National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA)
Triennial Forum: At the Cross Roads: Living is a world of change
Sunday 11th July 2004
Address by Professor Lowitja O’Donoghue, Patron of the Decade to Overcome Violence

Thank you. It is a great honour to be with you today at this NCCA forum and to be the Patron of your Decade to Overcome Violence program.

About 10 months ago in Sydney I had the privilege to launch the Decade to Overcome Violence.  I remember the occasion vividly.  It was just a few days after the American invasion of Iraq.  John Howard had just committed Australia to following George Bush and Tony Blair into war.  A war, which did not have the sanction of the United Nations. A war against a country whose people were already downtrodden by internal conflict, political and religious divisions, and poverty.  In my view, of the time, this war was illegal and immoral. And nothing that has happened since has changed my mind.   And what did this war achieve?

Did it liberate a country from oppression, or did it merely create another form of oppression? Did it discover vast stashes of weapons of mass destruction? Did it discover any at all? Was the whole call to war an exercise in mass deception? Did it discover any links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda? Did it put an end to terrorism, or just intensify a climate of global instability and insecurity, which may well have fuelled the growth of terrorist networks? I don’t think I have to answer any of these questions for you.

In a very substantial report released just a few weeks ago, the American Foreign Policy in Focus organisation itemised the mounting costs of the Iraq war.(1)  I will highlight just a few of its findings. Firstly the human costs: About five to six thousand Iraqi soldiers killed. 952 coalition forces killed and over 5 000 injured.  About 11 000 Iraqi civilians killed. Another 40 000 or more injured. What terrible statistics! 98 suicide attacks around the world in 2003—more than in any other year in contemporary history. Economic costs: the bill so far, for America alone, is something like $150 billion in the past year.

Think of how many starving people that amount of money could feed. How many hospitals, houses and schools that kind of money could buy .How much world poverty it could alleviate.  And the effects on the Iraqi economy have been disastrous— unemployment has doubled since the war and is now about 60%.  I believe only about 1% of Iraq’s workforce of seven million is involved in reconstruction projects, most of which have been contracted out to US companies.

Then there are the social and environmental costs: the families and communities torn apart, rising crime, the mental health costs. The 200 Iraqi schools destroyed, the damage to water and sewage systems.  And of course, there are the human rights violations — including the much publicized humiliation and abuse of Iraqi prisoners by the occupying forces.  So you can see why I feel very sad and troubled as patron of the Decade to Overcome Violence. We have not got off to a very good start.  And war is just the dramatic, highly publicized side of violence.

We also live in a world of more “everyday” violence that is mostly just regarded as ‘how the world is’.  And I speak here of the violence underlying:
• Racism
• The treatment at people in poverty
• The treatment of many women by men
• The treatment of the environment
• The treatment of asylum seekers
• The treatment of people who are seen as unacceptable for whatever reason, for example, because of their mental health, disability, or their sexual orientation.
•  And of course, the abuse of children by those who have a duty to care for them.

It seems to me that there is little point in talking about peace as abstract ideal, in a world such as this, unless we actively respond to the values that support and maintain violence as the norm. This for me, is the linchpin of my commitment to the mission of Overcoming Violence. I believe that violence is not a given. It is a choice. And we have to learn to choose differently. I believe that to do this effectively there needs to be leadership. And what more obvious leadership could there be than the teachings of Jesus Christ?  The message is there loud and clear in Matthew 5.9: Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall become the children of God.

It is clear to me that the Church must play a leading role is showing people a different path, and in demonstrating that this different path is a viable one.  Its moral and ethical position needs to be apparent.  This I believe is what the World Council of Churches and the NCCA have done with their commitment to the Decade to Overcome Violence.  They are seeking to address the root causes of violence. In doing this they have identified four major worldwide themes. These four themes resonate very strongly with me. They are:

1. Truth: transcending the spirit and logic of violence, re-thinking and imagining ways of peace. This includes acknowledging the truth of the past. In Australia, acknowledging the original sin of dispossession and the devastating consequences this has had for my people.

