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Remembering 60 years of NAIDOC

It’s amazing to think that something that started as a human rights movement in the early 1900s to highlight the treatment of Aboriginal people has turned into one of the busiest and most cherished weeks for the Australian community. Indigenous Rights Manager Tammy Solonec explains this year’s theme, the history and provides information on events to attend.

NAIDOC, as it’s now known, stands for National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee. The Committee has been in operation since 1957, this year celebrating its 60^th anniversary. Today, NAIDOC Week is a national cultural festival that celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures and communities, but it is still firmly entrenched in the plight for justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. NAIDOC Week runs annually in the first full week of July, this year commencing on Sunday 2 July.

2017 NAIDOC Theme

The 2017 NAIDOC theme is ‘Our Languages Matter’, which aims to emphasise the unique and essential role that Indigenous languages play in cultural identity, linking people to their land and water and in the transmission of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, spirituality and rites, through story and song.

Prior to colonisation there were about 250 distinct Indigenous language groups, all of which would have had several dialects. Today, only around 120 languages are still spoken and many are a risk of being lost.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait languages are not just a means of communication, they express knowledge about everything: law, geography, history, family and human relationships, philosophy, religion, anatomy, childcare, health, caring for country, astronomy, biology and food.

“Each language is associated with an area of land and has a deep spiritual significance and it is through their own languages, that Indigenous nations maintain their connection with their ancestors, land and law,” said Anne Martin, Co-Chair of the National NAIDOC Committee.

NAIDOC History

NAIDOC stems from a human rights movement for Aboriginal peoples, though its roots can be traced back to the 1920s and the 1938 Day of Mourning march and conference in Sydney, demanding better conditions for Aboriginal people. This was one of the first major civil rights gatherings in the world and became a regular event between 1940 and 1955 on the Sunday before Australia day and was known as Aborigines Day.

In 1957, State and Federal Governments as well as Aboriginal organisations and church groups all collaboratively supported the formation of the National Aboriginal Day Observance Committee (NADOC) and decided to move ‘Aborigines Day’ to the second Sunday in July.

In 1972, control of NADOC was given to the newly established Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and in 1974, the Committee had full Aboriginal representation for the first time. That Committee then decided in 1975 to extend the celebrations to a whole week, to cover the first full week of July. In 1984, NADOC asked that National Aborigines Day be made into a public holiday, but the call went unanswered.

In 1991, in recognition of the diversity of Aboriginal communities and especially Torres Strait Islanders, NADOC became NAIDOC with the inclusion of the words “and Islander”, represented by the “I”.

In the mid 1990’s, control of NAIDOC was transferred to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and throughout that time was slowly downgraded. Then, in 2006, when ATSIC was disbanded, funding and coordination was drastically cut.

Since 2006, Aboriginal communities around Australia have been picking up the pieces. Now all major cities of Australia celebrate NAIDOC which is funded and resourced by a variety of federal, state, territory and local Government agencies, as well Aboriginal organisations growing numbers of corporate bodies and not-for-profit organisations.

Because of the uncoordinated approach to NAIDOC, there is a large divergence in how it is celebrated. There are flag raising ceremonies, opening ceremonies, balls, awards, art and film exhibitions, family fun days, music gigs, sporting carnivals, book launches, fashion parades, races and more. Most events will have a Welcome to Country and speeches by Aboriginal Elders and leaders. There are some major events, such as the Musgrave Family Fun Day in Brisbane and the Town of Bassendean NAIDOC Day in Perth, which both attract thousands of people annually.

Events Near You

NAIDOC Week is not just for the Aboriginal community, it is a celebration for all Australians and in the spirit of reconciliation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people invite Australians and international visitors of all backgrounds to attend events and join the celebrations. To see what events are happening in your local community, check out the list of events from the National NAIDOC website and have a very happy NAIDOC Week.

Myanmar: Release journalists immediately

The Myanmar authorities must immediately release three journalists, who were detained while carrying out their work in conflict-afflicted northern Shan State, Amnesty International said today.

