Australia’s National Day on January 26 is only getting more and more controversial. The day marks the date when the First Fleet of 11 British ships brought some 1,380 British colonists to the continent. There were also 736 convicts on board. In England, the politicians of the time believed that if the criminals were only sent to the end of the world, then the “criminal class” would disappear. Australia was to become the new prison. For Australia’s indigenous Aborigines, the convict fleet was the beginning of the end. The life they lived as free hunters and natural people was destroyed. Against the British’s modern weapons, they stood no chance. Ferre celebrates the day – We do not celebrate Australia Day. No one we know celebrates the day either, because this has become so sensitive, says Judith Tratner to news. She lives in Melbourne in the state of Victoria. Judith Tratner does not celebrate National Day. None of her Australian friends celebrate it either. Photo: Privat / Privat – There is a growing demand to change the day. We have already changed the stanza of the national anthem from “We are young and free” to “We are one and free” to show that Australia is not that young at all. The indigenous people had been here for many thousands of years before the Europeans arrived. Terra Nullius The first colonists declared Australia to be Terria Nullius, i.e. an uninhabited no man’s land. The aborigines were seen as part of the plant and animal kingdom. It was not until a court decision in 1994 that the concept of Terra Nullius was abolished for the indigenous people. Research and archaeological findings show that the indigenous people had lived on the Australian continent for over 60,000 years. The whites came 235 years ago. Protesters with the Aboriginal flag on their t-shorts. They were joined by thousands of other Australians who believe that the original population of the country must soon have their rights enshrined in the Constitution. Photo: ROBERT WALLACE / AFP Genocide on Tasmania On the island of Tasmania, the British colonists decided to exterminate the aborigines completely. When Truganini, the last Tasmanian Aborigine, died in 1876, they were gone. – No one has the right to celebrate genocide. Nobody should celebrate what happened in Sydney on January 26, 1788, says Abi George, one of the thousands demonstrating against Australia Day today. Aborigines, descendants of convicts and prison guards and many others who are part of today’s modern and multicultural Australia took to the streets to protest today. The demonstrators refer to the national day as Invasionsdag. They believe that 26 January was the start of a cultural genocide. – They invaded our country, killed our extended families. They enslaved our warriors, said indigenous activist Paul Silvahan at one of the demonstrations. Sydney’s famous Opera House was decorated with Aboriginal designs today. The distinctive culture and expression of the indigenous people can be seen everywhere in Australia Photo: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi / Reuters Australia Day is usually celebrated with barbecues and cold beers. But now the day has become politically inflamed. And the indigenous people still lack rights. For example, they are not mentioned in the constitution from 1901. – Having a history that goes back more than 60,000 years is something to be proud of. But I know that the day is not easy for the indigenous people, said Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today. Kidnapped children Early in the 20th century, Aboriginal children were “picked up” by the authorities. They were to be resettled and raised by Christian white families to be “saved from their primitive culture”. In total, 100,000 children were kidnapped in the years up to 1970. They were separated from their families and communities. They are called The Lost Generation, after which they lost their identity and culture. “There is no pride in genocide”, reads the poster of one of the demonstrators. By genocide, the Aborigines mean that the Europeans robbed them of their own society and culture. Photo: Rick Rycroft / AP Referendum It is one of the reasons why the aborigines top all the crazy statistics and are at the bottom of the social ladder. In 2023, a referendum will decide whether Australia’s indigenous people should finally be mentioned in the Constitution from 1901 and also gain greater political influence. Prime Minister Albanese believes the vote must give the indigenous people a stronger voice. – If not now, when? If not now, when will this change happen? This is an opportunity that I sincerely hope Australia does not miss.
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National Day is a day of invasion, say Australia’s indigenous people – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
