Tonight marked a history lesson one cannot learn properly sitting in a classroom being taught by a teacher. Arete sat at the feet of Janice and Clair as they spoke with fresh emotion of the European Assimilation on the Aboriginals of Australia.
While the movie “Rabbit Proof Fence” is a close depiction of the treatment on Aboriginals, there is nothing closer than sitting at the feet of the elder women as they recapture their past.
Tears filled Claire’s eyes as she testified of her aunt jumping to save her before her dad could chop her with an ax. Her toughest account of the dormitory was being isolated by the other aboriginals. They ostracized her thinking she was white. It took threats from the matron to get these girls to respect Claire.
The assimilation, taking the aboriginal out of the aboriginal, is not unique to Claire and Janice. They are just two accounts. Throughout all of Australia families were separated. Janice believes the alcoholism we’ve witnessed in Mossman Gorge is due to the bitterness of these separations.
There are moments when it’s difficult to have a conversation with someone due to their drunkenness. Most of these people are trying to drink their problems away only to find the problems are still there once the liquor is gone. It is heartbreaking talking to these children who have been affected by their parents’ drug abuse. Many of these people are holding on to the hurt their ancestors received from the Europeans. We are praying freedom from bitterness, unforgiveness and addiction in this community.
