Camp
Freedom versus the StolenWealth Games
'We wanted to make it clear to the
mob, make it clear to the world, make it clear to our people, that we
are here, and we're here, and we're standing strong. And we don't
want nothin', we don't want nothin' of the Commonwealth here.
They've stolen the land, built this country on Stolen Wages, built
this country on the blood and bones of our people, and it's about
time that history is acknowledged. And it's about time them royal
families who are responsible for it all, they come down here, they
get on our level. They ask to be here on our country, that's what
needs to happen.'
(Wharton 2018)
(Wharton 2018)
Camp
Freedom is the name of the base protest site set up by Aboriginal
Activists for the 2018 Commonwealth Games held at on Yugambeh Land at
Moondarewa at the Gold Coast in Queensland, and still lives on in our
consciousness. Camp Freedom was a place to gather, a place to
organise protest actions, a place to visit, a place to swim, a place
for cultural performances and creativity, a place to rest, and mostly
significant because we don't generally have access to these kinds of
public spaces in Australia. The young Warriors of Aboriginal
Resistance (WAR) and other organisers worked with Yugambeh
Traditional Owners, the bureaucracy of the local City Council, Police
and government officials for years before the Games started, to
secure a permit for the site and ensure facilities for campers and
visitors. It drew people from all over the world, and from all walks
of life, including parents of athletes in The Games, who wanted to
understand more about the Aboriginal experience of living under
colonial oppression. Everyone involved seemed to take it seriously.
One main thing that Camp Freedom still advocates for, is that of a
Truth Commission to investigate Human Rights abuses, similar to other
common mechanisms towards healing past wrongs, such as those
initiated in South Africa and Canada (Brahm
2009).
Camp Freedom, Gold Coast 2018 |
some of the Queensland Police Presence at Australia Fair Shopping Centre, Gold Coast 2018 |
screen capture, channel 7 news April 2018 |
Jenny Fraser with a photograph of her family matriarch, Granny Clark |
I had
attended an initial planning camp for the Commonwealth Games protests
held in November 2016, but it wasn't until I was monstered by Police
a few months in the paramilitary lead up to The Games, when my
commitment to protest was affirmed.
In
September 2017. I was targeted by the Queensland Police on a train,
and when I responded by writing down their ID numbers, I was arrested
for Fare Evasion within minutes, handcuffed, manhandled, publicly
accused of smoking and carrying drugs, escorted to a paddy wagon,
patted down and driven to a car park, where I was let go. (Fraser
2017) I actually had a ticket, so the charge was quickly changed to
Fail to Produce Ticket, and also Obstruct Police, and I was required
to go to court. I made an official complaint to the Police Minister, which was reviewed by the Police "Ethical Command" Unit, who found the Police in question to have committed no breach of conduct... In order for me to get Legal Aid assistance, I was required
to plead guilty in court, and because I had no prior record, the judge put me
on a good behaviour bond for months, which happened to last until one
week after The Games were over... This could have made protesting
more of a risk for me, but it is a human right after all. I wasn't
the only one harassed, as the preparatory Paramilitary exercises were
being undertaken all around the region in South East Queensland and
across the state border into Northern New South, other people were
being monstered and also had batons, pepper spray and guns pulled on
them which were recorded in places like Byron Bay (Graham
2018) (Ford 2018)
and Nimbin (Hoeben
2018).
However,
it does not seem like it is over, as one
week after The Games were finished, I also got a phone call from the
Police on the 22nd
April, on
a Sunday, informing me to expect a fine for a car accident that I had
in 2017, which the Police had never even attended on the day in
question... I elected to go to court, but the Police decided to drop the charge of 'Driving too close to another vehicle'.
My
personal hopes for Camp Freedom was for it be a spiritual and
cultural experience for locals and visitors alike, such as I had
experienced in 2006 "During
the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, it was at Camp Sovereignty where
the spiritual healing developed. People felt peaceful and they felt
safe, because the smoking ceremony at the sacred fire was healing.
The
introduction of our Aboriginal law, to the overall protest efforts,
was the biggest contributor to the success of Camp Sovereignty."
(Thorpe 2016) Some of the Indigenous Arts Community and others showed up to
support Camp Freedom, performing and creating new work, which also helped to lift
the vibration of the camp. We did this because real culture cannot
be stopped, not because there was money in it for us, not because we
were welcome at the Royals table, not because a government
institution anointed us, and definitely not because we were part of a
staged template, or a circus run by a circus, used by the Director of
other Games formats already seen around the world. It was at Camp
Freedom where our ongoing culture and consensus was consistently
present throughout the two weeks, and as a parting gift, a Bora Ring
was constructed with beach sand, in the shade of the space where
yarning and decision making took place. Aside from the extreme
Police response to the presence of Camp Freedom, I feel like our
hopes were fulfilled and we did justice to our ancestors from all
over the country. It must have been powerful, because the Bora Ring
was immediately removed once Camp Freedom was vacated (Wharton 2018).
