Galiwinku Diary

17/2/26

Sadly and shockingly for the Galiwinku community a young man is stabbed and dies in an altercation with another young man on Saturday 14/2. This is the day after the community comes together in a meeting to discuss the increase in youth crime – mainly breakins at the shops and NGO offices and smashing of car windows. Balanda we know who have been connected here for 30 years say this murder is unprecedented. At one stage I go out in the car on Saturday afternoon and witness an angry mob of young men it seems being revved up in angry revenge and charging down the road. We’re told to stay at home by management. The scariest thing now is escalation and payback and the community being divided in this on clan & family lines.

[Post Script – despite my fears, things do settle down in the community around this violent death. When we are later adopted it turns out that the deceased man is from the household of our adoptive family – the son in law. I later hear that the father in law wishes to forgive the perpetrator who has now fled to another island. We can play a supportive role with our family when they get distressed by a seemingly slow police investigation. I bump into some NAAJA lawyers and I am able to normalise for our family the nature of the police investigation).

Thursday Feb 5^th

The public Health team office was empty of staff when I arrived for my scheduled visit to deliver literacy/computer skills today – except for my 73 yo friend Wanumula who told me some stories about the mission days and her forbears. She and many Yolnu are of Christian faith. While some reflect a religiosity including attendance at church on a Sunday and talking about the spread of the Holy Spirit, most seem to reflect a deep faith closely related to the the depth of their ancient cultural beliefs about the creator. This doesen’t seem to be like the, repugnant to me, fundamentalist version. I heard this version when I attended the church and an older white guy got up and preached that the Yolnu beliefs were definitely in second place in the hierarchy to his fundamentalist version. Hopefully these re-colonising efforts are falling mainly on deaf ears! Interestingly in a population of 2800 only about 30 people attend the Sunday service, whereas in my experience nearly every Yolnu I meet will express some version of faith. I’ve found Stan Grant’s take on indigenous faith a version I can relate to. She’s the daughter of the Rev Dr Gondarra  (see the film about him “The Law of the Land”) who had degrees in theology, lectured in Darwin at a bible college, was head of the Uniting Church Synod in the NT. He was was later the chairperson of a major Yolnu development corporation before his death in 2023. His daughter Dianne drops into the office and she  and Wanumula lament the loss of visionary leadership for Yolnu – leaders who like him could walk in both worlds – Balanda (white) and Yolnu. I contribute that the outgoing Balanda head of my corporation disappointingly has not arranged for his succession with a Yolnu replacement. Taking me by surprise Wanamula and Diane vigorously defend the importance of having a white CEO of their Aboriginal corporation that serves their region. Wanamula attends public health conferences with her colleagues, has a high level of oral English communication, but can barely read or write. I’m not even going to attempt to teach her phonics, reading and writing. My ongoing role with her will be interpreting and composing her emails!

Well after our evening walk on the beach which is an important antidote to the days tropical heat lockdown in the airconditioned donger, we’re using the Aboriginal corporation vehicle to make the 5 km trip home. Louise calls out to a small family group walking up the road – anyone heading to Bhutan (our suburb) …?  We’ve thought we’d dodged the tropical storm heading across the bay – but as soon as the door shuts with our 4 lucky passengers now inside – whamo we’re hit with a tropical downpour. They include a 9 month baby in a pram on their 3 km return trip from a Sunday arvo family visit.  There’s two broken down vehicles in the front yard and an old fella under the verandah. The young father in relative impecunity doesen’t lack connections – he’s confident and proudly tells us his dad now deceased was on the board of our first nations corporation employer. To my way of thinking he should be living in middle class comfort. We’ve been told that first nations families suffer overcrowding – one family to one bedroom with up to five families in any one house. There might be one fridge and if that breaks down how do you manage your food – hard to manage anyway in such a household, not to mention your sleep which might not be setting you up for a good day at school.  School attendance is only 30 – 40 % in this community.

Louise tasks me with checking out the local general store that is just past the gate of our compound.  This gate has already been unlocked for the day. Our own “donger” – our long rectangular house also has a locked gate – Louise who is not disposed to paranoia merely drapes the chain around it at night. This rather ugly infrastructure could appear to the worst of my  Queensland born and bred deep seated racist predjudices that yes Aboriginal people are a pack of thieves who can’t be trusted. More likely that if you are stuck with 3 broken down cars in the front yard and you don’t want to walk 5 or more kms to the town centre to get grandma’s medicine in the tropical heat and those white guys have fully serviced vehicles you might be tempted to have a borrow! Etc etc. You’ve committed a few crimes of poverty and hey Presto like Jeremiah on the plane – you’re in Dondale or it’s adult equivalent.