Aborigines have lived in Australia for at least 40 thousand years. Most communities still live in remote areas, far from the big cities and the economic centers, and survive only thanks to government aids. They have been robbed of their land since the early years of the British colonization. The theft and destruction of the ancestral territories have had a devastating social and physical impact on them.
Nowadays, they are still the object of racism and violence, and many of them live in inhumane conditions. As a result, they suffer a higher rate of child suicide and mortality than those the rest of the population, and have a much lower life expectancy; moreover, the number of Aboriginal people in prison is very high.
Despite the abolishment of the racist principle of “terra nullius” (a principle that defined the Australian land before the arrival of the British as an empty land, a no man’s land that, therefore, could be legitimately occupied by settlers) in 1992, the Australian government still keeps trying to hinder the territorial claims of the Aborigines.
For years, they have denounced the exploitation of the territories that should be rightfully theirs, as well as the natural resources of those territories. For all this, they explain, they had to pay the price not only for the deprivation of their land, but also the ongoing attempt to destroy their culture.
Think of Uluru. It is a must-see site, as it has almost become the “symbol” of Australia. But it’s a mockery towards the local Aborigines. For them, that is a sacred mountain with a special meaning, yet with a lot of arrogance, people have built a handrail on it to please all those who – with even more arrogance and an absolute lack of respect – wanted to climb it despite knowing what it means.
Moreover, in every corner of the country, Aboriginal art and culture is for selling. Art galleries sell their paintings at exorbitant prices but you just need to go outside, turn the corner, and you will find those same aborigines around the city, drunk, on the street, begging. They are completely cut off from Western culture and at the same time they have been uprooted from their traditions. They live in a middle ground, a sort of limbo.
In conclusion, considering the territories we have visited, Australia has proven to be a very wild country with incredible natural wonders. The vast landscapes with the colors of the fire remain fixed in our minds. The gorges, the trails, the endless tracks, the wallabies that appeared at sunset on the sides of the road, made this trip really special. On the other hand, our thought goes to the Aboriginal people, orphans of their land and their culture.
