We were kinder to asylum seekers when we were poor.

Hot on the heels of the Great Depression, "Australia was among the earliest states parties to the Refugee Convention, acceding to the treaty on 22 January 1954."(1.)

For most of my life Australia has more or less attempted to do the right thing by refugees. When I was young we didn't have a lot of disposable income, people struggled financially and luxuries were rare. And yes, we really did "make do". And while probably not everyone welcomed refugees with open arms, they were imperfectly but adequately housed, educated and supported in some way at least. They were able to join in with Australian society, work, build businesses, join sporting clubs, adopt footy teams, buy homes, send their children to school, pay taxes and generally settle in ... and they eventually blended into society.

Now, we are a wealthy country. We're so wealthy we're able to give massive tax breaks to mining companies reportedly in the vicinity of $4 billion worth of government subsidies and concessions each year. (2.) 

Our taxes provide FOUR BILLION dollars of support to mining companies! The companies which make massive profits each year are subsidised by us. That's incredibly generous of us! Clearly we have money to burn!

And if we have money to burn, we can undoubtedly afford to house, educate and process refugees more than adequately. Yet we're being asked to swallow the information that the economy is so bad that cuts need to be made ... just don't involve the mining companies!

It is in this climate of giving to the rich and taking from those who have little, that the current Abbott led Federal Government has chosen to disband the independent body which provides advice on the physical and mental health needs of asylum seekers. This has occurred in the wake of a damning Amnesty International report on the condition of Manus Island detention centre. 

"The news that IHAG will be disbanded comes hot on the heels of the announcement that the Salvation Army’s contract to provide humanitarian services to asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru will not be renewed, proving that this Government simply doesn’t care."

"Australian taxpayers will spend over one billion dollars this year on Manus Island and its sister detention centre, Nauru." 

"That’s more than half a million dollars per asylum seeker".(3.)

With just some extremely basic maths, it's possible to see that this isn't a good investment in a private company with a questionable reputation. 

Wouldn't it be wiser to provide employment for primary and secondary teachers, trades skills staff, language teachers etc etc etc and encourage a positive, healthy group of people to resettle and be productive members of society? 

But no says the government, we choose to say that these people are bad people and so must be locked away indefinitely without the Australian population being provided with independent information about what's happening behind the canvas and wire.

The reports that trickle through are heartbreaking - Professor Caroline de Costa writes "One Darwin doctor who works closely with asylum seekers said to me that “there are the mental health problems that people have before they arrive (in detention). Then there are the problems they develop as a result of being in detention, and these are much greater.” 
"...the greatest and most pervasive risk is to the mental health of children and their families. The fact of ongoing uncertain detention is bad enough; adding to it with an extremely isolated hot and crowded environment with few diversions within the detention facility and none outside is demonstrably contributing to very high levels of psychiatric presentations among asylum seekers, well documented by many of my colleagues in recent weeks.My own observations of recent mothers I met in Darwin is of a high level of postnatal depression that is continuing on well past the postnatal period"

And yet the Australian government is paying a massive sum to an independent company with questionable work practises to lock people away. The detention centres are basically private jails. Putting aside the lack of ethics surrounding these choices, it doesn't look like value for money to me - but perhaps I'm wrong.

Who benefits? Not the taxpayer. Not the asylum seekers. Just the private company and of course the government which continues through the main stream media to vilify people who have a legitimate right to seek asylum.

And of the for profit company we pay to detain asylum seekers "G4S received worldwide publicity last year when it failed to deliver on its contract to supply sufficient security guards for the London Olympics. Recently, it was voted the third worst company in the world in awards presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos by Public Eye, a project run by Berne Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland. After the announcement, G4S rejected the claims made by its critics but the accusations continue." (4)

When people make comments along the lines of "things were better when I was young,"  it's hard to disagree. We were poorer, wiser and more compassionate.

1. http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/f/who-conv.php
2. http://www.tai.org.au/node/476
3. http://www.amnesty.org.au/refugees/comments/33587/
4. https://newmatilda.com/2013/03/07/worlds-third-worst-firm-runs-manus
5. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2013/12/17/inside-the-immigration-detention-facilities-in-darwin-breeding-grounds-for-mental-illness/
  Added 11 Jan 2014: http://www.smh.com.au/world/united-nations-warns-australia-about-asylum-seeker-boat-pushbacks-20140111-hv83u.html
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Where are our wise leaders?

Even though this post isn't about our physical health, it's a good analogy for the scenarios unfolding with some restrictive laws worldwide. Bear with me for a few moments while I explain that there is a cost to us not taking an interest in and acting on information about censorship of the internet, and how it's a little like not having a health checkup and acting thoughtfully on any scary results.

