Edition 8

EDITION 87

WOMEN'S RIGHTS

MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

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REFUGEE RIGHTS

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SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

EDITORIAL T

hese past few months, countless individuals have joined the ranks of human rights defenders, standing up as a collective to protect our rights worldwide.

For Edition 8 of Am-Unity, we share these ever-growing global stories, from places including Australia, the United States, Jakarta, Manus Island, Nauru, and more.

In this edition, we are so excited to bring you stories from the many different corners of human rights at the moment; from women’s rights to refugee rights, and the wonderful world of social enterprises.

Thais Sabino tells the story of 5 million people who came together to champion women’s rights in The Day they Stood Up to be Heard (p. 7).

We turn our focus to the US in this edition, with an analysis of the USAustralia refugee deal (p. 9), and the rise of hate crimes and violence in America (p. 13).

We also take a look at the Jakarta Flooding, and the Ciliwung River Community who are peacefully fighting for their homes, while taking steps towards sustainability (p. 15).

In the ever-exciting realm of social enterprise, Elanz Derakhshandeh brings us tips for saving the world from the comfort of our own phones, in Apps that make Giving Easy (p. 21).

We also have a review of the documentary Zach’s Ceremony (p. 25), and a break-down of Indigenous Rights in popular culture (p. 27).

If you find yourself feeling hopeless amongst the latest human rights news, take some time to settle in and hear our Edition 8 stories of human rights defenders: our ever-growing movement of people coming together to protect human rights, and create a better world.

We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it!

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Natalie Amiel

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CONTRIBUTORS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Thaís Sabino Lucy Howard-Robbins Claudia Bailey Elnaz Derakhshandeh Chloe Han Isabella Fernandez

COVER IMAGE Matt Walsh

EDITOR IN CHIEF Carmen Cita DESIGNER Aksara Harriram SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Aykut Ozal

AM-Unity, contact us at amunitymagazine@gmail.com

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To share your story or artwork in a future edition of

CONTENTS

WOMEN'S RIGHTS 07

The Day they Stood Up to be Heard The sound of 5 million people screaming

REFUGEE RIGHTS 09

The 'Dumb' Deal to Stop the Horror With US-Australia agreement in doubt, n

WORLD NEWS 13

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Make America Hate Again The rise of hate crimes and violence in A

Jarkarta Flooding The underestimated Natural Disaster___

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE 21

Apps that make Giving Easy Charity work from the comfort of your ph

DOCUMENTARIES & 25

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Zach's Ceremony A documentary about being part of an old

Indigneous Rights Find a Voice in Pop Innovative resettlement program ignites e

g together for women's rights _____________Thais Sabino

no end in sight for detained asylum seekers_____________Thais Sabino

America _____________ Lucy Howard-Robbins

___________Claudia Bailey

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hone_____________ Elanz Derakhshandeh

REVIEWS

d culture in the modern world, through the eyes of a teen boy_____________Chloe Han

pular Culture entrepreneurial passions_____________ Isabella Fernandez

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Women's Rights

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The day they stood up to be heard

The sound of 5 million people screaming together for women’s rights

By Thaís Sabino

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Gleeson is a PhD student of feminism WORLD RESIST" were among the omen's fight for equal rights has and social media. During the march in signs carried by protesters around been fought for generations. In Melbourne, she felt directly connected the world. It was Trump's regressive that time, achievements have been to the "U.S. sisters". conduct that ignited popular anger. made, laws have been created to "As a country, we are not that far However, it was his subsequent hate protect women, and growing respect behind the U.S. We still have levels of speech that triggered a worldwide has offset offensive and prejudiced institutionalised racism, and problems wave of protest. Trump’s divisive treatment. At least, in many cases. with ready access to abortion,” she message of acquiescence to sexual However, in a world where gender said. “We have an existing pay gap, assault, and gender and race equality is widely endorsed, newly and our first female Prime Minister inequality had the unintended effect elected U.S. President Donald endured years of sexism whilst of uniting people. According to the Trump’s shameful behaviour towards leading our country."

Women's March on Washington women has led not only one group or U.S. activist Shanon Lee claimed that nation, but the whole world to stand up organisers, "We stand together, the high attendance at the marches recognizing that defending the most and prepare for war. was a historic show of support, marginalized among us is defending With comments such as "grab them representing the power of women. "If all of us.” (women) by the pussy" and numerous there was any doubt about our power, In Australia, marches in Melbourne, sexist declarations against Hillary it should be eliminated now", she said.