Aye Nai and Pyae Phone Naing, both reporters for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and Thein Zaw (aka Lawi Weng), a reporter for the Irrawaddy newspaper, were arrested along with four other people they were travelling with. At present there is no information as to the identities of the four other detainees.

“These journalists must be immediately and unconditionally released, and allowed to resume their work freely and without fear. Their arrests send a chilling message to Myanmar’s already embattled media,” said James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Amnesty International has learned that the group was arrested by soldiers at a military checkpoint at Payargyi village, in northern Shan State’s Namhsantownship, at approximately 3:30pm local time yesterday. The journalists were in the area to report on a drug burning ceremony to mark yesterday’s International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

A statement posted on Facebook, by the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, says the group was arrested for being in contact with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

The TNLA is one of several ethnic armed groups currently locked in a conflict with the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military forces, in northern Myanmar.

The statement threatened to take action against the group “according to the law”. There are fears that the seven people arrested may be charged with the vague and repressive Unlawful Associations Act, often used to arbitrarily arrest and detain people in ethnic and conflict affected areas, both predominantly along Myanmar’s borders.

The space for journalists to do their critically important work is under threat as the authorities continue to invoke a slew of draconian laws to silence, arrest and imprison them and restrict access to areas where the military operates.

The space for journalists to do their critically important work is under threat as the authorities continue to invoke a slew of draconian laws to silence, arrest and imprison them and restrict access to areas where the military operates.

“These arrests are a crude attempt to intimidate journalists by a military that cannot seem to abide even the faintest criticism. Fearful of any scrutiny of its role in northern Myanmar, where they stand accused of war crimes, the army is doing its best to stop journalists and other observers from accessing these areas,” said James Gomez.

Background

In a report released earlier this month, Amnesty International documented how civilians from minority ethnic groups in Kachin and northern Shan States are suffering appalling abuses, including possible war crimes, at the hands of the Tatmadaw.

“All the Civilian Suffer”: Conflict, Displacement and Abuse in Northern Myanmar details how soldiers from Myanmar’s Armed Forces have carried out torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, indiscriminate shelling of civilian villages, and put punitive restrictions on movement and humanitarian access.

Amnesty International also documented human rights abuses carried out by ethnic armed groups operating in the area, including the TNLA, such as abductions, forced recruitment and forced taxation of civilians.

The United Nations Human Rights Council established an international Fact Finding Mission to investigate abuses in Myanmar with a focus on Rakhine State.

“Australia, as one of the 11 donors of the Joint Peace Fund and one of the main donors to the Peace Support Fund, should call on the UN Fact Finding Mission to expand its investigation to human rights violations and abuses in Kachin and northern Shan State,” said Amnesty International Australia’s Crisis Campaigns Co-ordinator Diana Sayed.

“The Australian Government should also call on the Myanmar Government and military to immediately end all restrictions on humanitarian access, including to areas outside government control; to end all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and to ensure accountability for past and ongoing violations; to ensure that, for any military-to-military engagement, recipient units and commanders are vetted for past involvement in human rights violations; to prioritise training around international humanitarian law norms, including distinction and proportionality, and to consider providing increased support to humanitarian organisations operating in Kachin and northern Shan States, including to address emergency needs in both government and non-government controlled areas; and to expand mine safety education and programming.”

Indigenous Issues Reporting entries open in our 2017 Media Awards

Entries are now open for the 2017 Indigenous Issues Reporting award, part of the annual Amnesty International Australia Media Awards.

This award celebrates insightful, excellent reporting on human rights issues that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

It recognises those journalists at media outlets large and small, across Australia, who shine a light on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues and amplify Indigenous voices.

The award has changed this year, to acknowledge single stories on Indigenous issues, as well as series of stories by those journalists who expose different facets of an issue over time.

Journalists are invited to enter items published or broadcast between 1 August 2016 and 1 August 2017. Entries close on Wednesday 2 August.

