Sanjeeb Drong:

AUSTRALIAN First Nations poet Samantha Faulkner in her poem ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ wrote,

Languages, art, culture, knowledge

Our gifts to the nation

If only you’d listen

Always was, always will be.

Samantha’s poem was published in the book ‘Kuracca, Us Mob Writing, First Nations Voices’.

Borendra Lal Tripura, assistant professor of the American International University of Bangladesh, and I were invited to join the National Summit of the First Nations Australia Writers Network held from August 18–20, 2023, in Alice Springs, Australia.

It was a great honour that honourable chairperson of FNAWN, poet and award-winning writer Yvette Henry Holt, and board member Graham Akhurst came to the airport to welcome us. The FNAWN published a booklet on the occasion of the National Summit with the theme, ‘Country talking back.’ In her message, the chairperson of FNAWN, Ms Yvette wrote, ‘Werte All, and a very warm welcome to the FNAWN National Summit 2023, the First Nations Australia Writers Network acknowledges that we are gathering on unceded Arrernte lands. We recognise the Central Arrernte peoples as the sovereign rightful custodians and caretakers of this land, waters, and skies. It pays our deepest respects to Arrernte Elders, past and present. We acknowledge Arrernte writers, poets, and storytellers who are present with us today and those who are carriers of our inherent spiritual stories and song lines from millennia past.’ Yvette wrote, ‘Werte is the Arrernte greeting of hello. Mparntwe, pronounced M’bun-twa is Arrernte for Alice Springs, it means Watering Place. Every tree you see, every bird you witness, and every language you hear is held dear to this very sacred country.’

We were boarded on the Qantas Flight from Sydney to Alice Springs on August 17 at 9:20 am. After flying for more than 3 hours and just before landing the flight, the pilot made an announcement: ‘Dear passengers, we acknowledge the First Nations peoples of Australia as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work, live, and fly. We pay respect to elders’ past, present, and emerging.’ This quotation may vary a bit by word, but the main spirit and inner uprightness were the same. As an indigenous person from Bangladesh, I was so glad, impressed, and became emotional in the sky by this announcement and recognition of the First Nations peoples. Then I checked the Qantas Airlines website. Qantas wrote, ‘As the national carrier, we are uniquely positioned to connect people to the world’s oldest living cultures through our domestic and international work.’ I learned later that Reconciliation Australia acknowledges the First Nations countrywide as the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters, and communities.

At this summit, there was a poetry recitation evening. This was a fantastic event. Elders, youth, and women poets performed in a comfortable environment. When they recited their poetry and I listened to them in the evening hall, I felt so dearly touched by the words, saying,

I am Yuin,

Country is music to me,

Play on,

or I am the Miriwa Milumba,

I am the Mungalo binda,

I am the sky shining,

I am the cloud rising, Miriwa Miriwa.

In Bangladesh, I don’t see much that our poets write and express their emotions this way. Yes, we the Garos sing songs like ‘This is our A.chik land, our beautiful motherland that we love.’

My great experience at this FNAWN Summit was that the First Nations of Australia have a voice now everywhere. And the country is really talking back. Yvette was the anchor of this poetry recitation evening. The arrangement was very simple. People gathered in the hall. The environment was excellent. There was a banner with the words on the stage: ‘You aren’t just related to people; you are related to the country. And you look after that country that you are related to, just as you look after the people.’ The quotation was taken from Dr M K Turner OAM.

Since time immemorial, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on the land now known as Australia for at least 60,000 years. In 1770, Captain James Cook claimed the land now known as Australia (Megan Davis and George Williams, Everything You Need to Know about the Voice). Now, I can understand that the First Nations peoples have a strong voice in Australia. We all know that on February 13, 2008, prime minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly to the Stolen Generations, whose lives had been blighted by past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation.

In the National Apology, the prime minister said, ‘Today we honour the indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history. We reflect on their past mistreatment. The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.’

The three-day summit was over. Many discussions and sessions covered poetry, literature, storytelling, performance, visiting the library, talking with publishers, and informal meetings. I was curious about the prime minister’s programme ‘Closing the Gap’ and how it is going on. I came to know about this programme for Aboriginal people in 2013 when I came to Darwin to participate in the World Indigenous Network conference. Before ending my column, I want to quote the honourable minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney MP, ‘The 2022 Closing the Gap Annual Report shows signs of mixed progress on the Closing the Gap targets. Targets improving or ‘on track’: babies born with a healthy birthweight (89.5 per cent), children enrolled in preschool (96.7 per cent) and targets worsening or ‘not on track’: children being school-ready (34.3 per cent), adults in prison (2,222 per 100,000), children out of home care (57.6 per 1,000), deaths by suicide (27.9 per 100,000). The Albanese Labour government is continuing to work in partnership with the Coalition of Peaks, other First Nations partners, and all levels of government to ensure sustained progress over the life of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. The Albanese Government’s 2022 Budget included an investment of $1.2 billion over six years from 2022–23 in measures that directly support First Nations Peoples.

After returning home, as a citizen of Bangladesh and member of the indigenous peoples, I expect that our government will one day acknowledge, recognise and respect indigenous peoples on the land and will work closely in partnership with us. The government and non-indigenous majority community will see indigenous peoples from the heart.

The Uluru Statement 2017 from the Heart ended up with these words: ‘We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.’

Sanjeeb Drong is the general secretary of the Bangladesh Adivasi Forum.