Sydney and Canberra attracted Clinton on the record, Trump has Lee is an official member of the around 18 thousand people. Together, demonstrated blatant disdain for Speakers Bureau for the Rape, gender equality. In response Abuse and Incest National to Trump’s frequent "A WOMAN’S PLACE IS IN THE Network (RAINN) and the objectification of women Director of Marital Rape Is and trivialisation of sexual RESISTANCE", "FEMINISM IS Real. She is producing a harassment, more than five special series for a community million people – including MY TRUMP CARD", "PRINCESS radio show about the Women's men, women and children – AGAINST PATRIARCHY", "FIGHT March On Washington and mobilised to show that the she expects a continuation of world won't tolerate any kind LIKE A GIRL" and "WOMEN OF organised protests. Lee said, "I of regress. On 21 January believe we will learn from past 2017, protestors flocked WORLD RESIST" movements, like the Africanto the American capital for American civil rights movement, the Women's March on and get better.” they called for an end to hatred, Washington, and major streets in 151 bigotry and misogyny. cities across 58 countries were taken #Why I march...

Organiser of the Melbourne SlutWalk over by a chain of peaceful protests.

Whilst millions of people were March, Jessamy Gleeson said, "The A war cry from the women of the world raising the voice for women’s rights, fact that [these protests] took place "A WOMAN’S PLACE IS IN THE there were some questions about across the globe was, to me, one RESISTANCE", "FEMINISM IS the real point of the marches. The of the major facts in sending a clear MY TRUMP CARD", "PRINCESS numbers established by World Health message regarding Trump's words AGAINST PATRIARCHY", "FIGHT Organization (WHO), however, leave and attitudes towards women."

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IMAGE: Women's March in Washington [Rosa Pined]

no doubts. Worldwide, 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. The index reaches 71 per cent in Ethiopia. In Australia, it’s estimated that more than 240 thousand Australian adult women

by Trump. Lee suggested that the millions of protesters were roused by both political and personal motivations. “People from different races and backgrounds, with various gender identities are also under threat because of Trump's presidency,” Gleeson added.

In Sydney, the Women's March protested against all transgressions of human rights, including the detention of refugee children in Australia. The Melbourne organisation called on defenders of human rights for women, immigrants, religious diversity, the LGBTQIA community, Indigenous people, black and brown people, people living with disability,

“ To me, the Refugee Convention has always been incredibly important because it comes out of the Holocaust ”

Women's rights are human rights.

Protestors used this historical quote – made by Hillary Clinton in 1995 during a UN speech – to involve all the marginalised groups threatened

The unfinished fight It seems that Trump's "war against women" is far from over. Two days after the marches, he reinstated the global gag rule that bans groups around the world from discussing and advocating abortion. The Women's March on Washington and other organisations around the globe are planning strategies and actions to keep the flame burning. On 6 February 2017, the Women's March on Washington announced via Twitter a strike – a day without women - as the next protest action. The date is yet to be determined.

IMAGE: Women's March in Washington [Ted Eytan] 6

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are physically assaulted each year, an average of 633 cases of domestic violence per day. And 2 in 5 murders of women are committed by a male intimate partner.

According to Gleeson, social media played an essential role in the Women's March organisation, as it provided a platform for sharing experiences women may have had relating to sexism and misogyny. The hashtag #whyimarch was used to share protesters’ motivations. Sexual assault, gender pay gap and the right to abortion were among the main reasons. Nevertheless, the protests touched on many other themes, such as racial discrimination, refugees ban and immigrants' rights.

economically disadvantaged people and survivors of sexual assault or abuse.

Women's Rights Marches

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[01] Women's March in Sydney [Simone Cheung] [02] Women's March in Melbourne [Women's March Melbourne Organisation] [03] Women's March in Calgary [JMac Pherson]

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Refugee Rights

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The 'Dumb' Deal to Stop the Horror With US-Australia agreement in doubt, no end in sight for detained asylum seekers

By Thaís Sabino

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e offended women, blamed immigrants for social and economical issues in the United States, and rode a wave of conservative and isolationist rhetoric. But Donald Trump’s latest antimigrant action breaks diplomatic norms and places him in a very unstable position in front the world. Trump has threatened to wave a standing with the Australian Government to resettle 1,250 asylum seekers in America. Besides disagreeing to the action, the U.S. President called it a "dumb deal" on his Twitter account.