2017 Judges:

Three distinguished professionals from the industry will judge the Indigenous Reporting Category:

*Tanya Denning Orman, Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman from North Queensland, and Channel Manager at NITV.

*Daniel Browning, descendant of the Bundjalung and Kullilli peoples and presenter of Awaye! on ABC RN.

*Bernard Namok Jnr, Torres Strait Islander, son of the Late Bernard Namok Snr who designed the Torres Strait Flag, and senior broadcaster/trainer at TEABBA (Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association) .

Advisers for the 2017 Indigenous Issues Reporting Category:

*Michelle Aleksandrovics Lovegrove, Ngarrindjeri woman, Senior Communications Officer at NSW Aboriginal Land Council, and former journalist with SBS and NITV.

*Daniel Featherstone, General Manager of the Indigenous Remote Communications Association.

See here for this year’s ad, featuring some of last year’s finalists. To enter and for further information, including the entry criteria and process, visit st1.amnesty.org.au/mediaawards/. For any other queries, please email media.awards@amnesty.org.au.

USA: Amnesty International Files Freedom of Information Request on Muslim Ban Implementation

NEW YORK – Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing parts of President Trump’s Muslim ban to go into effect, Amnesty International USA this evening filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents showing how federal agencies are planning to implement the ban.

Amnesty International is asking the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to provide any information concerning the guidance provided to CBP agents at international airports regarding how arriving passengers will be processed. Agencies are legally obligated to respond to such requests in a timely fashion.

“The public needs to know exactly what agents in airports nationwide are being told to do, and we need to know now. This policy is cruel and discriminatory, and it could create havoc in airports in the U.S. and around the world,” said Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA executive director.

“Amnesty International has documented first-hand the horrific conditions that refugees are fleeing, and we’ve seen the turmoil President Trump’s orders created around the world earlier this year. We filed this request for documents because people need to know what to expect when they face immigration and law enforcement officials at U.S. borders.”

Fiji: Crack down on torture, not protests

Fiji’s authorities must immediately and unconditionally release a youth activist for protesting against torture in the Pacific island nation.

On the International Day for Victims of Torture yesterday, the Fijian authorities arrested Jope Koroisavou – a youth leader from the opposition Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) – for holding a solitary and peaceful protest, carrying signs bearing the names of Fijian victims of torture as he marched through the capital, Suva.

“Instead of cracking down on peaceful protest, the Fijian authorities should be cracking down on torture. On a day when the world is remembering the victims of torture, the Fijian authorities are arresting people for carrying a sign with their names.”

James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“Instead of cracking down on peaceful protest, the Fijian authorities should be cracking down on torture. On a day when the world is remembering the victims of torture, the Fijian authorities are arresting people for carrying a sign with their names,” said James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“Jope Koroisavou was holding a brave and dignified protest. As his arrest shows, it is not easy to speak out against torture and other ill-treatment in Fiji. He must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

“Jope Koroisavou was holding a brave and dignified protest. As his arrest shows, it is not easy to speak out against torture and other ill-treatment in Fiji. He must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Jope Koroisavou was carrying signs bearing the names of Iowane Benedito, Tevita Malasebe, Josefa Balailoa, Nimilote Verebasaga and Sakiusa Rabaka – all victims of torture and other ill-treatment at the hands of the Fijian security forces.

The torture victims mentioned by Koroisavou were detailed in an Amnesty International report Beating Justice: How Fiji’s security forces get away with torture, a report describing obstacles to accountability for torture and other ill-treatment, including constitutional immunities and a lack of political will to effectively investigate cases.

“Fiji’s government prides itself on having ratified the UN Convention Against Torture, but it is has failed to bring legislation in line with international standards, revoke immunities for security forces, and clear away obstacles to accountability,” said James Gomez.

Background

Iowane Benedito’s torture was recorded on a phone and posted on YouTube in February 2013. The investigation into the torture he endured was closed but later reopened by former Police Commissioner Ben Groenewald. Groenewald resigned as Police Commissioner after his officers were prevented from arresting a military officer involved in his torture. While his alleged perpetrators have now been charged, they are yet to face trial with the matter next listed in November 2017.

