Latest news with #IndigenousCommunity
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Year after Exodus, Silence Fills Panama Island Threatened by Sea
Streets once filled with children's laughter have fallen silent on a Panamanian island where almost all residents left a year ago due to the threat of the sea swallowing their homes. The evacuation of around 1,200 members of the Indigenous Guna community to a new life on the mainland was one of the first planned migrations in Latin America due to climate change. The exodus from Gardi Sugdub in the Caribbean left those who remained with a sense of sadness, said Delfino Davies, who has a small museum on the island with spears, jars and animal bones. "There are no friends left or children playing," he told AFP. Gardi Sugdub now has the silence of a "dead island," he said. Dusty desks and empty classrooms are all that remain of a school that once bustled with children. Many of the island's wooden houses are padlocked. "There's no one here. Sometimes I get sad when I'm here alone," Mayka Tejada, 47, said in the small store where she sells bananas, pumpkins, clothes, toys and notebooks. Like Davies and about 100 others, she decided to stay. But her mother and two children, aged 16 and 22, moved to one of the 300 houses built by the Panamanian government in a new neighborhood called Isber Yala on the mainland, a 15-minute boat ride away. Gardi Sugdub, the size of around five football fields, is one of 49 inhabited islands in the Guna Yala archipelago -- also known as San Blas -- which scientists warn is in danger of disappearing by the end of the century. 'I'll die here' Sitting in a hammock in her earthen-floor house filled with the aroma of medicinal herbs, 62-year-old Luciana Perez said she had no intention of leaving. "I was born in Gardi and I'll die here. Nothing is sinking. Scientists don't know, only God," she said. Perez said that she was not afraid because since she was a child she had seen big waves and rising waters flooding houses at times. Steven Paton, a scientist at the Panama-based Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, said climate change meant that sea levels were expected to rise by up to 80 centimeters. "Most of the Guna Yala islands are about 50 centimeters above sea level," he told AFP. "They'll be underwater." Ana Toni, CEO of the United Nations' COP30 climate conference, told AFP that the mass evacuation "shows the reality we already have to face on the planet." Sidewalks, water, electricity The arrival of the rainy season has left puddles dotting the dirt roads of Gardi Sugdub. In contrast, in the new settlement of Isber Yala -- "land of loquats" in the Guna language -- the streets are paved and have sidewalks. The nearly 50-square-meter (500-square-feet) concrete houses have flushing toilets and there is a plot of land to grow vegetables. On Gardi Sugdub "we lived crowded together, and I had to go fetch water from the river in a small boat," said Magdalena Martinez, a 75-year-old retired teacher. In Isber Yala, water is available for an hour in the morning, she said. "I can fill the buckets. And I have electricity 24 hours a day," said Martinez, who lives with her granddaughter in the new neighborhood. Tejada's children also have no regrets about leaving the island, she said. "I miss them, but they're happy there. They have a place to play football and walk around," Tejada said. While the island's school relocated to Isber Yala, its dilapidated clinic remained in Gardi Sugdub. "Before, people came on foot. Now, they have to travel by land and sea to get here. There are fewer visitors," said 46-year-old doctor John Smith. Some of the islanders divide their time between the two communities, while others visit occasionally to check on their homes. This week, there will be more activity than normal: seven jars of chicha -- a fermented corn drink -- are ready for Isber Yala's first anniversary. Martinez is looking forward to the celebration, even though it will be bittersweet. Although she may not see it herself, "the islands will disappear because the sea will reclaim its territory," she said.