Trump and the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had a telephone conversation – "the worst by far" in Trump’s words – to discuss the matter.

Former President Barack Obama signed the agreement, when he pledged to resettle refugees who were looking to the Australian Government for help.

According to the signals from the newly elected U.S. President, the deal is now in serious doubt.

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Referring to the nationalities of most of the occupants of Australia’s offshore refugee detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru, Trump stated that accepting this deal would be akin to welcoming "the next Boston bombers" to the United States. Most of the refugees in these detention centres are from Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Australian Government has followed a hard-line refugee policy since 2013, turning back all boats carrying people seeking asylum towards Indonesian territory and sending asylum seekers who cross Australian borders to prison-like detention camps on Manus island

and Nauru. Once they arrive there, refugees step into a kind of limbo, living in conditions that severely violate human rights principles. In the detention centres, there is no law, no protection, no decency and the access of journalists and social activists to the sites is forbidden.

attention, self-harm, suicides and murder cases on Manus and Nauru.

The statement claims that the Australian Government has essentially created a humanitarian crisis, which should be dealt with by evacuating the camps and ensuring the safety of these displaced people.

More than 60 human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have signed an open statement claiming for immediate action on offshore detention camps www.amnesty.org.au/openstatement-calling-immediate-actionoffshore-detention. The statement mentions reports of physical and sexual abuse, inadequate medical

The White House has tried to settle the situation, but U.S.-Australian relations are under pressure following Trump’s withdrawal of the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Nonetheless, the White House says the asylum seeker agreement will be honoured, but all refugees must undergo a strict vetting process before their resettlement can be granted.

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IMAGE source [LINK to image]

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World News

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Make America Hate Again

The rise of hate crimes and violence in America

By Lucy Howard-Robbins

“It’s like the Civil War all over again.”

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n American friend shared this sobering comment with me a week after the inauguration of Donald Trump. Raised on a small town diet of civil war history and re-enactments, she seemed completely at a loss to explain what was happening in her home country as we scrolled through news articles of protest, violence and hate crime.

Passionate division is not a new concept for the population of the United States. From the civil war to segregation to the one percent, the country has always struggled to concur on matters of ethnicity, class, religion, gender, sexual orientation and political ideology. Yet the year preceding the November 2016 Presidential election and the months following, have been peppered with shocking stories of vicious attacks, enraged mobs and violent protests on both sides of politics.

While Donald Trump’s election campaign gained momentum throughout 2016, people of minority and vulnerable groups began to feel increasingly threatened. As the anticipation and media propaganda of the election increased, so did the rates of reported hate crimes.

A hate crime is one motivated by prejudice. The victim is one targeted for their membership or perceived membership of a particular social group. The offenses can range from school ground bullying and vandalism

to verbal and physical abuse. Two organisations collect relatively comprehensive data on hate crimes in the United States: the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC) and the F.B.I’s Hate Crime Statistics. Both have found that the number and the aggressiveness of hate crimes in the U.S have steadily increased since 2015. The SPLC has also found that the number of hate groups and antigovernment ‘patriot’ groups has also risen significantly in the same time.

It seems as if anger, hatred and the willingness to show both are rising amongst the American people.

Many people have pointed to Trump’s campaign rhetoric as fuel for the rising levels of hatred in the country.

According to the SPLC’s president, Richard Cohen, “white supremacists are celebrating, and it’s their time, the way they see it.”

When the newly elected President is endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan, regularly encourages physical violence against protestors at his rallies, and the strongest opinion he can muster on the topic of violence in his name is instructing people to ‘stop it’, it seems little wonder that black students are feeling vulnerable in their classrooms, Muslim women are getting verbally abused on trains and Hispanic men are being severely beaten on the streets.

Donald Trump’s words wield significant power. They have inspired and moved millions of Americans. While many Trump supporters do not resort 15

to violence, the media has been increasingly flooded with examples of Trump’s name used amid the violence of hate crimes. In defense of the beating of a homeless Hispanic man in Boston, two men declared that “Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported.” In Colorado, a twelve-year-old girl was told that “Now that Trump is President, I’m going to shoot you and all the blacks I can find.” In Washington, a school cafeteria was filled with chants of ‘build a wall’ . Three Californian mosques have received hate mail addressed to the ‘Children of Satan’ and stating that Trump will ‘cleanse American and make it shine again’.

