For A Change articles from February 1998

For A Change archives from February 1998

Facing the past.
February 1, 1998... This issue, largely written and conceived by Australians, paints a picture of a multi-ethnic country `in search of its soul' as it approaches the centenary of its national federation. The search, our writers maintain, requires both a courageous...

Nation in search of its soul.
February 1, 1998... Australia will celebrate the Millennium with a cocktail of hope spiked with a potent brew of insecurity and anxiety. Our Millennium party will continue right through the Sydney Olympics up to 1 January, 2001--the centenary of the Federation...

Valley of despair.
February 1, 1998... John O'Brien, dairy farmer in Victoria and Chair of the Gippsland State Emergency Services and Water Board: Our area of the Latrobe Valley is one of huge despair. At least one third of the 18- to 30-year-olds are out of work. I counted 19...

We belong to this land.
February 1, 1998... Stepan Kerkyasharian, Chair of the Ethnic Affairs Commission, NSW: So much of the conflict on the horizon emanates from a confusion about our identity. Because this confusion comes at a time of economic uncertainty, it plays on fear. And it...

Open door.
February 1, 1998... Goretti Nguyen has worked in the retail industry and is one of the organizers of Australian-Vietnamese Youth Today: Australia--the `lucky' country--was my parents' dream. I was born in Vietnam. I am Australian. As a child, I pictured...

People's movement for better relationships: as Australia faces a possible poll over race issues, Mike Brown reports on grassroots action to bring together indigenous Australians and the wider community.
February 1, 1998... `Even in moments of despair,' said Aboriginal lawyer and land rights champion Noel Pearson I last August, `I always find myself being reminded that we must not be gloomy about the Australian people. There are sparks of goodwill, empathy and...

Stolen from under the Quandong tree.
February 1, 1998... Avis Gale was born 52 years ago under a Quandong tree near Ceduna, on the edge of the flat, dry Nullabor Plain in central South Australia. When her Aboriginal mother got pregnant, the white family she was working for sent her back to her...

Time to say sorry to `stolen generations'.
February 1, 1998... In 1995 the government launched an Inquiry into a tragic episode in Australian history--the practice of removing Aboriginal children from their families with the aim of assimilating them into Western culture. This practice went on throughout...

Keeper of the heart of Australia: Lois O'Donoghue, one of Australia's best known public figures, did not know her mother until she was 35.
February 1, 1998... Lois O'Donoghue, one of Australia's best known public figures, did not know her mother until she was 35. Mike Brown tells the story of her extraordinary life. Lois O'Donoghue was short-listed to become Governor-General of Australia, and...

Business of reconciliation.
February 1, 1998... As Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents over 300,000 enterprises, Ian Spicer probably had enough on his desk. But in 1991, when the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs called in to ask him to serve on...

People making a difference (Lesley Simmonds).
February 1, 1998... Lesley Simmonds is part of a caring family. She has many friends and a job she loves. She also happens to have Down's syndrome. Lesley is a member of one of the 28 extended families run by houseparents living in Botton Village near Whitby...

People making a difference (Geoff and Dara Lockyer).
February 1, 1998... Geoff Lockyer was returning home to South Australia from a business function in Ukraine. He felt restless and could not sleep on his flight. A visit to the children's hospital in Kiev had disturbed and appalled him. The hospital lacked even...

People making a difference (Rex Dilly).
February 1, 1998... A requiem mass in Krakow, conducted entirely in Polish, for a Scotsman who didn't speak a word of the language--an uncommon event by any standards. But Rex Dilly, both in life and in death, evoked uncommon responses of gratitude from many...

Reconciliation of peoples - challenge to the churches.
February 1, 1998... The reconciliation of peoples--challenge to the churches Edited by Gregory Baum and Harold Wells WCC Publications, [pounds sterling] 11.50 This informative and thought-provoking book is conceived against the background of the tragic events...

Is he my brother?
February 1, 1998... Is he my brother? 28-minute video, Editor: Allison Kenny, Director and Producer: Alan Channer MRA Productions. Is he my brother? is a remarkable story of forgiveness and reconciliation. Set against the lush background of Kenya, it tells the...

Back to life: what made Lachlan Walters, a 19-year-old apprentice upholsterer from Adelaide, Australia, give up drink and drugs?
February 1, 1998... I was brought up in a `good Christian household' by parents who didn't quite have all the answers. When I was eight they taught me how to drink `maturely'. At 13 my cousin taught me about marijuana and how to smoke it. After that I...

Reaching out to those who are different.
February 1, 1998... In Oregon they have found a new use for a shredder. A butt of comedians' jokes about politicians destroying incriminating documents, this little device was put to use at a recent Hope in the Cities conference in Oregon as a tool for leaving...

Dreams to reality in Brazil.
February 1, 1998... In February 1997, Tibor Sulik, Brazilian member of the Vatican Commission for Justice and Peace, told a group of favela leaders from Rio de Janeiro: `You have learned to put men and women at the heart of your concerns. You have shown that a...

New partnerships to bridge the work-skills gap.
February 1, 1998... A hands-on approach by the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Richmond, Virginia, is helping people move from welfare to work. The Chamber's innovative arrangement with local government may be the first of its kind in the USA, according to the US...

Advice to (try and) remember.
February 1, 1998... Let me address in this column the chronologically challenged, an unexpected state of being which will creep up on most of us quicker than we think. Those still unchallenged can tune out if they want to. Now that I have reached 65, be warned...

My nation's history lives in me.
February 1, 1998... How can I come to terms with good and evil in my nation's history? Many argue for a `ledger approach--the bad I genuinely regret, but balanced against this is the fact `I' didn't do it; those responsible were people of their day; and besides,...

Room for pride and shame.
February 1, 1998... Since becoming Governor-General in 1996, Sir William has spoken compellingly about Australia's social needs. These remarks are taken from his address to the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) in November 1997, with the last two...