Eickj Blog

Prior to this reading I was very unaware of the problems the aboriginal people of Australia have. In many ways it seems to be parallel to the problems that the Native Americans have faced here in the United States. Although I know that Native Americans have historically had less education, lower income, more problems finding employment, and a higher number of people in prisons, I was unaware that these issues were so extreme in Australia as well. In fact, it seems as though these are bigger problems in Australia than they are here in the United States. I was amazed that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination investigated Australia as recently as 2005 due to the extreme inequalities faced by the aboriginal people of Australia. For me, this was so surprising because Australia is a very westernized and modern country that seems to pride itself on protecting human rights throughout the world. Despite this, they allowed such ill treatment of their own people through the 21st Century.

While the plight of the aboriginal peoples is sad, I find it difficult to identify a concrete and practical solution to the existing problem. At the time that the aboriginal peoples were oppressed, no true concept of human rights, much less any mechanism of avoiding human rights violations, was in place. This is not to say that the oppressors, namely the British, were not at fault. It was their conscious decision and effort that destroyed a rich and ancient flourishing culture to implement their own ideas and infrastructures. However in their eyes, imposing Western cultural values may have seemed like salvation from a heathen lifestyle for aboriginal peoples. No declaration or document prohibited them from being oppressors, and with superior technology, transportation, communication and weapons, the British made use of available resources and expanded their empire.
Now, aboriginal people struggle with problems such as identity and community on top of sustenance. To return their lives to pre-Western influence would essentially involve Western evacuation of their land, a clearly unlikely and unpractical solution. To fully assimilate aboriginals into Western culture would be to lose a valuable piece of historical and cultural diversity. The current system, however, seems to lack emphasis on aboriginal needs and denies time, money and effort to people whose means of living was robbed from them. At this point, the most effective way of improving the situation would be to invest more time and energy into providing special group rights for these oppressed people.

When I think of a country with major human rights violations, I would never think of Australia. I was in shock by the events that took place during the time the English came to Australia. I had no idea, so many people were pushed out of their homes with no place to go.
I am not very familiar with the events that occurred with Native Americans in the United States either. However, I do know here in the United States Native Americans are able to still live in reservations and are still able to practice traditions. In Australia, what has happened to the indigenous people? Do they have some sort of reservation to live on again? Also, were the British as harsh on the Native Americans as they were in the Australians?

Although Australia is not a highly publicized human rights violating country, it is clear from this perspective that they have committed violations. It was odd to me that they seem to be going backwards instead of learning from their mistakes and giving more rights. The original British settlers are to blame, as are the original British settlers on the Americas. But really, it is human nature to dominate the weak, and the British possessed weapons, and diseases, and their idea of education. The saddest thing is the loss of the culture of the original inhabitants of these countries. Do the aboriginal people have reservations like the American's? If so, did the aboriginal rights get taken away, and why was this necessary?
It seems that the most resonable solution would be to establish some sort of treaty like the US Government has with the various Native American tribes. But then the same issues with group rights would be raised, and it would seem as though the Australian government was granting them rights, where it needs to be an equal aggreement.

Firstly, I was completely unaware of the predicament in Australia. I had heard of the fact that it was "started" as a prison camp for the Brittish colonies, but I had no idea there was such a story behind this.

I can slightly understand the rights violations committed against the aboriginal Australians prior to 1948, but did the Universal Declaration of Human Rights do nothing for these people? The article regarding Human Rights did not actually make reference to the application of the Universal declaration on these people. I would be very interested to see how/if the situation for the aborigines changed after the ratification of the UDHR. Does Australia recognize the UDHR? Why were the aborigines moved out of their homes when the UDHR says that “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law”? Did the British simply not recognize them as people? This one is beyond me.

The affects of imperialism are long lasting and will continue to pose a challenge. The current plight of the aboriginal people is an example of the legacy imperialism has left behind. European settlers, mainly the English, exploited the new world to its maximum potential. Even though the United States has made many efforts to address the plight of the Native Americans, they are still far short of any significant progress. The aboriginal people will continue to face enormous challenges when it comes to their status. They will have to create a niche for themselves within the larger mainstream society while at the same time maintain their unique identity. This is a difficult undertaking and the fact that aboriginal people are not actively involved in the affairs of their country makes it even harder. There is a need for both sides to understand the others perspective and come to an understanding that addresses the issue.