Proceedings of the Pacific Regional Consultation on “Women’s Rights to Adequate Housing and Land” Nadi, Fiji12 to 15 October 2004
Testimonies on Housing, Land and Property Rights of Women (Migration, Shift to Urban Areas, Urban Settlements)
Presenters: Stella Simmering, Elizabeth Tongne, Reginald Kipe,
Interview 2003.
Jeannie Gadambua
I left my home place Maningrida because of white fellas (balanda) stepping all over
people, especially traditional owners. People in the community they don’t know what happens after elections and
what decisions are made, without someone sitting down and explaining what is happening. My
people are dying from the distress. Some people are living in iron shacks. People were crowded
into one house. If one person gets a house, everyone crowds in. And there are health problems
from too many people in one house. One person with infected sores or some other problem and
they spread in the house. Also they don’t let people know how much money they have in their
accounts, they just take money for house repairs, without giving any information. And some
balanda they just build new houses on top of sacred sites where we do ceremony.
The people in the community, they can’t challenge balandas. Balandas just putting sand all over us.
I’ve seen so many people from Maningrida graduate from Batchelor College and return to Maningrida
to look for a job. But when they ask, they say it’s hard for you because you can’t do that. Maybe
next month or next year I’ll give you a job. That’s how long people wait. They get sick of it. They
fly to Darwin. They end up in the long grass with their close relations, like aunties; they gather
together, mix with oldies. Sometimes when they are drinking and I still hear their complaints,
“no can’t go back, what for? No, too hard, I’m sick of balandas (non-Aboriginal people)”. I want
to tell this story to make other Long grass people talk. Long grass people don’t have to be shut
up about what’s happened to their home community, they are going to have to talk. Like me,
for instance, I went to every office, tried journalists, lawyers, nothing happened.
I like the white people that are helping to move away the problems by teaching and helping
Aboriginal people to run the place. But these people I can’t talk to them. I just feel floating.
Sometimes, I get angry with the kids because of the stress. Sometimes I sit and think about
my people and ceremony and how I miss them since I haven’t been back since 1998. I’m sort of
getting distressed missing all my cultural stuff and people out there. They’re still calling me to go
back, but when I ask them for support, they’re not able to because the balanda stepped all over them.
Testimonies on Housing, Land and Property Rights of Women (Migration, Shift to Urban Areas, Urban Settlements)
Presenters: Stella Simmering, Elizabeth Tongne, Reginald Kipe,
Interview 2003.
Jeannie Gadambua
I left my home place Maningrida because of white fellas (balanda) stepping all over
people, especially traditional owners. People in the community they don’t know what happens after elections and
what decisions are made, without someone sitting down and explaining what is happening. My
people are dying from the distress. Some people are living in iron shacks. People were crowded
into one house. If one person gets a house, everyone crowds in. And there are health problems
from too many people in one house. One person with infected sores or some other problem and
they spread in the house. Also they don’t let people know how much money they have in their
accounts, they just take money for house repairs, without giving any information. And some
balanda they just build new houses on top of sacred sites where we do ceremony.
The people in the community, they can’t challenge balandas. Balandas just putting sand all over us.
I’ve seen so many people from Maningrida graduate from Batchelor College and return to Maningrida
to look for a job. But when they ask, they say it’s hard for you because you can’t do that. Maybe
next month or next year I’ll give you a job. That’s how long people wait. They get sick of it. They
fly to Darwin. They end up in the long grass with their close relations, like aunties; they gather
together, mix with oldies. Sometimes when they are drinking and I still hear their complaints,
“no can’t go back, what for? No, too hard, I’m sick of balandas (non-Aboriginal people)”. I want
to tell this story to make other Long grass people talk. Long grass people don’t have to be shut
up about what’s happened to their home community, they are going to have to talk. Like me,
for instance, I went to every office, tried journalists, lawyers, nothing happened.
I like the white people that are helping to move away the problems by teaching and helping
Aboriginal people to run the place. But these people I can’t talk to them. I just feel floating.
Sometimes, I get angry with the kids because of the stress. Sometimes I sit and think about
my people and ceremony and how I miss them since I haven’t been back since 1998. I’m sort of
getting distressed missing all my cultural stuff and people out there. They’re still calling me to go
back, but when I ask them for support, they’re not able to because the balanda stepped all over them.