As men and women we are advised to regularly have check ups and for a good reason, they can detect problems before they become serious so they can be treated appropriately.

The same as it's wise to understand your personal health issues, it's important for all of us to understand the current issue with censorship (as best we can with the information available). I urge you to be informed and make up our own minds independently of those who have vested interests in filtering information for their own ends. It's not fun, but it is sensible to know what is at stake for our collective and societal health.

Below is a video that gives easy to understand information about internet censorship as currently proposed and/or has been legislated on depending on your country. From what I can understand, those in positions of power appear to have been caught up in the fear mongering about issues like child porn, piracy and terrorism. They appear to have made hasty knee jerk decisions that result in the cure being worse than the disease - apparently most countries already have adequate laws and ACTA is an additional act.

• Child porn? Yes it's an issue. It won't go away with passing this draconian law. People into child porn will find another way to get their fix. To pretend otherwise is wishful thinking.
• Piracy? Is it really the issue the big media companies and their mega million dollar industries claim? Not according to specialists in the field. Sensible alternatives to the censorship bills have been suggested.
• Terrorism? Bad stuff, but have you noticed that terrorists don't seem to worry about laws? They overlook them. Terrorism in one form or another has, unfortunately, been around for millennia. They'll find a way around these censorship laws as well.

The possibility of excessive legislation being used inappropriately and in the interests of big business to gag whistleblowers is huge, and could be a serious threat to our respective democracies.

We need whistle blowers in our society. These people show amazing courage in exploring and shedding light on corruption. We mightn't like what they tell us, but they expose injustice, corporate wrongdoing and coverups. Ultimately society is strengthened as a direct result of their actions. People, groups and communities who share information on social justice issues could be gagged by those with vested interests. That's wrong.  In addition, the bills appear to be unwieldily, cumbersome and staggeringly expensive to implement effectively, fairly and ethically.

These bills can apparently affect free access to all sorts of information from educational material, open political discussion, discussion about the how our food is manufactured and tainted (think of the melamine scandal in China) environment, health, and scientific matters is frightening.

Personally I'm glad there were courageous whistle blowers in China. Companies shouldn't have been lacing milk products with melamine - this is the kind of thing we need to know and be able to share without fear of retribution.

This video is quite long. However it's a very informative presentation of copyright (which sounds impossible, but it's true!) It's easy to listen to and clearly presented. I urge you to listen - the main speaker begins about 10 minutes in.

And if after listening, you decide to take action in the form of signing a petition you can do that here.

Why are people rude?

What does your private communication with your followers or clients say about you?

I’m going to confess to two scenarios where I made an error when referring to someone hosting a blogging challenge. No big deal you might think, but it got me thinking ...

The first: I published a post where I got the gender of someone hosting a blog challenge incorrect.

The second: via email, where I referred to a co-host of a blog challenge incorrectly, using their last name as if it was the first name.

In the first instance, the error was tactfully brought to my attention and fixed promptly.

In the second, the return email inferred that I was not only lazy in not checking the order of the first and last names more carefully and bluntly stated that I was not giving the co-host the attention they deserved.

In the first instance I felt I was seen as a human being with failings that were accepted. It could also have been acknowledgement that ‘people get my first and last names mixed up all the time’, or even, ‘silly woman, didn’t she see the very masculine photo on my blog, it’s obvious I’m not female!’ I felt a bit silly, but it was all fixed with a minimum of fuss.

In the second instance the message was that I’m a sloppy, careless person who shows a lack of respect. I can apologise of course, but at the moment feel that further communication isn’t going to achieve much - I feel that I have been judged and found to be inadequate.

I then began reflecting on the reasons people make ‘mistakes’ that may on first glance appear to be careless and how in all our communication we reflect aspects of ourselves, which can sometimes be misconstrued.

But deeper than that, the response got me thinking about my personal work and how I respond to emails and phone calls. Am I generous in my dealings with clients? Do I give them the attention they deserve?

Of course many of us are time poor. Life gets pretty busy with work, family, friends, blogging and all the complexities of life. Sometimes we aren’t as careful as might be ideal, but if added to that was the pressure to be perfect in our communication, would we get anything done? Do I respect this when I receive an awkwardly worded email?

I'm slightly dyslexic, and don't always notice errors of reversals and misspellings. Am I tolerant of misspellings by others?

How does living with chronic pain affect your communication? If you’re recovering from a medical procedure, and the after effects of an anaesthetic, how does that affect your ability to communicate, and the way others perceive you?

