treasure and a unique and sacred keeping place for Stolen Generations’ Survivors’ Testimonies. By allowing Australians to listen to the Survivors’ stories with open hearts and without judgement, the foundation hopes more people will be engaged in the healing process.
In 2009 more than thirty Stolen Generations’ Survivors shared their stories, their memories and themselves in the first round of interviews for the ‘Stolen Generations’ Testimonies Foundation’. These are their testimonies. Thank you to those Survivors for their generosity of spirit in sharing their testimonies with us.
Watch the testimonies here:-http://stolengenerationstestimonies.com
The Greatest Fighter on the Planet Learns Some New (Old) Tricks
Deep in the North of Brazil along the Xingu river, a tributary of the mighty Amazon, live the Kamayurá an Indigenous tribe of the Amazonian Basin.
Like so many Indigenous peoples around the world they had been nearly wiped out after their lands had been “discovered”. A measles epidemic brought to their area by a rapidly expanding Brazilian population reduced their numbers in the 1950′s to just 94 people. But like many Indigenous peoples around the world they are showing while they may have had their backs against the wall, they will always fight back and their population has doubled in just the last 8 years to be now 600 strong.
A fighting spirit is something deeply connected to who they are and they have practiced the ancient art of Uka Uka (traditional wrestling) for longer than modern history can recall. So when UFC Middleweight Champion and undisputed P4P king of Mixed Martial Arts Andreson “The Spider” Silva had a opporunity to visit his countrymen and learn an art form he jumped at the chance.
Silva a man to hold both the longest winning streak in UFC history and the record for the most title defenses has been described by many as ”the greatest mixed martial artist ever.” Most agree that a fighter like Bruce Lee or a Boxer like Ali would not last 30 seconds against the Spider. But the ever humble Silva always has his mind open to new things. Not content with being a Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Black belt in Judo, Black belt in Taekwondo, Black belt in Muay Thai,
Yellow rope in Capoeira and training boxing with Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach he ventured into the Jungle of his home land to learn Uka Uka from the Indigenous Kamayurá people.
As he says, to be the best the mind must always be open to new things, new experiences and sometimes the best new thing is something that has been around for centuries. So is this not yet another example of what we as greater Australia are missing out on? Imagine how many thousands of old tricks we could be taught by the Indigenous peoples of Australia if we had the same humble heart and open mind as the greatest fighter on the planet!
Translations -
Pressman: “The celebration at the Kamayurá’s Tribe is for receive a warrior. Anderson Silva got out of the Octagon and went to the north of the Xingu River, at (Brazilian State) Mato Grosso, to exchange experience with Indian. Experts in Uka-Uka, a kind of wrestling, practiced by the tribes of the region.”
Spider: “The mind is like a parachute, always open.”
Pressman: “With an open mind, the philosopher Anderson Silva heard the stories of Indians. The tradition of the indigenous fight is millennial and was adapting over time. All very different from the glamor of the UFC. In the UFC, Anderson Silva has been making history. At the Kamayurá’s Tribe, simplicity and dedication, which begins at the 13 years old.”
Indian: “We spent two and a half years in commitment, preparing to be a fighter, scraping the skin and passing roots.”
Pressman: “Anderson didn’t have to do this, but here is a tradition that no Uka-Uka warrior can escape, have to turn a beast.”
Indian: “We’re painting him as one ounce.”
Pressman: “He didn’t convince like a ounce. He will try to convince us fighting. Take the kids out of the room and register that historical moment. What was seen is unbelievable. Anderson Silva was neutralized, was knocked out. And only after being “beaten”, he began to learn the technique. So, Anderson Silva has returned to be Anderson Silva.”
Spider: “It’s different the way they fight. The techniques used are very strong. As my current coach says, the mind is like a parachute, always open.”
Pressman: “Was late for the philosopher to speak again. And there are more “open minds” in the Tribe. And Anderson became a coach.”
Indian: “I liked that stroke.”
Spider: “What stroke? I’ll teach you.” (Anderson teaches some moves to the Indian)
Pressman: “In the end, a great celebration to thank the visit of a great idol of the world, and the union of MMA with Uka-Uka. Everyone won. And, of course, was a lesson, the mind always open!”
