The Transit Lounge

Alison Atkinson-Phillips

In 2007 a group of Aboriginal women from the Fitzroy Valley in the remote north-west of WA decided enough was enough.

 

After 50 funerals in a year and 13 suicides in as many months, they knew something had to be done. Now the documentary Yajilarra shares their story of hope to people around the world.  

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The short film, which was produced by the Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre of Fitzroy Crossing and directed by Melanie Hogan, premiered at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York earlier this year.

Speaking at a screening held in Perth last week, June Oscar, CEO of the Resource Centre, said the film had been made short and to the point, in order to catch the attention of those attending the international event. She said a longer version was planned.

However, Melanie Hogan’s great editing means that in just 24 minutes many voices are heard and a story of hope emerges.

Fitzroy Valley is a place where four different Aboriginal language groups live together, and while the community is rich in culture, the women felt that Alcohol abuse threatened the future of that culture.

June Oscar and Emily Carter, chair of the Women’s Resource Centre, tell the story of how the women of the town got together and decided to restrict alcohol consumption in their town, in a bid to support their elders and offer their young people a future.

Despite strong opposition — Emily describes losing much of her hair through the stress — the various government agencies were supportive. Now, although alcohol is still available in the pub, only light beer can be bought to take away.

In the film, the local doctor describes the scenes which were regularly witnessed in the local emergency department, which he said was often overflowing with drunken, violent groups. Four months later, WA’s Drug and Alcohol Office reported a 55 per cent reduction in people presenting for alcohol-related treatment.

Police said they had seen a 45 per cent drop in the incidence of alcohol-related violence

The women said they were always aware that reducing the consumption of alcohol was not the cure to all their community’s problems, but it has offered a ‘powerful circuit-breaker’ and allowed real healing to begin.

As well as giving an idea of the challenges affecting the community, Yajilarra gives an insight into the depth of the culture in the Fitzroy Valley. One beautiful scene shows small children with barramundi scales stuck over them splashing in the river as part of a ceremony to introduce them to the water.  

For those who oppose it, the Federal Government’s Northern Territory Intervention into Aboriginal communities is wrong, not because they don’t want a better future for remote communities, but because it has been done without listening to the Aboriginal people.

Yajilarra offers a vision of what can happen when people are empowered and supported to tackle the issues affecting their own community.

 

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Unpack the issues...

Think

• Would you have the courage to stand up to the people in your community and make such a big change?

 

Read more

• Alcohol ban results
• Aboriginal alcohol consumption
• Melanie Hogan