Malasebe, Balailoa, Verebasaga and Rabaka all died between 2007 and 2008 after suffering horrific injuries arising from torture at the hands of the security forces.

Bosnian Halva with Sanja

Community Kouzina brings us powerful stories from people with refugee backgrounds, of new beginnings and maintaining strong cultural ties through cooking.

“Before the war, Mum had the most amazing cookbooks. When we left, a neighbour actually broke into our house to take her recipe books and keep them safe. Everyone knew how amazing they were and that she had the best recipes”.

Holding a small, spiralled notebook first dated in 1992, Sanja turns the yellowed handwritten pages of her mother’s recipe book, initially in Bosnian, followed by German and finally English. Like entries in a culinary passport, each page, language and recipe simultaneously reveal the journey of Sanja’s family; escaping war, refugees living an uncertain future, and finally, permanent residents in Australia.

Sanja sits at a kitchen table, smiling — © Eleni Christou/Community Kouzina

Sanja was born in 1985 in Sarajevo, located in the former Yugoslavia . “For me, a simple question like where are you from tends to be quite complicated. Or any form that asks where you are born, it is kind of hard because the country I was born in no longer exists”.

Born to a Muslim mother and a Serb Orthodox father, Sanja grew up embracing the traditions of both religions, without identifying herself as one or the other. During her early life, Bosnia was religiously and culturally mixed and interfaith marriages were neither uncommon nor contentious. In 1991, the year her sister was born, Sanja recalls the atmosphere changing; a civil war was forming, tensions were approaching her hometown, neighbours were turning against each other and religion was increasingly becoming a catalyst for division.

“We stopped staying at our house…”

“We stopped staying at our house and started staying at my aunt’s house. And then slowly we started sleeping in tracksuit pants, ready to go… We had to prepare the cellar, the basement, just in case there was anything we needed to hide. And then we started to sleep in the corridors of the house, as opposed to rooms with windows. It was a slow progression to the point that we were sleeping in the cellar.

One night there were massive bombings, there was gunfire, grenades. There was my mum, dad and my sister, my aunt and her two kids, my uncle and his mother, my uncle’s cousin and their son. There were mattresses everywhere and constant gunfire. My uncle would guard the door with a machine gun. He was the last resort. Luckily nothing happened. But the house was damaged from grenades and in all of this someone came in the house and robbed us”.

“Slowly we started sleeping in tracksuit pants, ready to go… We had to prepare the cellar, the basement, just in case there was anything we needed to hide”

Knowing their lives were at risk, particularly due their interfaith marriage, Sanja’s parents decided to leave Bosnia. “The war in our area was fought by the Bosnian Muslim army and the Bosnian Serb Orthodox army. We were in a situation where neither side would protect us. Because we didn’t fit in anywhere”.

Packing as many possessions possible into their little red car, Sanja, her mother, father and baby sister drove to a mountain area where her grandparents lived. Shortly after they left, a checkpoint was erected near her village. For the duration of the war, the checkpoint served to geographically and socially divide communities and families. Most of Sanja’s relatives were stuck on the other side.

After staying in the mountains for several weeks, Sanja’s family joined a convoy travelling to Serbia. Sanja’s mother tracked down a previous employer who booked the family into a hotel and purchased essential items for the family. Shortly after their arrival, word spread of refugee accommodation in a nearby army barracks. However, once they toured the accommodation, Sanja’s mother expressed caution, with its military infrastructure, the barracks could be easily transformed into a prison.

Word of mouth was integral

In the middle of the night, the family packed again into the little red car in the direction of the Czech Republic. An era without the internet or mobile phones and with limited access to landlines, intuition, word of mouth and chance meetings were integral to survival and smooth journeys. Fortunately, on their way, Sanja’s family crossed another Bosnian family who advised the Czech Republic was not accepting refugees and they should try Austria.

