I'm New To Australia. National Reconciliation Week is Not Relevant To Me.

Discrimination and inequity can't be squashed factionally, It has to be rooted out wherever and whenever it is found.

The Short Of It

• Should you care even if you are not originally from Australia? YES.

The Long Of It

How many times have you attended a meeting, a seminar, a video conference call, or even visiting a website, and you come across someone doing an acknowledgement of country (also known as Welcome to Country)?

Did that leave you befuddled? Curious? Do you usually just zone out and ignore it? Or worse, cynically denounce it as virtue signalling by woke leftists people?

Would you be comfortable actually doing the welcome to country yourself, the next time you host a meeting? Maybe you feel it is not your place to do so, because who are you to assume such a privilege and responsibility? After all, you've only moved here a few years ago. Your parents and grandparents were born in a whole different continent, and neither you nor your ancestors played a part in the mistreatment of the country's Indigenous people for the last two hundred years.

In summary, you might be asking:

Why should I care about National Reconciliation Week?

The one simple answer to that is:

You should care because you are here.

Whether or not you are a temporary visitor or if have plans to settle more permanently, you need to care enough to have at least a basic understanding of the country's history, and the ongoing issues the Aboriginal and Torres Straits communities still face to this day. Because, like it or not, what happens to them will impact you and what you do (or don't do) impacts them.

On a national level, the newly elected Albanese Labor government has committed to taking actions based on the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a 440 word statement written by consensus by two hundred and fifty Indigenous delegates in 2017. This statement includes efforts to seek constitutional reform such as establishing an Indigenous Voice within the constitution, that the government will consult on policy and legislation. This means moving forward there is a possibility that far greater consideration will be given to First Nation people's perspectives (as it rightly should) on the country's direction and economic growth.

At a more micro level, anyone of us who has ever felt "othered", whether by virtue of race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, or anyone who wants their children to grow up in a more equitable and just society would do well to ally ourselves with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander friends. Discrimination and inequity can't be squashed factionally, It has to be rooted out wherever, and whenever, it is found.

Okay, I care now. But I'm only one person. What can I do?

You might be new to the country, and you may not know anyone who's from the First Nations. That's fine. Small steps are all you need for now. Educate yourself. There are tonnes of information out there on the internet. I'll start with Reconciliation Australia, a not-for profit organisation leading reconciliation between wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (https://www.reconciliation.org.au/).

In fact, start talking to the people you already know, and you might be surprised by who might be a First Nations person.

For example, you might recognise one of the First Nation's most famous "ambassador", Adam Goodes, a former AFL player who was subjected to torrents of racists abuse from fans, team owners, coaches, and even team mates.

Adam Goodes

But how many of you would be surprise to find out that the blonde haired, fair skinned and green-eyed journalist Elliana Lawford, is a proud Wiradjuri and Anaiwan woman hailing from New South Wales?

Elliana Lawford, Journalist

If you own a company or work in one where you think a Reconciliation Action Plan ("RAP") might suit your organisation, please visit the following website on the Reconciliation Australia's website (https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation-action-plans/the-rap-process)

We would also recommend you learning about "The Stolen Generation", where countless number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly (and inconceivably, legally) removed from their families under government policy and direction under the guise of child protection (https://australian.museum/learn/first-nations/stolen-generation).

Look. All the suggestions above are baby steps. But its a start. Even if everyone just begin by raising their own awareness and share with their families and friends from back home who comes to Australia for a visit, it may prevent such farce as defacing thousands of years old of Aboriginal heritage like this, when tourists carved "go and work for a living on a 60,000 years old rock art at Western Australia.

At the end of the day, if anyone of us believe in and want to participate in the future prosperity of this country, wherever we are from, we need to start to acknowledge and learn about its past and history.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Second Class Collective is holding an online interview preparation workshop on 20 July 2022. RSVP to join the workshop by clicking the button below.

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