Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Jawoyn Association CEO John Berto about the social media flare about the ADF response in Indigenous communities

Transcript

Katie spoke with Jawoyn Association CEO John Berto about the social media flare about the ADF response in Indigenous communities · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining us on the line right now is the CEO
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: of the Jarwin Association. I believe I've got John Burgo
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: on the line. Good morning to you.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: John, Morning Coke.
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: John, thanks so much for your time.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Firstly, can you tell us a little bit about who
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: the Jarwin Association are for those out there listening who
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: maybe don't know a huge amount about the Jarwin Association.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Jaren Association has been around since nineteen eighty five
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: and it's represented by clock communities in an around the
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Katine region.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: And John, do those communities include Binjari and also rock Hole?
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Yes, they do.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Now, John, how are the people of Binjari and rock
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Hole going at the moment in light of what is
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: happening with COVID.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, we're in daily contacts more than once a
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: day with a mob who reside in both communities, and
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: from their view, they're going okay. They're coping with the
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: hard lockdown. They have no issues with the strange defense
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: forces for example, police, they're define, They're hoping okay. What's
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: been reported on social media recently is not quite true
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: according to the people that are actually living there, and
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: they're quite upset about it. Actually, they're not happy about
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: what's been posted on social media. It's actually not correct
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: at all. It's quite your opposite, John.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: There has been so much posted on social media. There
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: has been claims of the IDF holding people down and
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: vaccinating them against their will. There's been claims of children
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: being taken away by the IDF and taken to Howard
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Springs quarantine facility without their parents.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: Is any of this actually direct?
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: No, none of that's correct or true in any shape
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: or form. The Australian Defense Forts we're actually at our
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: office yesterday help them too to deliver food into both communities,
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: food that we are involved in organizing with the Chify
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: government and so yeah, that's that's just absolutely correct.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: John. Can you tell us a little bit about the
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: conditions that you know that people in Binjari and also
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: rock Holler in at the moment, you know, given the
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: fact that we have had a number of COVID cases.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's unfortunate that there have been some cases and
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: the communities are not They just have to cope with
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: that and they're doing their best to to to be
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: in lockdown. You know, there's no one locks to be
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: locked down, but they're they're doing their best to you
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: to adhere to the rules to restore that. Uh, the
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: COVID doesn't spread any further than what it has. So yeah,
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: they're taping. Okay. I've got an ample food now, food supplies,
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: dry goods for example, press reggies, fruits, plenty of different
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: types of meats. So we're doing two day drops at
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: the moment, so that's enough for them to be able
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: to to yeah, get by each day. That's fine, It's
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: all okay. From coming from inside the community. We have
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: people there which talked to like we said earlier on
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: in the week, and we've been talking to them every day,
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: more than once a day.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: John, I know that some of what is being said
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: on social media has been pretty you know, pretty wild.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: To anybody out there listening right now who thinks that
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: any of that is true, what would you say to them?
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Oh, so, look, you've got to listen to see what's
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: going on from our perspective, from a community perspective as well.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: They're the ones that are down, locked in, they're the
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: ones experiencing this lockdown, and you know, the the accusations
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: of what's going on, you know, the straining defense for
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: us the police as well, and it's just simply not true,
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: not true at all. We're we're on the ground here,
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: we know what's going on. So I say to your
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: listeners that he maybe upset about what's going with, don't
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: be upset because the people in the communium, so define're tping, okay,
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: it's all good, and John a lot of supports.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: I know that you mentioned earlier that some of them
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: are a bit upset by what is being said on
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: social media. What are they saying to you? Sorry, I
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: know that you'd said a little bit earlier that that
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: some of the community members are a bit upset about
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: some of those rumors and mistruths on on social media.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: What are they you know, what are those locals saying
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: to you about what's being said on social media.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: They're upset with what's being posted on social media, the
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: people that are actually doing it. They're upset with them
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: that they have no right to well do that. They
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: don't represent them, they don't live in the community, they
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: don't know what's going on, so it's not you know,
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  Speaker 2: they're actually quite angry with them, and they've actually posted
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: the right messages. But he's actually going on themselves on
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: social media to counteract the negativity. This can't be there.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: It's a real you know, when you actually take a
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: step back and you know, I listen to what you're
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: saying and look at what's going on. It's actually a
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: real shame that you know that there is all this
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: mistruth on social media and people aren't actually just more
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: concerned about what's going on at the moment and making
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: sure that those locals are actually okay.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know why they don't call people like
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: us and get the correct understanding of what's going on
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: instead of making up stories, negative stories like you know,
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: what's being posted. It's not right, and it's it's not
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: fair on the community. It's absolutely incorrect and in some
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: ways it's bizarre. I don't know why they're doing this.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: It's just crazy.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Now, look, how are you guys feeling over the next
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: couple of days in terms of what's going on in
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Catherine and also in all of the communities that Jarwin represents.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Are you hoping that things sort of calm down a
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: little bit?
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the things are going I coment, I said that
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: you know they're taking I tell you, no one likes
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: to be in lockdown. But I don't understand they need
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: to be in order to control the situation. And generally
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: things are fine. You know, it's day by day, you know,
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: at the moment, so the supports there, everyone's checking in
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: to provide the necessary supports to both communities. So it's
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: you know, they've got regular communications, I said, and that's
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: the key. The communication is the key, and they're getting
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: the messages right and showing people are comfortable and reasonably
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: happy on the circumstances.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: Well, John, I really appreciate your time this morning.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you having a chat with us and letting
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: us know what is really going on.
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: All the best to you guys and to all those.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: Communities, particularly Binjari and rock Hole at this point.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much.
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: Thank you.