Due to their place on the convoy a few weeks earlier, Sanja’s family had the required paperwork to cross the border and enter Austria. It was there they found the charity Caritas who were running a program matching Austrian families with newly arrived refugees.

For 9 months, Sanja’s family resided with an Austrian host family. Sanja’s mother, cooked, cleaned and took care of the young children in both families and in return they paid her a salary. Although they were safe, Sanja’s parents did not have legal work rights. Strongly independent, they were adamant not to rely on government handouts or the generosity of their host family. Lacking autonomy, they were living day to day and could not envision a future.

Word spread that Germany was also accepting Bosnian refugees and offering them work rights. The decision was made and the Austrian host family drove to, and farewelled Sanja’s family at the Austrian-German border. Sanja’s family settled in a refugee home in Braunlage, North Germany. Formerly a youth hostel, situated in a National Park, the home was a welcoming environment.

Each family had their own room and all meals were provided. Progressively more Bosnian families joined. The children went to school, and all the residents enjoyed freedom of movement. A year later, Sanjas’s family moved into their own apartment in the nearby city of Braunschweig, found work and were living a self-supported, comfortable life.

However, their future was still uncertain. Germany had allowed Bosnian refugees into the country under the provision they would return once the war was officially declared over. Although the war was nearing the end, Sanja’s parents knew returning to Bosnia was not an option. The country had been segregated along religious lines. Bosnia was a different place to what they had known and they would not be safe. “Even though the war ended in 1995, and there was a ceasefire, there was still a lot of anger, division and sadness. Because of my parents’ mixed background there was nowhere for us to go. The country had been divided”.

Arrival in Australia

On the 19th February, 1998, after a lengthy process that took three years and an initial unexplained Visa rejection, Sanja’s family arrived in Australia. With a suitcase, a backpack and duffel each, Sanja and her family arrived as permanent residents, after spending 7 years, half of Sanja’s life at the time, living an uncertain future with the impending threat they may have to return to a divided country. For the first time, in nearly 7 years, they felt secure, not only did they have a future, they could also make plans and establish roots.

However, parallel to her comfortable life in Australia, an enduring curiosity and fondness of Bosnia manifested in the space between. Leaving at a young age, questions of identity and belonging persisted for Sanja; materialising in many return trips to Bosnia to explore her relationship with her birth country.

“There is always this feeling that you are leading a life that you weren’t meant to lead. We had our life set out for us, we had everything planned. And then the war happened and we got thrown off our axis and we are just leading this life. And there is always that feeling that you don’t belong there because you were born there, you should have been there, this is your life etc. So I always had that, and carried that with me.

After a long trip to Bosnia, I realised that I don’t see myself living in Bosnia anymore. And that is what it took, for me to go over there. And I realised that I was a different person, and I was used to certain things that I learnt throughout my life, particularly in Australia”.

Nineteen years after first arriving in Australia, Sanja now lives in Hong Kong. Living in a third country, Sanja uses trips home to indulge both her Bosnian and Australian heritage through her collection and movement of food items. Sanja’s suitcase bound for Hong Kong includes Bosnian pate, German Chocolate and Australian biscuits, culinary tributes to her travels, her story, her journey. “You can’t recreate the people, you can’t recreate the place but you can recreate the food”.

Bosnian Halva with Sanja

a plate of halva dusted in sugar — © Eleni Christou/Community Kouzina

Ingredients:

2 Cups water
1 Cup sugar
Sunflower oil
2 cups of flour

Method:

Coat the bottom of a non stick fry pan with oil
Stir in two cups of flour
Consistently stir on a low heat until the texture becomes crumbly
At the same time, boil 2 cups of water and the sugar until it boils
Once the flour mixture is completely dry and oil is absorbed, pour the sugar syrup over the flour mixture.
Once it cools slightly, mould the flour mixture into a large oval shape by pressing a small amount into a table spoon
Present in a plate and sprinkle with sugar

Story and photos by Community Kouzina, in collaboration with the New Beginnings Festival for Refugee Week 2017, a series of creative events showcasing the artistic talents and cultural heritage of people from refugee background. Hosted by 107 in Redfern between 21 June and 2 July, the New Beginnings Festival is an initiative of Settlement Services International and is part of the broader New Beginnings: Refugee Arts & Culture Festival 2017.