Yet these frightening and sometimes violent crimes that are inspired by the President, are not the only ones that have marred the process of the selfespoused Greatest Democracy in the World. Violence and hate have come in equal measure from the Liberal side of politics.

During the campaign rallies, protestors from both sides dissolved into violence and aggression on several occasions. In Maryland a student wearing a cap saying Make America Great Again was hospitalized after he was physically assaulted by a group of his fellow students protesting against Trump. Another Trump supporter holding a flag and sign was sent to the emergency room after he was attacked and beaten by two men in Connecticut. On the day of Trump’s inauguration, protests

against the new President turned violent in Washington D.C. Activists marched through the city, smashing shop windows, vandalising cars and chanting anti-Trump slogans. The president of the white nationalist National Policy Institute was flung into the media spotlight when he was punched by a protestor on camera during an interview. Police dispersed

masked protestors with tear gas and stun grenades, and more than 200 people were arrested.

The United States has been in a state of hyper vigilance since September 11.

Tensions have been on the rise and cracks have been widening between ethnicities, religions and political parties. The intense conflict between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

during the election campaign, and the subsequent election result, has seen these tensions explode in acts of hate, fear and violence across the country and even across the world.

Like many other Americans, my friend can only watch in horror and hope that the cracks do not shatter her country apart.

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Jakarta Flooding

The Underestimated Natural Disaster

By Claudia Bailey

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ndonesia’s capital, Jakarta, is home to thirteen million people and faces the severe threat of urban flooding.

Urban flooding is an underestimated natural disaster. It flies under the radar of international news reports and causes reoccurring damages for impacted communities like the ones in Jakarta. Jakarta is the fastest subsiding city in the world. With sea levels rising and urban poor populations increasing, it is no wonder that 40 per cent of Jakarta is currently under sea level.

The Jakarta floods come annually in the peak of their wet season, during January and February each year. During 2007, the Jakarta flood left 80 people dead, another 500,000 people internally displaced and 70,000 homes flooded. Additionally, 190,000 people were impacted with flood-related illnesses, including dengue fever and other waterborne diseases. More recently in 2013, 47 people living in Jakarta lost their lives to severe flooding. A Jakarta police spokesperson, Ketut Untung Yoga Ana, described the horrific deaths from the floods; "twenty have died since the first day of flooding. Seven were dragged under by strong currents, nine were electrocuted and the others because of sickness.”

Several major human rights violations arise from the natural disaster of flooding within Jakarta. The right to life, to safety and security, the right to food and water, and the right to land and housing; these are justifiable to every living person, yet are completely destroyed in the scenario of natural disasters.

Those most at risk are communities living alongside riverbanks. When the heavy rain coincides with high tides, the water from the river overflows and takes the strongest toll on those living closest to the river – often the poorest communities in Jakarta.

The Ciliwung River Community lives on the rivers’ edge.

Whilst they are often severely impacted by the Jakarta floods, this area is their home, and there is no place they’d rather be. However, they are currently facing threats of eviction.

Children escaping the rising waters on the roof of their flooded home.

I met with Gugun Muhammad from the Urban Poor Consortium and he said that; “the government of Jakarta thinks that the Ciliwung River community should not be established around the river because it dirties the river, looks ‘slum-like’, and causes flooding. But our community feels that these are not the real reasons why the government wants to evict us.” Ever since the government gave the Ciliwung River Community the letter of eviction, they gathered together to discuss how they would peacefully fight against the eviction and make their community cleaner and safer, in anticipation of future flooding.

The Ciliwung River Community is now thriving. It is a bright and colourful mix of painted homes and pegged clothes on hanging lines over the edges of the river. They are taking responsible steps towards sustainability, in order to

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IMAGE: Afriadi Hikmal/ZUMA Wire

their human rights to security and safety violated during the impact of natural disasters. But the measures that they are taking, measures of sustainable living, education on safe water and recycling practices, and cleaning up of waste are not only flood preventive methods, but also preventatives to the threat of eviction.

When I left the Ciliwung River Community that day, I did not feel saddened by their situation. Sure, it impacted me in ways beyond my comprehension. But ultimately I left feeling a sense of empowerment in the air. I met leaders that were implementing sustainable plans for their community, I met women that were transforming plastic waste into beautiful handbags, and I met young children who excitedly collected rubbish and placed it into the recycling bins – knowing that the small acts they were doing had a much larger purpose and impact.

