Wadeye People... (07-Nov-07)

by Glenn Manton

The female gangs are named after divas of song in Kylie Minogue and Celine Dion. The male gang names are influenced by heavy metal music and culture. They are the Judas Priests and the Evil Warriors. And so Wadeye, the latest destination of return for the Red Dust role models, reverberates nightly and remains pensive daily to the movements and interactions of the aforementioned gangs. The greatest fear, aside from the threat of Celine Dion being amplified throughout the community, is that someone may actually find themselves seriously injured; for it takes great skill to fight whilst trying not to injure your opposition. The gangs are simply outlets for young indigenous men to blow of steam born of many reasons from apathy to exploitation. Genuine hatred is rare. Unfortunately the wider community suffers as the risk involved in such conflict outweighs the chance (for example) for younger children to travel safely to school or elders to share their thoughts – such silence has contributed greatly to the current atmosphere.

Regardless of its existing (some would say on-going) community climate Wadeye still has much to offer in terms of its people. Over the course of four days the Red Dust lineup teamed with the school (OLSH) and was able to 'polish' a rough diamond or two and influence the entire community via its media facilities which aired a song (Wadeye People) and film clip showing some of the great strengths within the community. The reinforcement of positive actions and abilities seemed to have an effect on the level of gang activity but truthfully there are many issues to be addressed and a long journey to be made before the community of Wadeye restores its base line functionality. Red Dust role models will continue to work within Wadeye building on both the relationships and successes it has already unearthed and developed. A successful visit to Wadeye was the ideal way to conclude Red Dust activity for 2008. Not only did the team continue its positive work over the course of the ‘tour’ itself but allowed for the prospect of great change moving forward. A future free of bass riddled Judas Priest offerings would be positive for everyone – although it is more palatable than Celine’s finest work.