2. Mercy: addressing the use, misuse and abuse of power. Spreading power and forgiveness.  The misuse of power is something, which is a particularly sensitive topic today, especially in Adelaide churches. I am sure it is something, which has been high on your agenda at this forum.  I would like to suggest that wherever we look at groups of people whose human rights have been violated — whether it be Indigenous people living in third world conditions in first world nations, or people living in poverty anywhere, or refugees and asylum seekers, or abused children, or people with disabilities — the one thing that these groups all have in common, of course, is a lack at power.  This impacts on daily life at every level:

• Their voices tend not to be heard.
• Their preferences, wishes and aspirations are less likely to eventuate.
• They are more likely to feel at the mercy of systems — than to experience systems as being there to support them.
• The major political parties do not see their issues as vote winners.
• When they do receive attention it is often inappropriate or patronizing.

So understanding power, powerlessness and the abuse of power, is absolutely crucial. Our challenge is to find appropriate ways of redressing these power imbalances.

The third DOV theme is Justice: addressing Issues of justice. Doing justice to all.  Justice is at the heart of the Reconciliation movement.  But I would have to say, and I say this with a heavy heart, that I think Reconciliation has failed in Australia.  Not because there is not strong support for it from the people’s movement, and from churches and community organisations, because there clearly is.  But because there is no real commitment to it from the highest level of government.  The recent abolition of ATSIC was an important crossroad for Reconciliation. And I fear we took a wrong turn.  John Howard calls the new structures the mainstreaming of services to Indigenous people.  I call it sidelining us — it is a return to the oblivion of an assimilationist past.   We have lost our national voice.  I believe it is yet another example of justice being denied. And of power being abused.

You don’t have to dig too deeply to see the very real consequences that have flowed from 206 years of injustice since white settlement in Australia.  On any social measure of health and well-being, Indigenous people, my people, are hugely over represented at the wrong end of the scale.  No matter whether you look at life expectancy, health profiles, custody figures, educational outcomes, unemployment, substance abuse, domestic violence, suicide —you name it— the trend is the same.  An Indigenous underclass is developing in Australia.  And there is a very real danger that this underclass will become permanent, to deprivation, poverty and ill health perpetuated by neglect, institutionalized racism and the tunnel vision of governments.

The final DOV theme is Community: valuing religious identity and plurality. Growing communities, which value diversity.

I believe that in Australia today we have lost a sense of community. Instead they’re in a climate of fear and mistrust.  Nowhere is this more evident than in our policies on refugees and asylum seekers.  I think the problem is compounded by white Australian affluence (and the sense or privilege which accompanies that) and by our geographic isolation. These have resulted in us isolating ourselves, from our near neighbours — and from international dialogue and action.  I am appalled, for example, that this country has been censured by the United Nations for its failures to meet its human rights obligations.  And when asylum seekers — boat people — are dismissed as queue jumpers or ‘illegals’, I want to remind Prime Minister Howard and Ministers Ruddock and Vanstone, that my people had to deal with boat people over 200 years ago! I believe that the government has shown a frightening indifference to the plight of refugees and asylum seekers.  These people are human beings in desperate need.  Many have fled persecution and trauma in their home countries, only to face it again here, when they are locked up in the desert behind razor wire and electric fences.

Despite the government’s pledge to ensure that children are not detained, there are still 69 children in Immigration Detention in Australia, and another 70 or so in Nauru. Some have been in detention for four years or more.  And of the two thousand or so of these children who have arrived in Australia since 1999—93% have been found to be genuine refugees.  It is increasingly being reported that the treatment of these children have left many of them severely traumatized and with tong-term mental health problems I know that many of you here today work devotedly in your own churches and communities to address some of the human rights abuses I have spoken of.

I know that many of you would be actively involved in Reconciliation projects. Christian churches were notably at the forefront of the Sorry Day movement and many devised comprehensive apologies to the Stolen Generations. You have shown the way — It is a great pity that certain prominent Australian Christians have not seen fit to follow your lead.  I have found in my travels around the country that all sorts of different people are working for just outcomes.  I have seen that practices and values can be changed. And, that change is likely to occur when people accept responsibility to take the initiative.  There are opportunities in most contexts to make differences - even if it can only be one step at a time.