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protect their livelihoods and their future. Members of the community are uniting to tidy up households and clean rubbish from waterways to prevent flooding. They have implemented a communal septic tank, now they no longer throw their waste into the water, which makes the river cleaner and safer for the community. They are becoming environmentally friendly by installing compost systems for food scraps and recycling their plastics, instead of it all being thrown into the river. Gugun Muhammad said that the logic of the community is “if it’s dirty then we clean it up, if it’s untidy then we tidy it up… If your hair is dirty, then you wash it, not shave it all off – but that’s what the government is trying to do to us.”

The Ciliwung River Community faces the double burden of flooding and eviction from the place that they have called home for so long. They lack rights to land and have

Jakarta Flooding

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[01] Local compost bin in the Ciliwung River Community [Claudia Bailey] [02] Before and after the Ciliwung River Community moved their houses back 5 meters from the river [Claudia Bailey] [03] The Ciliwung River Community [Claudia Bailey]

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[04] Handbags made by local women from recycled coffee sachets [Claudia Bailey] [05] Baby being rescued from flood waters [LINK to image] [06] Locals being rescued from flood waters in a small wooden boat [LINK to article]

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Social Enterprise

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Apps That Make Giving Easy

By Elnaz Derakhshandeh

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f you’re anything like me, saving the world is high on your list of priorities.

But real life tends to get in the way of our world-saving activities – despite the high ranking. And even with the best of intentions, we often find that we’ve actually done nothing at all.

Or worse, you’ve posted about it on social media but that’s where your advocacy ended. Well I’ve come to tell you that there is a way to help, right from the comfort of your own home and with the ease of your mobile phone. It couldn’t possibly get any easier. Here is a list of apps that make giving easy.

Share The Meal: This United Nation’s World Food Programme app helps you feed starving children with ease.

For fifteen dollars, you can feed a child for an entire month and you don’t need to subscribe to monthly donations. Whenever you’ve got an extra fifteen dollars, you can use it to provide meals for children and be sure that they’ve got enough to keep them going for at least a month. So far, more than ten million meals have been shared.

Charity Miles: This one is almost too good to be true, you don’t actually use any of your money and you get fit in the process. That covers both

of my New Year’s resolutions in one app. For every mile run, corporate sponsors donate 25 cents to a charity of your choice.

Donate A Photo: Another app that lets you donate without spending any money! Johnson & Johnson sponsor this app that invites you to donate a photo per day; for every photo donated, one dollar is donated to your selected charity. That’s right, you can donate up to 365 dollars a year with all those selfies that you thought made you vain. Charity selfie!

My Life As A Refugee: This app sheds light on the real lives led by refugees – an incredibly important truth in the current socio-political climate of so-called “fake news” and “alternative facts.” The app is designed to create empathy, understanding and solidarity with refugees. Users get authentic insights into the lives of refugees, hear their stories, and then ask themselves, “What would I do?”

Charity Tap: Literally the easiest app you’ve ever encountered and by far the quickest method to give back. All you have to do is tap the screen and you provide food, specifically rice to those in need. You can see a count of the grains you’ve donated and your

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Char F r o m i t y Wo r k the C o m fo o f Yo rt ur Ph one!

taps per second. Happy tapping!

One Today: This Google created app helps you discover new non-profit organisations and if you like it, you can donate as little as one dollar and easily find the details of what your donation has achieved.

Budge: Your competitive friends will love this. You and your friends make a friendly bet and the loser pays the agreed donation. The challenge could be anything from competitive races to the last man standing on a wild night out.

UNICEF Tap Project: This one will likely be the hardest for most of us.

It requires not touching your phone for as long as possible, you can even try to beat current record times and if you need further incentive, keep your wallet tucked away because major brands make the donation for you.

Just Give: Barely any explanation necessary. If you’re in a giving mood, use this app to browse charities and then donate to one you like the most.

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See? Giving is easy and these apps just made it a whole lot easier. So the next time someone tells you to put your phone down, just tell them you’re saving the world.

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Docu

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umentaries & reviews

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Zach’s Ceremony

A documentary about being part of an old culture in the modern world, through the eyes of a teen boy.

By Chloe Han

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oming-of-age books and movies - the label elicits a usualsuspect set of stereotypes: close ups, grimaces, high-stakes drives in the night, runaways, love, family and a healthy dose of experimental hedonism. A thread of ancient culture and tradition, on the other hand, is not your typical coming-of-age fodder.

This is where Aaron Petersen’s Zach’s Ceremony surprises its audience.

