Like many Australian’s, last week I watched SBS series ‘Go Back To Where You Came From’. After I overcame my immense shame and embarrassment for the people on the screen, I jumped onto Twitter and Facebook to read the conversations that were taking place. I was really proud to see that people were writing such positive things and it made me realise that even the smallest piece of information can help to shift some people’s views.
Even though all of the participants did not change their views; I was pleased to see that some of them had a partial shift from their original stand point. From the beginning of the show when one participant said that the tragedy at Christmas Island served them right to the tears at having to leave the Congo because it wasn’t fair the Aussies got to go home, was a complete turnaround.
I guess we can only hope and continue to share each other’s stories about disadvantage and inequality to have a greater shift in the community. I know I’m not the only one that talks/ blogs/ tweets about education shifting viewpoints to bring around a greater equality, but I thought, given the education that many Australians received last week during the SBS series ‘Go Back To Where You Came From’ now would be a good time to share some statistics and education Australians about Aboriginal kids and their families.
· Aboriginal youth are 28 times more likely to be detained by police than non- Aboriginal youth.
· 24% of people in remote communities have a school that goes up only to year 12.
· 40% of Aboriginal children stay at school until year 12, compared to 76% of non-Indigenous children.
· 30% of adults in Aboriginal communities suffering from type-2 diabetes.
· An Aboriginal person is 10 times more likely to have kidney disease.
· 26%of the prison population in Australia is Indigenous. Aboriginal people make up 2.5% of the Australian population.
My favourite Tweet about the SBS program reads “reality TV meets reality”; couldn’t be more accurate. Although there is no TV show about Aboriginal inequality, there are the damning statistics, news reports and photos. Surely Australians can use the same passion they have evoked over the past weeks for cattle to Malaysia and boat people based on Go Back To Where You Came From’ for Aboriginal people in Australia?
