Sydney: Thousands of Australians protested on the behavior of indigenous people on Sunday, as the country celebrated the national holiday in 1788 to commemorate the arrival of British colonists.
On Australia Day, crowds took out a rally in Sydney, Melbourne and other cities and condemned the high imprisonment rate, poor health and historical harassment of the first residents of the continent, whose lineage is 60,000 years old.
The National Day of 26 January is reminiscent of the arrival of the British fleet in Sydney Harbor to establish a punitive colony.
For many Australians, it is a day to celebrate with friends and family on beaches and backyard barbecue.
But the “invasion day” for the rights activists reflects the period of oppression of indigenous people, including eviction, massacres and evacuation of children from their families.
In Melbourne, thousands of protesters took to the streets, some waved placards on which it was written, “end the date” and “no pride at the massacre”.
“When the white people came to Australia, black people started dying. Like, why did you choose that day? This is madness, I do not understand, ”the protestor Andrew Baker told AFP.
Indigenous female Tammy Miller said, “This is a day of mourning for me and my crowd.”
Miller told AFP, “This is about changing the date, but it is about making people aware of our injustice that has continued since the arrival of a white person and still continues.”
He said, “We are still fighting the same things here that my grandparents were fighting, but I am very proud to see all the people here.”
Division on national day
Prior to Australia Day, the miscreants put a red color on the statue of British explorer James Cook in Sydney, dropped the memorial of a leading 19th century in Melbourne, and maligned a war memorial in the city with these words: ” Land Back “”.
At a citizenship ceremony in Canberra for 24 immigrants – one in about 300 organized across the country – Prime Minister Anthony Albanies appreciated “the unique privilege of sharing this oldest continent with the world’s oldest constant culture”.
He said, “Protecting our social solidarity, maintaining Australian fairness and continuing Australia’s progress is our responsibility towards future generations.”
The 26 January election as National Day has long divided the Australians.
A resolve strategic survey published on Friday at Sydney Morning Herald indicated that support for the holiday date has increased from 47 percent to 61 percent in the last two years.
The newspaper states that the attitude has become strict since the huge defeat in the constitutional referendum on indigenous rights reforms on October 14, 2023.
Official data shows that out of 26 million people in Australia, estimated 3.8 percent people are indigenous.
Life expectancy of indigenous people is still eight years lower than other Australians, high rate of imprisonment, more young unemployment and poor education.