To assist this process I devised a Ten Point Plan for Human Rights Action when I was asked to deliver the annual Human Rights Oration in Melbourne in December last year. I’ve been asked by the organizers of this forum to share this with you today.  I don’t pretend that this is the be all and end all.  Ten is an arbitrary number. I could have made it 7 or 20.  But there are some nice precedents for the number ten! Which I’m sure I don’t need to tell you about.  So I offer these as a starting point for discussion only.    I hope you will add to them in your own conversations and that they may influence some of your deliberations and recommendations arising from this forum.

1. Accept personal responsibility for change. No matter how small. Don’t assume that someone else will do it. Don’t be complacent. Even small things like refusing to laugh at a racist joke can make a difference. And don’t be daunted by the size of the problem. As Margaret Mead once said: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

2. Reflect on your own behaviour. Reflect on the cultural practices or beliefs that you find confronting or difficult. It is healthier to name and discuss the issues that you find difficult, than it is to try and be saintly.

3.  Identity what you have got to give. It may be time, it may be specific expertise. It may be a shoulder to cry on, or a sympathetic ear.  It may be money.  Everyone can do something and this may change at different times of your life.

4. Act in your own context. For example, has anyone in your workplace raised the desirability of a workplace code of values and ethics? If not, perhaps you could do it.  Once people have discussed desirable ways in which people should treat each other in the workplace, it is a short step to raising human rights more broadly.

5. Collaborate.  There is strength in partnerships and strategic alliances. The NCCA Forum with representation from 15 different Christian churches is a great example. It’s the same thinking as in that Union bumper sticker you see around: United we bargain. Divided we beg.  So don’t allow “divide and rule” strategies to undermine you. Ignore the people who oppose a just refugee program with tired old arguments like “Charity begins at home’. Charity begins everywhere!  By the way, collaboration may mean having some strange bedfellows at all times! You’ll sometimes be surprised at who may be on side!

6. Join. Network. Lobby. Advocate. Tell politicians what you think. To recycle an old slogan: Keep the bastards honest.  Sign petitions. Write letters. If you can, make use of the internet and email to reach people.  I’m not a computer buff myself, but I’m amazed at what I hear about the speed and effectiveness of electronic networks. For example, Malcolm Fraser’s online petition opposing children in detention apparently got nearly 40,000 signatures in about a week last year.  The internet has also been enormously important in creating and sustaining global communities of human rights activists.

7. Treat everyone with respect.  It might sound like a cliché, I know. But respect is so important. More so than compassion or sympathy, because respect is based on familiarity and understanding. If we only take the time to get to know people, we can avoid the limitations of stereotyping and labelling. And respect ensures that people retain their dignity.

8. Be inclusive. Notice and then analyse the various contacts and communications in your daily life.  For example, at work or in your congregation, are there some people who only feature on the sidelines? Do they feel included? Do their views matter? Once you have a good relationship with people it becomes easier to think about how social justice and human rights issues can be raised.

9. Maintain your rage. I do like recycling old slogans! But it was good one. Also maintain your hope, your optimism and, wherever possible, your sense of humour, because you’ll need it at times!

10. And finally, celebrate your successes. Not only does this make you feel good but it also energises you for more work!

I know that many of you here work tirelessly for social justice and against violence and abuse.

I think it is important when the task is so difficult to remember that there is nothing more fundamentally important than peace and justice.

As the American philosopher John Dewey once said, and I quote:

The only way to abolish war is to make peace heroic.

I wish you courage and success in your endeavors and I hope this forum has been, and will continue to be, a huge success.

Thank you and God bless.

1. I acknowledge here the invaluable research of the American Institute for Policy Studies and Foreign Policy in Focus, an organisation committed to working to make the US a more responsible global leader and partner. Full report available online at:  http:www.fpif.org/papers/0406costsodwar.html