CTV News
a day ago
- General
- CTV News
Indigenous graduation in N.B. school district
Atlantic Watch 24 students walked the stage at the Indigenous graduation celebration in NB's Anglophone East School District.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Deeply disturbing question a cop asked an Indigenous teen detained at an ACT watch house sparks furious backlash
Concerning footage has emerged of a watch house officer grilling an Indigenous teen and his disturbing comments that have sparked outrage and prompted an investigation. The early morning exchange took place at an ACT watch house after the Indigenous boy was arrested in June 2024. Footage played during an ACT Supreme Court hearing earlier this year, the officer, who was off-camera, was heard asking the boy a series of questions, including whether he was thinking of taking his own life. 'Are you thinking of necking yourself?' he asked the teen. When the boy replied no, the officer was heard muttering: 'You wouldn't have the guts to do it anyway.' The watch house CCTV also showed several officers standing behind the teen – none of whom made the offensive comments – who appeared to smirk during the exchange. The same sergeant later asked the teen, who was living in foster care, if he had any parents. 'Nah,' the teen replied. 'No parents? You just magically appeared on the face of the Earth?' the sergeant mocked. The court was also played a series of other clips from the vision, including the moment the teen was later tasered and violently pinned down in a watch house cell. The judge referred the vision to the territory's Chief Police Officer Scott Lee, the Canberra Times reported. Indigenous leader Jordan Hindmarsh-Keevil recently took to social media to express outrage about the incident. 'I hate making videos about negative things, but this is f***ing very important because I bet you didn't hear about it,' he said in a video reshared by 'Although this video might make you angry, I do not mean to divide anyone. All I want from this is for people who believe that Australia is not a racist country – those people say so because it doesn't say it legally anywhere. Mr Hindmarsh-Keevil claimed the 'treatment is not a one-off', saying 'this happens all the time'. 'This officer looked at a 17-year-old boy and he said 'are you thinking about necking yourself?' Two of the other coppers who were standing next to this man started smirking and smiling. And this officer had already mocked this kid for not having parents because he was in foster care,' he claimed. 'I am angry at the police that did this, but I'm angry that this type of hatred towards other people exists.' The ACT's Chief Police Officer, Scott Lee described the officer's actions in the footage as said the officer's actions as 'are unacceptable and will not be tolerated'. 'I hold everyone in ACT Policing to high standards of professionalism and integrity, as do our officers, and this is in line with community expectations,' Mr Lee said. 'The comments of the officer during a Watch House intake in 2024 are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. 'It falls well below the standards expected of our officers and was dealt with swiftly after the incident occurred with the matter currently being investigated by AFP Professional Standards.' He added that the investigation into the incident is ongoing. Daily Mail Australia has contacted ACT Policing for further comment. Venessa Turnbull-Roberts, Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children said the incident was 'abhorrent misconduct'. 'In the context of the horrifying and ongoing epidemic of Aboriginal deaths in custody in this jurisdiction and across Australia, this comment can be seen as a deliberate incitement to an Aboriginal child to end his life,' she claimed. 'What is even more horrific is the young person is a survivor of forcible removal … the police interrogation used against this young person by police is shameful.' Suicide rates have been on the incline over the past decade to 2023, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) mortality report. Between 2019 and 2023, suicide was the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, according to that same report. It
CBC
27-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Hopes high for new health centre under construction at Abegweit First Nation
Social Sharing Abegweit First Nation is hoping that a new health centre being built in the central P.E.I. community of Scotchfort, expected to be open by next year, will answer the needs of the surrounding area as well as the Indigenous community. With a rising population thanks to a number of First Nation initiatives, Chief Junior Gould said services need to grow too. "We have to grow in an ever-expanding community, at every capacity, whether it be the health centre, or the daycare or the housing." The current wellness centre can't expand any more, let alone make space for a dental office or pharmacy, both eventual goals of community planners. Hence the project to replace it. "The new health centre is being located in the front of the community to provide services to the Abegweit First Nation — all of its community, from its youngest to its oldest — but also provide services to Islanders that are in need of such services," Gould said. "We feel that we are able to accommodate the needs of our community by this expansion as well as fill some of the gaps in the province." Work begins on new Abegweit First Nation health centre as community continues to grow 13 hours ago Duration 2:08 Ground has been broken on a new health centre on the Abegweir First Nation in Scotchfort, P.E.I. But as CBC's Sheehan Desjardins tell us, that's just one of the projects on the go — a daycare will be expanding and more homes are being built to keep up with community demands. One of the top priorities is making it easier for older residents to have access to medical care without having to travel long distances, Gould said. He said some Scotchfort residents feel uncomfortable seeking help in communities like Charlottetown. "The older community members aren't comfortable leaving the community and going out and looking for services, where they are judged on how they look or a perception of who they are or where they're from," he said. "To have these services offered in-house in the community, especially for our older generations, to be able to receive the same services as other people in a comfortable, traditional environment — it means the world to them."
