Hello! Hope you guys are working hard on the position papers! Can’t wait to read over some of them. Today, we are going to further look into the case study of the aboriginals population in Australia. The article listed above lays out beautifully the “social gap” between the indigenous and Australian population. And the results are striking. Let’s take a look at these statistics with the lense of health, poverty, and education in to consideration (*look at the topic synopsis if confused).
Poverty: We can consider poverty rates first, and what do we see? Compared to the 5.8% unemployment rate of the Australian population, that of the indigenous population quadruples at 20.8%.
Education: Students attending school 90% of the time for the Australian population is 79.3%, while for the indigenous population it is 49%. Additionally, compared to the Australian population where 80% of the students have finished year 12, only 61% of students of indigenous backgrounds have done the same.
Health: Alcohol Abuse, Suicide Rates, Maternal Mortality, and Life Expectancy are all lower in indigenous populations compared to the Australian ones. This shows that not only are indigenous people faced with physical health issues but also mental ones as well.
There is a mutuality in all of these factors. For example, because of extreme poverty spurred by unemployment, students in indigenous families lacks resources to properly finish their education, and because of these, health clinics lack the support of indigenous doctors who can effectively implement joint (traditional and western) medicinal treatment. So some questions to consider are, what are some policies that can be implemented to close the social gap that indigenous people face? And how can the support of one key issue spillover and support the other? Finally, are there any other key issues that we need to focus on?
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/26/asia/indigenous-australian-australia-day-statistics/index.html
In order to work towards closing the social gap that indigenous people face all around the global community, Botswana believes that we should implement the Indigeous Affairs Council for countries who have indigenous groups. We believe that due to the strong social gap and issues that inigenous people face that are so rarely addressed, that this solution is fitting. With this council, it would encourage nations to set up national bodies that are made up of indigenous and non indigenous people so that they can work towards solving issues that nations face whether it be, for example, the health, unemployment, or the educational issues that indigenous groups in Australia face. Working with supplemental NGOs, such as Native Planet and Cultural Survival, this council could initially bring indigenous people into society while respecting their cultural practices. Although this solution does not target on solving one key issue, its focus on bringing together indigenous and non indigenous people together in an environment that has the goal of working together will help make advancements towards solving most issues indigenous communities face.
ReplyDeleteIn order to improve the social gap the indigenous people face in Australia, its government needs to work on three important areas: health care, education and job creation. Since Australia is a wealthy 1st world nation, they can easily provide the indigenous with health care solutions. The first step is to give indigenous access to better medical facilities in the areas that they reside. Second, provide well-trained professional staff and doctors to ensure that the indigenous get the best treatment possible which can also help decrease infant mortality rate and increase life expectancy.
ReplyDeleteThe second area of improvement is education. Similar to building better medical facilities, the Australian government can also construct better educational centers in the areas they live and pay well-qualified teachers more for moving out there. If schools cannot be built in some location, public transportation should provided. Since many of these students and parents do not speak English, free english classes should be offered. Additionally by learning english the indigenous will find it easier to communicate in the dominant language of the nation.
When the students that finish their grade school requirements, college scholarships should be offered to those students who show academic promise. With students getting the education they need, they will have the knowledge to get a respectable and maybe even high paying jobs when they grow up.
To drop the high indigenous unemployment, provide vocational skills classes that can teach people simple jobs. Overall, in order to better serve the indigenous people of the world, indigenous history and the importance of the indigenous should be taught worldwide.