The politics of childhood: is Australia finally able to grow up? | Sana Nakata

Our democracy will be deficient until Indigenous children can imagine themselves in its future

I grew up in the 1990s, the daughter of a white Australian and a Torres Strait Islander.

Imperfect memories of my childhood are punctuated by things like Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, the Murray Islanders going to the high court, Eddie Mabo’s tombstone being desecrated, governments generally messing with our lives. I grew up with Pauline Hanson, and the vitriol that she legitimised, spilled over into the schoolyards I hid from. As an adult, when I’ve reflected on how I’ve come to do the work I do, interested as I am in the politics of childhood, these are the faded moments I recall. As an adult, when I’ve seen deeply controversial political moments take hold, I’ve always noticed the children at the heart of them: the children not thrown overboard, the children of the Northern Territory intervention, the kids of same-sex parents during the recent marriage equality plebiscite. Because though they are rarely seen and rarely heard, children are never far from the political struggles of a nation.

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Our children are alienated from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future … We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish.

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2jnviB9