For many gay Aboriginal and
Torres Strait islander men with HIV/AIDS, the prospect of dying alone is
very real, according to a recently established coalition of indigenous
gay men.
BRITTA LYSTER reports on
this and other concerns discussed by the coalition.
Anwernekenhe
(meaning 'all us mob' in the Arunda language of the Northern Territory),
was formed last year at a conference of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
(ATSI) gay and transgender men at Hamilton Downs in the Northern Territory,
in an effort to tackle issues relevant to this small but vocal group.
According to conference participant Matthew
Cook, the collation was established in response to the fact that HIV/AIDS
is a very real and major threat to the ATSI community.
Matthew says gay ATSI HIV+ men in particular
are dying alone and in shame, often rejected by their families and communities
and marginalized within the gay communities.
The group of about 60-70 men, their partners
and families met in an effort to tackle what they believe is a very real
and growing problem within ATSI communities around the country.
Over the five days, the group aimed to
address problems, develop substantial recommendations and establish an
on-going working group.
One major concern of the group was funding,
the lack of it and what appears to be a very small regard placed on gay
ATSI input into HIV/AIDS research. The conference agreed that it was high
time the community make the important decisions regarding funding and called
for further research and development, especially the recognition of traditional
information being given to specific language groups.
An Aboriginal HIV positive gay man, 32
year old Matthew Cook comes form the Bunjalung mob of the North Coast of
New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood and early adulthood.
Identifying as gay at an early age, Matthew
felt like he was a big and camp fish in a very small pond and decided
getting away from the small-town mentality was the best thing to do. However,
the move to Sydney has been a series of trials and tribulations for the
man who has settled with his non Aboriginal lover in the inner-suburbs
of Sydney.
If anyone knows about the issues affecting
gay ATSI people with HIV/AIDS it's Matthew. For him 1988 - the bicentenary
- was not only a great celebration of survival for him and his people it
was also the year he was given his HIV diagnosis over the phone in Lismore,
northern NSW.
He'll never forget the day and feels it's
exactly the type of insensitivity which is still going on and affecting
ATSI people around the country. For Matthew the establishment of Anwernekenhe
was the best thing that happened for him and his love in a long. long time.
For them it was a long overdue attempt
to get a wide cross-section of the community together in an effort to establish
a support network of r gay and transgender men and their partners and families,
in some cases living in the closet in communities around the country.
For many of the men, their partners and
families, being attacked and ridiculed for being gay and HIV positive is
all a part of everyday life. Group organizers decided that this shouldn't
be the case and it was high time that community leaders and organizations
took responsibility for HIV and established education and awareness programs
on a grassroots level.
The conference was quick to agree on the
point that much of the currently available education material was targeted
purely towards the heterosexual community and any information relevant
to the gay community was just not being made available.
For many men at the conference being diagnosed
with HIV was often a scary experience and many people and the attitude
of 'f... the world' soon after diagnoses. This was put down to the lack
of family and community support.
The reality for many HIV positive gay
men was that they had no support network and were often turning to non-Aboriginal
counsellors or lovers for solace and much needed understanding.
For many of these men, the option of having
an Aboriginal lover is just not open to them. Matthew said he felt that
black men were affectionate and warm but had become staunch and unfeeling
over the past 200 years through no fault of their own.
He says in some extreme circumstances
Koori men have found out later that they are actually related in one way
or another to their lover and in the Koori community that can be very taboo.
Therefore it is not uncommon to see gay Koori men with non-Aboriginal lovers.
Matthew believes the white man has bastardized
homosexuality and Aboriginal communities around the country look upon this
view as gospel and neglect gay people.
But after the recent conference Matthew
feels more strongly about the fact that this small but very vocal group
of indigenous men refuses to be swept under the carpet and silenced by
a few bigots who are continuing to deny people their basic human rights.
According to Matthew in some cases families
are disregarding their children and that's not the blackfella way.
"Things are staring to change but much
too slowly. We've got to make ourselves heard and build some standing in
the community and teach our people that HIV does not discriminate," he
said.
Present statistics give no clear indication
of exactly how many ATSI people around the country are HIv positive. Until
a couple of years ago, a person's ethnicity was not recorded when taking
an HIV test. But it's clear after this recent conference that this issue
remains untackled and it's high time that it is brought into the public
arena in an effort to create awareness and understanding in ATSI communities.
One serious matter of concern arising
out of the conference was the fact that ATSI people living with AIDS or
HIV are clearly not making use of the mainstream services available.
According to Matthew often through no
fault of their own many services are just not sensitive to these people's
needs.
"The community has to realize the different
positions that these gay men are in," he says.
"many of the current services and organizations
do actually want to succeed but just aren't going about it the right way,
usually because there is no consultation with these people."
"In some cases these people are clearly
going without the care and support they need because the services just
aren't available of Kooris don't go there because they feel the services
are not sensitive to the needs and concerns of Aboriginal people."
Matthew believes this comes down to two
issues: lack of funding and education.
"HIV can eat away like cancer at Aboriginal
communities if something is not done quickly to tackle the relevant issues,"
he says.
"Hundreds of years ago, diseases like
small pox and scurvy claimed thousands of Aboriginal lives. We can't let
HIV do the same thing and decimate the community."
Matthew believes it goes back to the fact that no one wants to understand
HIV/AIDS and the related issues.
"Much of this fear and loathing is directly
related to ignorance and Koori communities have to learn to take responsibility
for the disease or else Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are
going to continue to die alone and in shame," he says.
Matthew is the first to admit that the
children hold the key to the future. He believes that the available information,
education and support are not filtering down to the children and the people
on a grassroots level
Other major points of concern for the
conference were the lack of support being given to lovers, carers and families
of affected people, and that ATSI people are not being asked to participate
in medical and treatment trials.
It is hoped that with pressure from support
groups, the Federal Government will set aside money for the establishment
of a safe residential indigenous healing centre to promote self care through
ATSI, Western and alternative healing processes.
Such a healing centre could counteract
these problems and concerns. Workers can receive nationally accredited
training in HIV and sexual and mental health.
Matthew believes the traditional elders
could help by passing on information about traditional medicine which some
people believe holds the key to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS.
But HIV positive Kooris are not able to
contact these elders, who often live in remote areas and who have little
or no knowledge of the disease because of lack of community education.
Looking back on the conference and its
participants, who came from around the country. Matthew is quick to point
out that when Anwernekenhe came together everyone realized they were all
thinking the same no matter what part of the country they were from. He
says it backs up his point that HIV does not discriminate.
Matthew doesn't know where life will take
him, he just hopes that when he passes into the Dreamtime he and some of
his brothers and sisters will have created recognition, understanding and
some sort of status in the community as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
HIV positive gay and transgender people.
For more information on HIV/AIDS and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people contact the Australian
Federation of AIDS Organizations
