Sarah Luke
PLENTY of people got in the spirit of NAIDOC Week on Wednesday, turning out in droves for Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation’s family fun day. Held in the co-op’s car park in York St, Sale, there was plenty for local families to see and do, including holding wildlife and petting farm animals, painting on boomerangs, making bracelets and the all-important face paint one of the most popular stands.
Children could learn and explore the local habitat at the Parks Victoria stand, tour an ambulance with local paramedics and learn about oral health.
Ramahyuck board member Debbie Leon, who was enjoying showing her five-year-old granddaughter Maddison Leon-Robbins around, said this year’s NAIDOC theme, ‘Heal Country, Heal Nation’, was about working together to look after the land and respect one another.
Over the past four years, much of the world watched as the US largely retreated from the global stage, pulled out of multilateral and bilateral agreements, pushed away many of its traditional allies and turned inward.
For Mr Trump s supporters, this was exactly what they desired, sensing that the US had been short-changed as the world s policeman after decades-long military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, and often paying the bill for defending allied nations.
The Trump presidency was also marked by domestic turmoil and a rise in nationalism and, to many, what seemed to be a degradation of truth and democracy.