People live with ADD, ADHD; there are connections in the brain and body that make concentration difficult, even alien. Many people who communicate with us are functioning as best they can, some will be suffering the effects of low or fragile self-esteem, having been bullied at home or work. How does this sound in an email or tentative phone call? Do I remember to 'read between the lines'?

How much courage does it take for someone to make the first tentative step to call for an appointment? If it’s taken 6 months, could my response set them back even further, perhaps never to seek help again?

Do I judge before I think? 

And perhaps equally as important, do I allow myself to make mistakes, or do I bully myself for being less than perfect?

It's always interesting to see where thoughts lead - I'm almost grateful for what at first seemed an inconsiderate, rude and condescending email.

Q: What do you think? Has illness or some other life event affected how you communicate? How have others responded to you?


**I'll be away for a few weeks in China, and due to their restrictions will be unable to access Blogger or post replies. I look forward to catching up with you all when I return.

I've shared a couple of photos of Macau over at jumping aground - link here.

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T. Targets & Teachers. Workplace bullying

Target: a person, object or place selected as the aim of an attack.

Targets of bullying go to work to get their job done and are rarely interested in office politics or conflict, they're not interested in power plays. They may have high moral values, integrity, a strong sense of fair play and dislike arguments and aggression. The target often has a mature understanding of the need to resolve conflict with dialogue and negotiation. Many are reluctant to make a formal complaint against the bully and would prefer to forgive and get on with the job at hand. They are often extremely strong individuals who are able to withstand serial bullying for years.

The target may be vulnerable (see V) is some way, for instance need to pay a high mortgage or may be a sole parent living off one wage. They may need to stay in a work environment to cover expenses, even though they may be experiencing daily torment and feel locked in, as if there is no escape. They are not weak because they stay.

The target  may be artistic, imaginative, creative, academically above average, or may be different in some way. Many targets are caring and empathetic, forgive easily and are unwilling to resort to the lying and deceptive tactics of their tormentor. They are often criticised by the bully as being soft and overly sensitive, but in reality are showing a mature ability to respond to the concerns of others gently, with respect, dignity, consideration and tolerance. In addition, the target may show a strong sense of independence and self reliance, they have little need to be part of the 'inner clique'.

The bully on the other hand will generally try to recruit others into the 'chosen' group. They are malicious, callous, and uncaring about the needs of others. The bully manager may refer to his or her management style as 'tough', 'rough and tumble', 'strong', or 'if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen' and respond with impatience, irritability and aggression when this style is questioned or when he is referred for management mentoring.

East Side Gallery. Berlin. 2009.

Teachers as targets (link to information for Queensland teachers who are being bullied. Some of this information is relevant for others)

Teachers who are independent, self-reliant, self-motivated, imaginative, innovative, and full of ideas may be targeted by others in the profession, particularly if they have an envious, malicious, bullying department head. The bully boss may be threatened by the competence and popularity of this staff member.

Sadly, many excellent teachers who are keenly aware of the difficulties faced by their caring, gentle students - the loner, the nerd, the learning disabled, the child who is a bit different in some way - may be hounded out of the profession. The hierarchy appears afraid of the very qualities that make them excellent teachers, and often does little to support them in the face of ongoing, relentless bullying.

Sometimes these very teachers have been able to protect the student targets from bullying by other students and staff. When they are "let go" the students are again vulnerable.

Teachers as bullies
Teachers who are serial bullies may also delight in targeting vulnerable students as well as other staff. They are devious, cunning, vicious, undermining, cruel and vindictive when they have found their target.  These malicious teachers not only restrict the child's access to enjoyable activities as punishment, but devise humiliating, belittling punishments on a daily basis for the target, possibly making fun of a mild physical deformity or a learning difficulty. They make cruel and callous criticism of the child's work, calling them 'dummy', 'failure' or bringing the classes attention to the simple fact that the child is different is some way.

This constant undermining and bludgeoning of a fragile self esteem can affect the child for life. Many adults have told me that whenever they try to prove that they can do something challenging, the face of their teacher tormentor and the onlooking class appears in front of them, and they hear the belittling, undermining, cruel and malicious comments, even 50 years after they've left school. Many never achieve their potential.

East Side Gallery. Berlin. 2009.

"You'll never amount to anything, I don't know why you try", "What a loser", these and other cruel phrases prevent the student from learning and actually encourage the child to go into a protective mode and should never be used in the guise of "It'll make him try harder".

Uncontrolled shouting is excruciatingly painful for a child with certain hearing difficulties. They cover their ears to prevent the pain, which increases the rage of the out of control teacher. Students in a classroom with a teacher like this will have difficulty learning.