Amnesty Media Awards 2017: Open for entries

Amnesty International Australia has launched its 2017 Media Awards recognising excellence in reporting on human rights issues in the Australian media.

See above for this year’s ad, featuring some of last year’s finalists.

Journalists, photographers, cartoonists and their editors and producers are invited to enter items published or broadcast between 1 August 2016 and 1 August 2017.

The Amnesty Media Awards, now in their fourth year, recognise those who hold the powerful to account and amplify the voices of the vulnerable.

In an era of fake news, alternative facts and attacks on journalists’ integrity and ability to carry out their jobs, Amnesty International recognises courageous work carried out under difficult circumstance. Now more than ever, it is vital to support journalists who are shining a light on human rights abuses.

2017 Judges:

Eighteen distinguished professionals from the industry will judge the six categories. The categories and judges are:

Indigenous Issues Reporting: Daniel Browning: Awaye! (ABC RN) – Presenter; Tanya Denning Orman: NITV – Channel Manager; Bernard Namok: TEABBA (Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association) – Senior broadcaster/trainer.

Print/Online/Multimedia: Danielle Cronin: The Brisbane Times – Editor; Melissa Hoyer: News.com.au – Editor at Large; Lenore Taylor: Guardian Australia – Editor.

Radio: Andrew Bolton: SBS Arabic 24 – Program Manager; Patricia Karvelas: ABC Radio National – Presenter; Melanie Withnall: CBAA (Community Broadcasting Association of Australia) – board member, 2SER – Station Manager.

Television: Samantha Maiden: Sky News Australia – Presenter; Kumi Taguchi: ABC – Host ‘Compass’; Michael Usher: Channel Seven News – Presenter.

Photography: Neil Bennett: The Daily and Sunday Telegraph – Head of Vision; Mags King: Fairfax – Managing Editor of Photography; Dean Sewell: Freelance – Photographer & founding Member of Occuli.

Cartoon: Judy Horacek: Freelance – Cartoonist; Mick Horne: Freelance – Cartoonist; David Pope: The Canberra Times – Cartoonist.

KEY DATES

26 June: Entries open

2 August: Entries close

27 September: Finalists announced

1 November: Media Awards ceremony in Sydney

To enter and for further information, including the entry criteria and process, visit st1.amnesty.org.au/mediaawards/. For any other queries, please email media.awards@amnesty.org.au.

Yemen: Urgent investigation needed into U.A.E. torture network and possible U.S. role

United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its allied Yemeni security forces are alleged to be arbitrarily detaining and torturing detainees, who are also being interrogated by US forces in a network of secret prisons across Southern Yemen.

Following these allegations arising from an Associated Press investigation, Lynn Maalouf, Director of Research at Amnesty International in the Middle East said:

“A UN-led investigation must immediately be launched into the UAE’s and other parties’ role in setting up this horrific network of torture. Thousands of Yemeni men have disappeared in those networks. Enforced disappearance and torture are crimes under international law. They must be investigated and those responsible must be held accountable.”

“Allegations about US forces taking part in interrogations of detainees or receiving information that may have been obtained through torture must also be immediately investigated, as the US may be complicit in crimes under international law. Also, given the UAE’s practice of torture domestically, which Amnesty International has consistently documented in the past, it would be a stretch to believe the US did not know or could not have known that there was a real risk of torture.”

“The UAE is obliged to uphold the UN convention against torture which it became a state party to in 2012. As a signatory to the global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the UAE must also refrain from acts that defeat the Treaty’s purpose, which includes reducing human suffering.”

“Furthermore, the USA as well as European countries must immediately halt arms transfers to the UAE given the high likelihood those arms could be used to facilitate enforced disappearances, torture or serious violations of international humanitarian law. Otherwise, arms suppliers could be complicit in war crimes.”