* This is the unedited version of the essay that also appears in the Maroon Magazine marking the 10th annual Maroon Conference in Jamaica 2018
http://maroons-jamaica.com/modules/mod_flipbook_10/tmpl/mobile/index.html?fbclid=IwAR11LyDalD48pX1nrvEN3h_3E-wa2Xrqr0nf84LKfdBkNoBVxxzNuB4O9uo
http://maroons-jamaica.com/modules/mod_flipbook_10/tmpl/mobile/index.html?fbclid=IwAR11LyDalD48pX1nrvEN3h_3E-wa2Xrqr0nf84LKfdBkNoBVxxzNuB4O9uo
References:
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Armbruster, S. (2018) Security set for
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https://www.facebook.com/stefarmbruster/videos/433330197103448
Baker, A. (2014) G20 lockdown: the
challenge of balancing freedom and security, The Conversation,
https://theconversation.com/g20-lockdown-the-challenge-of-balancing-freedom-and-security-32698
Brahm, E. (2009)
What is a Truth Commission and why does it matter? Peace and Conflict
Review – Volume 3 Issue 2 (Spring 2009), 1-14
http://www.review.upeace.org/pdf.cfm?articulo=83&ejemplar=17
Drum Cussac (2018) Analysis: Security
at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, Australia. May 14,
https://www.drum-cussac.com/blog/commonwealth-games
(B.A.S.E)
Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy (2018) A
proud message from WAR Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance.
,facebook page, April 14,
https://www.facebook.com/brisbaneaboriginal.embassymedia/posts/1600044870045486
Courier Mail (2018), Gold Coast
Commonwealth Games: Police to retain search powers, newspaper,
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/gold-coast-commonwealth-games-police-to-retain-search-powers/news-story/3b6e50ccd4496823fae6012ee8d656c4
Fraser, J. (2017)
Aboriginal People managing Aboriginal Art, Petition
https://www.change.org/p/the-arts-centre-gold-coast-aboriginal-people-managing-aboriginal-art
Fraser, J. (2017) Wrist Damage detail, photograph, September https://www.instagram.com/p/BZiZQlMDdM9/?taken-by=dot_ayu
Ford, M. (2018) Police officer who
struck 16yo with baton 12 times outside Byron Bay hostel defends his
actions, March 29,
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-29/byron-bay-officer-who-struck-teenager-with-baton-defends-actions/9602296
Graham, B. (2018) Woman ‘knocked unconscious’ during Byron Bay arrest, February 13, https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/woman-knocked-unconscious-during-byron-bay-arrest/news-story/7472782dd11e4dccb73e28b4409508eb
Hartnett, A
(2018) Camp
Freedom Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018.
April 20
https://www.facebook.com/albert.hartnett/posts/986664824823397
Hele, M. (2018) These are the suburbs
where foreign buyers really want to own Queensland homes,
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/brisbane-qld/these-are-the-suburbs-where-foreign-buyers-really-want-to-own-queensland-homes/news-story/16214ff41b3843675f7140d6f1442934
Hoeben, S. (2018) facebook post, March
31
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=if%20nimbin%20folks%20dont%20like%20this%20behaviour%20from%20the%20police%20
Legrand, T. &
Bronitt, S. (2015) Policing the G20 protests: ‘Too much order with
too little law’ revisited. Queensland Review, 22, pp 3-14
doi:10.1017/qre.2015.2
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Brisbane G20: State-of-the-art Police Operations Centre to utilise
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-09/brisbane-g203a-state-of-the-art-police-comand-centre-revealed/5877744
Pierce, J. (2017)
Queensland Police unveil top-secret security bunker to protect Gold
Coast during Commonwealth Games, October 19,
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/qld/queensland-police-unveil-top-secret-security-bunker-to-protect-gold-coast-during-commonwealth-games-ng-9bd857e08ee96781c488e0b1ab41a7b4
Reagan, J. (2014)
Brisbane G20: State-of-the-art Police Operations Centre to utilise
hundreds of cameras, ABC News,
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-09/brisbane-g203a-state-of-the-art-police-comand-centre-revealed/5877744
Reagan, J. (2018)
Australian Police Down Rogue Drone at Gold Coast Games
https://dronelife.com/2018/03/27/australian-police-rogue-drone-gold-coast-games/
Roberts, G.
(2018) Commonwealth Games facial recognition software to stay, but
when will it be used? The Queensland Government won't say,
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Smith, A. (2018)
How the Gold Coast games transformed a resort region into a city,
April 13,
https://theconversation.com/how-the-gold-coast-games-transformed-a-resort-region-into-a-city-94877
Welcome To
Country (2018) Media Blackout: the moment police were evicted by
Aboriginal protesters, April 16,
https://www.welcometocountry.org/police-evicted-by-aboriginal-protesters/
Wharton, R.
(2018) Transcribed from Protesters Block Queen's Baton Relay
by 7 News Brisbane, a video embedded in the online article titled 5
Reasons to join the Commonwealth Games Protests featured on the
website Welcome To Country (2018)
https://www.welcometocountry.org/5-reasons-to-join-the-2018-commonwealth-games-protests/
Wharton, R.
(2018) May 20 Facebook Live video
https://www.facebook.com/ruby.wharton/videos/vb.100000364083234/1826451290710323/?type=3
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