Teacher Training
Teacher trainers please take note: all trainee teachers should be explicitly taught how to manage a classroom effectively so all students can learn, this must include thorough training in effective management of child bullies. Every primary teacher trainee should be given thorough training in how to teach mathematics, reading and spelling to all students including those with learning difficulties. Sending trainee and new primary teachers out without these vital basic skills is appalling, and that it is happening in 2011 is .... (words fail me)...

The importance of tackling bullying in Primary schools is well documented, and makes obvious sense. Twemlow, Fonagy & Sacco have written some excellent papers that I hope to discuss at a later date.

Further information on bullying at school here. For schools, teachers and other interested parties: CASSE (Creating a Safe Supportive Environment) has an inexpensive conference in May 2011 in Melbourne, link here.

What is your experience as a student, teacher or target? 

Here tomorrow: Underestimate & Unrelenting


There are many outstanding resources on line. A couple I find useful are Bullying. No way! an Australian resource for teachers and students, and a UK site Bully On Line. This is in no way an exhaustive list, and each country will no doubt have equally good or more relevant websites. If you're being bullied please seek advice from a professional health care practitioner experienced in this area.

Over at jumpingaground I'm spending the month Drabbling using alliteration, often with an environmental theme.
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B is for Bullying. A - Z Blogging Challenge

How to recognize Bullying behaviour at work. 


Many of these examples can be a part of everyday work life.  They can be described as bullying when there is a consistent, sustained pattern over time that isn't altered when the bully is alerted to the unacceptable nature of the comment or behaviour.

• Abusive, insulting or offensive language
• Behaviour or language that frightens, humiliates, belittles or degrades, including yelled criticism
• Belittling your contributions 
• Constant nit-picking and faultfinding, attempts to undermine
• Displaying material that is degrading or offending
• Distorting your comments
• Deadlines changed without informing you
• Degrading comments
• Enlisting others to question and undermine your contributions, being Excluded
• Falsifying documents purported to be from you, constant Fault finding
• Going to a supervisor to cast doubts on your work
• Hiring another less qualified person to squeeze you out
• Information may be passed on too late for action
• Ignoring and Isolating
• Intruding on a person’s space by pestering, spying or tampering with their personal effects or work equipment
• Jokes at your expense that aren't funny
• Leave is often refused
• Making threats either veiled or subtly, being given Menial tasks
• Misrepresentation of your ideas or contributions, being marginalized
• Never being adequately supported
• Overloading with work, may be given menial tasks, or constant night and weekend shifts
• your work may be Plagiarised
• Pestering
• Questioning your motives, work habits, reliability, emotional state
• Refusal to acknowledge your contribution
• Responsibilities may be increased without adequate remuneration or recognition
• Spreading gossip, rumours and innuendo of a malicious nature
• Being Singled out and treated differently
• Teasing or regularly making you the brunt of practical jokes
• Threats that if you complain, disciplinary action will be taken
• Trivializing your contributions
• Tampering with your personal effects
• Undermining your position, status, worth and value. Unjustified criticism
• Unreasonable expectations
• Unfair treatment in relation to accessing workplace entitlements, such as leave or training
• using Value laden comments to discredit you
• Work equipment may be hidden, locked away. You may need to grovel to gain access to it
• Yelling, in private, or in front of others

How to recognise bullying behaviour at school:

• may be academically below average
• aggressive, physically strong, willing to resort to violence
• attention-seeking 
• thrives on control and dominance 
• cowardly
• poor communication skills 
• disrespectful and contemptuous of other children and adults
• divisive, dysfunctional, disruptive
• may have a dysfunctional home life
• lacks empathy
• envious
• exploits others
• needs to impress
• immature in behaviour and emotions
• insecure
• lies frequently
• needs to be respected but can't distinguish between "respect" and "fear"
• does not accept responsibility
• poor social skills
• low self-esteem
• thinks it fun to torment and hurt children who are less physically strong 
• uncaring

Tomorrow, I'll look at the Climate in which the bully operates and touch on the Courage needed to stand up to a bully.

The book Working with Mean Girls by Meredith fuller is an excellent resource for both men and women experiencing bullying at work. There are also useful tips for students. Review here.

There are many outstanding resources on line. A couple I find useful are Bullying. No way! an Australian resource for teachers and students, and a UK site Bully On Line. The Facebook group eBossWatch (here) regularly posts links to articles and information on workplace bullying. This is in no way an exhaustive list, and each country will no doubt have equally good or more relevant websites.