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Outrage over British YouTuber's shocking comment to Aboriginal man during on the street interview
A West Australian mayor has hit out at a British YouTuber over the portrayal of his city's First Nations community and a heartbreaking interview with an Indigenous man. YouTuber @WendallExplores visited the state's mining capital, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, located in the Goldfields-Esperance region, around 600 kilometres northeast of Perth. In a 26-minute video titled Drunk In Australia's Roughest Outback Town, Wendall explored the city and interacted with several locals, including an Indigenous man called Jeff. The video's description reads: 'Known as a wild place where miners risk it all to make their fortune in the goldfields of the area, it is also a place where the streets are unpredictable and wild. 'Aboriginal communities make the long trip from faraway remote places to visit the town to access vital services, crime and homelessness is rife and scantily clad ladies serve cold pints. 'I met the locals and visitors and enjoyed a few cold ones myself.' Speaking to Jeff, Wendall asked: 'What's Kalgoorlie like? People say it's a wild town, a dangerous town. Is that true?' Jeff agreed that it could be 'rough at night' before revealing he had been an alcoholic since he was 18. 'How do you spend your days?' Wendall asked 'Sometimes I have a quiet day, sometimes just too much on the drink … There's nothing much to do round (sic) here. Only thing is just that,' Jeff said. In the tragic exchange, the Indigenous man revealed he had been sleeping on the streets 'for two years'. 'You've got to try and drink less, mate,' Wendall said. 'I know it's hard … Are you drunk already today?' 'I'll be going soon,' Jeff said The city has an Indigenous population of about 4,397 and 29,109 non-Indigenous residents. Glenn Wilson, who has been Mayor of Kalgoorlie-Boulder since October 2023, has criticised the depiction of his city. 'We do not condone the way footage of our First Nations community was captured and presented,' he told He said any stories involving Indigenous Australians needed to be 'approached with cultural sensitivity, respect, and in consultation with the community'. Wilson argued that sharing moments with individuals 'experiencing hardship' without 'the right cultural awareness risks reinforcing harmful stereotypes'. He said the video failed to help viewers understand the real challenges the Indigenous community face and the work being done in his city to address these challenges. Wendall, who had previously visited Kalgoorlie on a few occasions, said he always wants to learn from the stories of those he speaks to. He said he wanted to understand the town better and enjoyed his conversation with Jeff, who he described as a 'very sweet and calm man'. According to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in every Australian jurisdiction except for the Northern Territory, the proportion of First Nations people who drank more than 10 alcoholic standard drinks per week, or more than four standard drinks in a single day at least once a month declined from 48 per cent in 2010 to 33 per cent in 2023. The gap in the disease burden between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians decreased between 2003 and 2018. A range of factors is responsible for the gap including disconnection to culture, traditions and country, social exclusion, discrimination and isolation, trauma, poverty, and lack of adequate access to services. Alcohol use was the second largest contributor to the total disease burden in 2018. In April 2025, the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder released a report addressing transitional Aboriginal homelessness and anti-social behaviour across regional Australia. The six-month research project involved over 30 stakeholders across Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, and features case studies from communities including Broome, Ceduna, Alice Springs, Darwin, and Kununurra. The report found 'culturally informed, locally driven solutions are key to achieving real and lasting change'.