The film is a curious fusion between a thoughtful, mature documentary and an intimate, boyhood-esque movie that ponders questions of culture and identity through the frame of a modern youth’s teen years.

Zach Doomadgee is an Aboriginal Australian boy growing up in contemporary Sydney. Snapshots and interviews with the boy, his family and his father Alec document Zach’s growth as he moves from 10 to 16.

The film features Zach’s Initiation ceremony, the imperative Aboriginal rite of passage to manhood.

Zach’s problems kick off when he moves out of his boy years and into middle school. Under his dad’s tough surveillance, he feels trapped and babied. He’s angry at his school for allowing racism to permeate the students. He misses his passed grandfather and reflects on the impact of his biological mother’s departure – she is never present in any of his “good memories”.

Seeking a sense of liberty and belonging, Zach joins the teens of the night streets, and thus begins

his run with debauchery and crime.

A series of incidents involving drugs, alcohol, school absences and violent retaliations to racism ensues. But Zach’s behaviour is not completely condemned – it’s easy to feel empathy for the teen’s emotional stresses.

He narrates his thoughts in a vulnerable and youthful way that drives the documentary’s nondogmatic and conversation-sparking approach to the issues in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander realities.

Filmmaker Petersen addresses some somber issues affecting Aboriginal Australian communities, including teen rebellion, suicide rates, the government’s Alcohol Management Plan, and the flow-on effects of colonisation.

Primarily, with regard to problems among youth, the documentary is interested in the effects of a clash in cultures. The contrast between the ancient, autonomous Indigenous Australian culture and the world of cosmopolitan city-life seems stark. Events such as celebrations for Australia Day and Survival Day, Initiation Ceremonies and 16th birthday parties are not only separated by location but are polar in their nature and customs.

Called a “whitefella” among Indigenous peers and a “blackfella” in cosmopolitan Sydney, Zach feels “somewhere in the middle” and utterly lost. The figure of his father, Alec Doomadgee, vividly depicts the pressure of an ancient heritage. Alec 27

is older and wiser than his young son, well meaning though sometimes peremptory, and proudly Aboriginal.

His wish to share his passion for Indigenous culture with Zach, sometimes, rushes ahead of his young son’s understanding of the world.

The comparison between their relationship and mismatching cultures is evidenced in the constant battle between Zach’s teenage curiousity for freedom and burning need to fit in, and his father’s principles and protectiveness. The documentary keenly captures the facial expressions and the body language between the pair, and these are universal forms of communication that speak to all viewers, regardless of language.

As an attempt to calm Zach and to prompt him into maturity, Alec takes Zach to take his Initiation Ceremony.

The film crew took to the red sands of the Northern Territory and Queensland, where such traditions and rituals are carried out. Here, the long-established, warm sense of community found in culture is clear.

The elders’ patient explanations of the dreamtime stories, customs and roles, emphasise the importance of tradition and of land, within Aboriginal culture and identity.

Stories of Christian missionaries

told by actual survivors of the time are merged with excepts of old news footage that give context and impart the destructive history. When the grim impact of the missionaries is compared with the footage of life in these remote communities, and with the purposeful Initiation ceremony, it appears doubtless that Aboriginal culture is as fundamental to wellbeing, as is faith to the religious.

For the teen searching for a sense of belonging, this is irreplaceable - together with Zach’s ties to his father and finally, the mending of his relationship with his biological mother.

Thus, in classic coming-of-age style, Petersen brings the exploration of identity to its profound and complex, deeply personal core. At the heart of the documentary, is the idea that different cultures and communities each have an impalpable and incomparable influence on human lives, regardless of what type and who. Its angle is hopeful and a mature, and proud Zach Doomadgee is the

face for the documentary’s view that different cultures can uniquely exist in harmony, both in communities and within individuals. From this, stems an empowering call for Indigenous Australians to embrace and champion their ancient customs.

Zach’s story is a tender, grounded base on which to build an understanding of what it’s like to be straddled between two very different cultures, and its effects on one’s sense of identity. The film has earned Best Documentary awards in the Sydney and Melbourne International Film Festivals, and has screened nationwide, as well as in New York and Bali - coming a long way since its debut to the remote Aboriginal communities of its inspiration, in 2016.

Zach’s Ceremony conscientiously promotes thought and understanding between Indigenous and nonIndigenous peoples.

