For anyone interested in the white brutality inflicted on Australian Aborigines for 228 years but not knowing where to look for information about it, a good start is a new book: “The Intervention, an anthology”. The crowd-funded historic work, published by the pro-Aboriginal advocacy group ‘concerned australians’, has gathered together the work of 20 of Australia’s finest indigenous and non-indigenous writers, together with powerful statements from Northern Territory Elders. It brings a new dimension and urgency to an issue that has remained largely outside the public radar. In one of the most invasive, puzzling and unprecedented actions in Australia’s history, the 2007 Northern Territory Intervention was a reactionary and racist response to what the right-of-centre Howard government described as the “national emergency confronting the welfare of Aboriginal children in relation to child abuse and family violence”.
The massive military and police invasion of Aboriginal communities was based on a lie. For
example, an
investigation by the Australian Crime Commission found no evidence supporting allegations
that a paedophile ring was operating there.
The Intervention resulted in an ongoing breach of human rights which has never
been properly debated nor has there ever been any significant consultation with
the Indigenous communities most affected.
In fiction, memoir, essays, poetry and communiqués, the dramatic story of the
Intervention and the despair, anguish and anger of the First Nations people of
the Territory comes alive.
The Intervention: an Anthology is an extraordinary document; deeply moving,
impassioned, spiritual, angry and authoritative. It is essential reading for
anyone who wants to understand this passionate opposition.
The National Tertiary Education Union, WA Division, is hosting a public launch of the book in Fremantle on 18 February 2016, 6pm. Go along if you happen to be in the area then or inform someone who will be.
Reviews:
”It’s time, reader, for a very deep breath: Aborigines invented democracy.”
For the most complete listing of books by and about Aborigines that I know go here.