If you're being bullied please seek advice from a professional health care practitioner experienced in this area.


Over at jumping aground I'm spending the month playing with alliteration.
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A conversation about climate?

...“She’s studying environmental issues this semester. It could be pretty depressing: peak oil, land degradation and water misuse.”

Erosion on a foot track near Levanto Italy 2010

It was like opening the lid of an old well-used cauldron that had been filled with unhealthy disbelief and scepticism.
The main ingredients were mockery and criticism.
“There is no proof of mankind’s effect on climate change”
“The scientists are deluded”
“Don’t know what they’re talking about” came the thoughtless, derailing monologue.

Wisely there was no personal ridicule, but the disappointing attitude of self-righteousness and arrogance was frustrating.

All expressed vehemently without understanding or acknowledging my concern for my daughter’s psychological well-being.

After rain, the shaley track is treacherous.
Stone steps have been washed away leaving exposed
tree roots and slippery, sticky mud.

A drabble is a story told in 100 words, no more, no less.

(I find the difficulty with conversations that have been derailed like this, is my disinclination to share as I had planned even when eventually invited to do so. I tend to be left feeling that I have simply served as a ... I'm not sure what - polite sponge perhaps - whatever it is, I want to learn how to be a bit more assertive to prevent it happening again. I realised later that I hadn't even mentioned the words 'climate change' knowing how negatively it would be received...hrmph)

The misfit

Kids at school laughed at me with derision
Called me weird
A no hoper
A loser

Socially inept, I kept to myself, content and apart, not comprehending their need for togetherness. Touching made me withdraw physically, left me cold and shrinking from the grasp. It felt distasteful, alien, intrusive.

I enjoy numbers and graphs, their lack of ambiguity. Working alone using logic clean and clear is safe. This graph, showing heart rate and age, the result of time well spent.
I’m working on an iPad app for it next.

Those same kids will use it; they won’t laugh this time.

"Chart"

Terry J. DuBose
from Wikipedia Commons

A Drabble is a story told in 100 words. No more, no less.

This Drabble first appeared in  The Burrow Valentine's Feature 2011, hosted by Burrowers, Books & Bladerdash. Thanks for hosting.

Just to clarify, this Drabble doesn't refer to me. I was inspired by observing the difficulties many young people experience in school.
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Racism, intolerance and prejudice?

Ethical workplaces. Ethical co-workers. Ethical behaviour. Simple enough isn't it?

So many of the people I work with want to behave ethically and with integrity, and yet feel pressured into putting their own deeply held values aside when they enter their workplace.

This leads to extreme tension for many people, and impacts on their psychological, and often their physical health.

I was working with a University leturer recently who confessed that what he perceives as a lack of ethical behaviour at his university is making him seriously consider resigning from his prestigious post.

You see, in his university, English language standards for international students (who will remain in Australia on completion of their degree) are apparently being bypassed or ignored.

To be enrolled the students are supposed to have English language of a satisfactory standard to complete their course. They are expected to have sat, and passed, an exam to ensure they will understand lectures, course notes and reading lists. The English language exam is also meant to indicate their ability to be able to produce satisfactory written and oral work.

Where does this go wrong?

This lecturer has been accused to being racist for pointing out that if a student is unable to complete the requirements to the University standard, then the student should fail.

Sure we can and do teach requirements for the presentation of their reports complete with referencing and bibliographies. His university also offers bridging English courses for students who may need them. Fair enough, that’s how it should be.

But somewhere along the line some students are being passed who don’t have the required English skills to, for instance, write a report independently, read (and understand) Warning labels on bottles, or adequately understand mathematical questions. (This is naturally of great concern when some of these students will work in the medical field, and has a negative ripple-on effect in those workplaces).

This post isn’t about the rights or wrongs of the system per se, but about the effect of name calling, and being required to compromise your own standards. It’s about the effect of this on an individual employee. (I'll talk about the effect on the students in another post).

Simplistically it boils down to - pass the students, or have your hours reduced. And the effect is an uncomfortable dilemma. Do you pass students who aren't up to scratch, or fail them and not make your mortgage repayments?

Unfortunately this is all too common an occurrence. I regularly work with academics, teachers and administrative staff who are deeply distressed about having to compromise their values; to be pressured into passing students whose work is sub-standard.

Some leave, some stay and struggle on, disillusioned and unhappy. Being an onlooker, I do wish that someone; someone in a position of power would acknowledge the damage that is being caused, (not just to my clients, but to the students and their future employers) and have the courage to say “This is wrong. The buck stops here. I will address this issue.”

But I'm not holding my breath.




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