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Copyright Zach's Ceremony [LINK to trailer and synopsis]

Indigenous Rights Fin Voice In Popular Cultu Innovative resettlement program ignites entrepreneurial passions.

By Isabella Fernandez

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the Cleverman archetype that existed in many Aboriginal communities. The series has an 80 per cent Indigenous cast and reflects the treatment of racial minorities and asylum seekers in modern Australia. Cleverman is a captivating sci-fi series that reflects many of the human rights issues happening in Australia today. Read the full review by clicking this link.

Mentioned as a notable film at The Berlin International Film Festival. For more click this link for full article.

or many years, Indigenous voices and stories have been silenced or skimmed over in popular culture. But that’s changing.

In the last decade, many talented and creative Indigenous people have made their mark in the local and international film, music, literature and TV industries, by telling powerful Indigenous stories.

Here are four recent examples that will hopefully broaden your understanding of the Indigenous experience and the unique human rights issues affecting Indigenous communities – not only in Australia, but around the world.

Watch: Viceland Presents: Cut Off A confronting and incredible documentary, Cut Off documents Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to Shoal Lake 40, an isolated First Nations Reserve. We are introduced to the real life situation faced by the First Nation people that live here, with a lack of access to running water, food and infrastructure. What is most devastating is the extremely high suicide rates amongst the people that live here. In 2016, a state of emergency was declared after 140 people threatened or attempted suicide in a two-week period.

When Prime Minister Trudeau arrives, he is the first sitting Canadian Prime Minister to visit a First Nation Reserve, which is hopefully a positive start to a reconciliation process. While this series is not about the issues faced by Indigenous Australians, there are many parallels that can be seen in this documentary.

From the history of Indigenous people being moved

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BINGE: Cleverman (Season 1) Set in a dystopian version of Australia, Cleverman depicts a world inhabited by the humans and the “hairies”, a subcategory of people who are secluded from society and forced to live in “the Zone”. Central character Koen West (played by Mununjali & Nunukal actor Hunter Page-Lochard) is a former member of The Zone, who inherits the supernatural powers of the Cleverman, from Uncle Jimmy (Jack Charles).

These powers allow him the ability to heal, have visions and be a gatekeeper between the Dreamtime and the real world. Kamilaroi writer, Ryan Griffen draws on the mythology and traditions of Aboriginal culture throughout Cleverman, maintaining the Dreamtime elements of past, present and future.

This is most prominently demonstrated by Griffen’s Cleverman character, who is loosely based on 29 29

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Cleverman – Lisa Tomasetti

They took the children away by Archie Roach – about the stolen generation. In that song, Roach describes “the promises they did not keep/And how they fenced us in like sheep/Said to us come take our hand/Sent us off to mission land.”

Briggs updates Roach’s lyrics with “I'm Wanganeen in '93/I'm Mundine, I'm Cathy Free-Man, that fire inside-a-me.” Briggs’ positive outlook shows how the adversity faced by Indigenous Australians has not stopped them from achieving “Everything that you can't be”.

The accompanying video clip is equally inspirational, showcasing many more Indigenous Australians, as well as featuring images of the recent protests in Melbourne against the forced closure of Aboriginal communities. Overall, it is an uplifting song that highlights the strengths that Indigenous Australians bring to society.

The Children Came Back – Josh Davis, Nineteen Eighty Four Films

to their own areas of land and isolated from the rest of the community following European settlement; to the institutionalisation of the Indigenous people in the 20th century, to the continuing disparity of wealth and living conditions for those living in Indigenous communities that occurs today.

Photojournalist Andrew Quilty wins Gold at 61st Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalis. For more on this article click this link.

Listen: The Children Came Back This song celebrates the many inspirational Indigenous Australians of today. The children came back is an uplifting response to an earlier song 30 30

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Read: Talking to My Country by Stan Grant A powerful and captivating biography, Stan Grant (a Wiradjuri man) gives an insightful perspective on the experience of being an Indigenous Australian.

Grant pinpoints some of the major issues faced

by Indigenous Australians, like how a wariness of institutions comes from the idea that “the state was designed to scare us”. Grant explains how his current surname was given to his family after their ancestral Wiradjuri name was “taken from us”. This book then moves towards a broader discussion on what Australia is today, what Grant would like to see it become and poses the question directly to the reader, asking what they would like Australia to be?

Winner of the Walkley Book Award in 2016, Talking to My Country will give any non-Indigenous reader a greater understanding of the experiences of a Wiradjuri man.

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