Games bring black and white Australia together

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Canberra: The plight of Australia's Aborigines was supposed to take centre stage at the Olympics in Sydney, with protesters disrupting the Games and blackening Australia's reputation on the world stage.

Instead, a shy Aboriginal runner, a gold medal, and the gentle, persistent presence of indigenous culture at Games events has brought black and white Australians closer than ever before.

"Right from the opening ceremonies, to what Cathy Freeman did last night before us all... has sent a clear message of reconciliation right through," Evelyn Scott, chairman of the Council of Aboriginal Reconciliation, told Reuters.

"It's a positive sign that things can only get better." It seemed all Australia stopped on Monday to watch the slight, 27-year-old Freeman, the most scrutinised athlete and Aborigine in the country, fling herself around Olympic stadium to win gold in the women's 400 metres.

Then, with the grace that has become a trademark, Freeman tied an Australian and Aboriginal flag together, draped them over her shoulders, and took a victory lap amid the roar of the crowd.

It was the second time in the Olympics that Freeman -- typecast here as an Australian combination of Martin Luther King and Jesse Owens -- had shouldered the burdens of race and athletics.

Freeman was chosen to light the Olympic cauldron at the September 15 opening ceremony, stunning everyone who had expected a white athlete -- several were proposed -- to do the honours.

Aboriginal showcase

Far from avoiding the delicate subject of Australia's 400,000 Aborigines, the nation's most disadvantaged group, organisers have showcased indigenous culture at every opportunity.

The Olympic torch began its 100-day journey across Australia at Uluru, formerly called Ayers Rock, in the hands of Aboriginal athlete Nova Peris-Kneebone, and ended in the hands of Freeman.

The opening ceremonies devoted an hour to Aboriginal dancers and the story of their history, Games music has resonated with the haunting tone of the native didgeridoo, and aboriginal art and cultural references dot the Olympic village.

The much-feared protests by Aboriginal leaders, one of whom famously promised that "burning cars and burning buildings" would greet visitors, have fizzled into invisibility.

Geoff Clark, chairman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, an umbrella group for indigenous Australians, said the positive message of Freeman, the dancers and artists has accomplished more than any protest could have.

"In a subtle way, I think this has done more to get the message across. You can go anyplace in the world and get protest after protest and at the end of the day you get a five-second grab at the news," he told Reuters.

"This, I think, adds up to more."

Narrowing the gap

A young nation, Australia still struggles for reconciliation over wrongs done to Aborigines after the country was first settled by whites 212 years ago -- an event Aborigines call the invasion -- and subsequent black massacres.

Aborigines, who make up just 2.1 percent of Australia's 19 million population, have a life expectancy 20 years below that of other Australians, and fall far beneath white levels in terms of education, employment, health and social security.

Efforts to officially reconcile black and white Australians stalled in May when conservative Prime Minister John Howard refused to apologise on behalf of the country for injustices.

Freeman has trod a careful line, speaking out in July against the government's refusal to apologise but always portraying herself as a proud Australian.

John Altman, an Aboriginal studies professor at Australian National University, said Freeman's graceful presence at the Olympics will advance reconciliation -- at least with the people.

"I think the media images that will be replayed time and again of Cathy lighting the flame, and her winning, those sorts of images will have a powerful flow-on effect," he told Reuters.

Political change will be harder. Analysts believe it is now impossible for Howard to apologise, so official reconciliation will remain stalled until there is a new prime minister.

Still, the Olympics appear to have narrowed the gap between black and white Australians by at least 400 metres.

"I'm sure what's happened tonight and what I symbolise will make a difference to people's attitudes. I know I've made a lot of people happy from all kinds of backgrounds that call Australia home," Freeman said after her victory.

The prime minister was equally gracious.

"She's a role model to young Australians, Aboriginal Australians and other Australians. And I think everybody is extremely happy, and what these Games have done is to dissolve differences and bring Australians closer together," he said.



(c) Reuters Limited.