So, when I say that the Black Lives Matter movement has become the most important issue of the day - despite the fact that we're in the middle of a pandemic which has killed (at time of writing) almost three-quarters of a million people - I don't say that lightly. Now, I freely admit that "importance" is subjective, and therefore my opinion - but to me something is important, or significant, when it affects millions of people and those people are suffering because of something that not only can be changed, but must be changed.
#BlackLivesMatter
Now, there are issues because the Black Lives Matter movement has included a lot of people protesting and rallying, and the fact of the matter is that protests and rallies - just like any congregation of people, in this time - put people at a much higher risk of contracting coronavirus in this time.But, that's not the only fact in this matter. It is also a fact that non-white people, in Western countries, are at a much higher risk of being detained, abused, harmed or killed by police.
And this is not just an American problem. America's issues are historical and much more blatant, but there are also issues in the United Kingdom, and as an Australian, I'm aware of institutional racism against indigenous Australians by businesses and authorities, as well as a disgustingly high incidence of injury and/or death in police custody - there are over 400 recorded instances of Aboriginal people who have died in custody, and not one policeman has been prosecuted over it.
And, did you know that, per capita, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the highest percentage of their population imprisoned? I only learned that when I heard an aboriginal man say it on television, and of course I scoffed... until I looked at the data, and I struggled to believe it. How can something so terrible be true, yet nobody seems to know or care? On average, 25% (or 1 in 4) of Australian prisoners are Indigenous, and Aboriginal men are fourteen times more likely to be jailed than non-Indigenous Australians.
The Australian Government famously apologized for the Stolen Generations, for stealing Aboriginal children from their mothers and put several laws in place to prevent such things... despite this, Aboriginal children are still being taken away from their families to this very day, in flagrant disregard for these laws.
But, this is all preamble... not only is the theme of my Countdown "sickness", but I use the Outbreak Diary to talk about facts and experiences regarding coronavirus. So, what does injustice for Indigenous Australians have to do with the coronavirus?
Well something I hear a lot, in regards to the coronavirus, is "we're all in this together", or "we're all in the same boat" or even "this virus doesn't discriminate".
That's a beautiful sentiment, but it's unfortunately just not true.
We are in the same Storm, but Not in the same Boat
That comes from a great poem written about the coronavirus, and it's an apt metaphor. However, the purpose of the poem was talking about judgement, how we shouldn't judge people because of their situation. That's a valiant goal, but today I want to look at the people responsible for putting people in worse situations - and coronavirus affects Aboriginal Australians much faster and much worse than non-Indigenous Australians, on average.Now, why is this the case? After all, race is a social construct - there's no biological basis for segregating people the way we do into 'races' - so, a virus can't be racist. However, culture and society affect the way people live, and its these cultural differences that make Indigenous Australians more vulnerable.
To start with, a whole lot of aboriginal people tend to live in remote communities. This means that many don't have easy or immediate access to healthcare; which means that if someone gets sick, they can't be given necessary medical intervention such as medicine or ventilation.
Also, Aboriginal people tend to live quite closely together so, crowded housing is not uncommon in Aboriginal communities - with twenty or even thirty individuals living in one house. Partially this is economic, but it's also due to their cultural values regarding family, community and spirituality. Aboriginals are expected to be involved with family and take care of and respect their elders, and this often involves taking part in large gatherings, and sharing food, drink or a smoke with family and friends; which all means that if one person gets sick, it can spread much more quickly through a community.
These remote communities also have a much lower population size, and much lower population motility, meaning people who live in these communities often don't go far from home, and the community is rather close, this can be great socially, but it means they don't often interact with foreign infections; which means that their immune systems are less developed, and they can have a lower number of antibodies, so they are more vulnerable when they do encounter an infection.
Even outside of these communities, Aboriginal people have a much higher incidence of using and abusing alcohol and cigarettes; which means that they're considered at high-risk of catching this virus.
As well, unfortunately, Aboriginals represent a large number of homeless people; which means that they can't isolate, and often have poor access to sanitation, as well as general information regarding COVID-19.
In some remote communities, they have had the prices of basic groceries - such as fruits and vegetables - double, triple or even worse in what is a clear and blatant attempt at price gauging; but since they're so far from regulatory bodies, it takes much longer for these practices to be policed.
But the worst part is, whilst these communities are at higher risk of the virus, they're also at higher risk during lockdown, since they're often already poorer communities that rely on internal and external support - so, when you shut them down, they often lose access to essential services.
And when the government does choose to lock them down, it makes them come to a social and economic standstill. There have been cases of Aboriginal communities protesting, since the practice is highly discriminatory, shutting down Aboriginal communities while others prosper. Especially since aboriginal people have both a history, and (let's be honest) a present of being treated like cattle by our government, it's no surprise that these communities get angry when given less rights than others.
Closing the Gap
So, what can be done about it? Well, for one thing, several communities once educated about the dangers of coronavirus, have shut down of their own accord and on their own terms - quarantining those who travel in and out of their community, and following safe practices within.There have been a number of campaigns to share information with aboriginal communities, regarding coronavirus and how to keep safe - some even in several native, Aboriginal languages.
I watched a whole lot of these, as research for this post, and I have to say that I absolutely love the videos by Professor Tom Calma, since it feels like he's actually talking to you, not at you, like I get from a lot of the government coronavirus PSAs, especially the ones for Aboriginals. A lot of the advice videos I've seen specifically for Aboriginals are either very short or stilted, or they feel like they're talking down to Aboriginal people, by treating them like morons - they feel so heavily processed and infantilizing.
Now, I'm not Aboriginal, so I can't speak for them when it comes to how these ads seem, lack of education is unfortunately a big issue in some Aboriginal communities, so maybe they need this stuff explained in this way, maybe they do appreciate and absorb these ads and like how they try to use specific lingo and music and a friendly, Aboriginal face, but to me it feels very artificial - if you're Aboriginal, and reading this, feel free to comment below and correct me on this, I'm just looking at this from my perspective.
If you want to learn more about these initiatives, you can look up #KeepOurMobSafe on Twitter and other relevant websites; visit the National Indigenous Australians Agency website or check out the relevant pages on health.gov.au.A lot of the injustices and inequities that I've discussed today are being looked into, as part of the Closing the Gap campaign. There are several tangible and measurable inequalities that Aboriginal people face, from education and unemployment to much more severe issues like incarceration rates, infant mortality and life expectancy; but you don't need to take my word for it, feel free to read the latest Closing the Gap Report Card, that talks about what has and hasn't improved so far this year (spoiler alert: it's not great).
But, the most important thing you can do is stay educated. Be aware of not only the historical injustices, but the modern ones as well, by looking up #CloseTheGap.
Keep in mind though, being an Indigenous Australian isn't all about being underprivileged, far from it - Aboriginal people have the oldest surviving, and most long-lived culture in all of human history, and they're proud of it; you can learn a whole lot about Indigenous Australians, their culture and their perspective by visiting ShareOurPride.Reconciliation.org.au.
Or you could, y'know, talk to an Aboriginal person. There are about a million in Australia, you probably even know a few already; and most of them are friendly when you're not racist (just be sure to follow all relevant and up-to-date social-distancing and health advice).
I'm the Absurd Word Nerd, and I hope that this has been enlightening for you - it certainly was for me. Until Next Time, you feelin' deadly, cuz?
