With more than seventy Christmases behind us, we of ‘Oosterman Treats’ are enormously qualified to speak and deal with Post Christmas stress, or PCS in medical or psychiatric parlance. It comes from huge unreal expectations. You can just imagine those poor sods having lined up outside the department shops for hours hoping to buy yet again another unwanted and unneeded item. Boxing day ‘specials’ with discounts so big, many items are almost free. Did you see those contorted shoppers’ faces on TV being interviewed? One girl proudly stated that shopping is her only aim in life.
Of course, the Christmas revellers stomachs are just as churned up. Huge loads of sugars and fats having to be regurgitated with cuds re-chewed and worked through. It generally hits most people about a day after Boxing day. The money is gone and the new hand-bag or T-shirt are just that, a bag and T-shirt. The pavlova has melted and made a mess at the bottom of the fridge. The ham is souring and so are the kids. ‘We are bored’, is now a common refrain uttered by thousands of kids and echoing above waves and sand throughout the country. Spare a thought for mums having to cope with that! Dads can go back to work after nursing a head-ache from too much Pinot Gris.
Pardon this serious reflection but believe me, it will pass. The answer is to do nothing. Life goes back to normal and the passing of this Christmas will be seen by many as a relief . Normality is to be preferred after all. We have to gather strength to do the vacuum, chuck out the wrapping paper, scrape the plates clean and heroically face the next few days. New-Year’s Eve is still to be wrestled with, but that is just a few hours and doesn’t generally include anywhere near the pandemonium that Christmas holds. At least we won’t have to hear those supermarkets jingles over and over again.
What took the gloss of this Christmas was the death of yet another refugee on Manus island. The poor man had begged to be treated for months. It was ignored and the medical nurse told him to stop faking. He can’t fake now. He died. He spent over three years on Manus and had his refugee status approved.The Government will not commend on his death and his family wasn’t even notified. How could we have a Christmas with that happening?
I tell you now, if we ever move again, it will be away from Australia. This government has reached the bottom for compassion and humanity. They punish and kill refugees for not having drowned in the first place.
You are a swine Mr Minister Dutton for killing refugees, and so is your boss, our PM Turnbull.
Tags: Boxing, Christmas, Fat, Manus, Mr Turnbull, Oosterman, Refugee, Sugar, Swine, Treats
December 27, 2016 at 2:43 am |
I wonder if our national racism has been there all along, and it has gained strong roots so that our “lords and masters” know they can continue with this cruel behaviour. Have we given them tactic approval? How can they sleep at night, and mouth their platitudes?
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December 27, 2016 at 6:43 am |
Yes, I felt so angry, could hardly sleep and this was on Christmas Eve! I was drifting off into hate and revenge. I was driving a bulldozer through our parliament.
Has Dutton ever been to Manus or Nauru?
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December 27, 2016 at 4:26 am |
Both Labor and Liberals agree on this inhumane approach. Surely we must vote out such cruel politicians, mouthing platitudes about saving deaths at sea. Australian towns would be enriched by refugees from all countries where they could benefit and help one another.
Great post Gerard. The after Christmas sales are to be avoided!
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December 27, 2016 at 6:45 am |
Yes, both Labor and LNP are in cahoots. I voted Greens last time and will next time. Thank you, Barbara. I am so angry.
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December 27, 2016 at 4:57 am |
And the politicians go to church and say how important it is to be kind to their fellowman, and then allow this sort of stuff to go on! Bloody hypocrites.
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December 27, 2016 at 6:49 am |
Yes, Dutton might well be the proof, that there isn’t a God anymore in Australia.
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December 27, 2016 at 7:40 am |
Gerard, if Dutton has one empathetic bone in his body, I’ll eat my left elbow.
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December 27, 2016 at 11:07 pm |
Nobody will eat Dutton.
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December 27, 2016 at 10:03 am |
I hit the ‘like’ button just to join in the sympathy for Faysal. Thank you for helping to spread is sad story across the world.
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December 27, 2016 at 11:21 pm |
Yes, the government maintains, that giving food and shelter is what should make refugees feel ‘they ‘ve got it made.’ AND they have TV!
It is typical of the bullying private boarding school mentality that most of the politicians were fed in their youth. They now give it all back, and more.
The fact the refugees have no future, can’t plan to get on with their lives, nothing to look forward to but endless languishing day after day, month after month, year after year. They have been told they will never get to Australia. The only choice is to get back to the countries they fled from.
Self harm is prevalent amongst adults and children. Considering Australia is the least densely populated continent in the world, has lots of room and needs people, it is just bloody-mindedness that condemns people who have done no wrong to endless cruelty and deaths.
Faysal death and those before him should not be in vain . Please, spread the word.
Thank you, Hilary.
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December 27, 2016 at 11:05 am |
Two have died recently, one of septicaemia, another of head injury. Both treatable, given care. Don’t know how people became so dispassionate. There are always people demanding we say no to Sharia law, ban the burqua, etc, coz they’ll take over!! Yes, it is pure racism.
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December 27, 2016 at 11:25 pm |
Some say, it was always like that, Big M. I remember the Italians and Greeks were demonised back in the fifties. The whiff of garlic on the bus would make people turn around and tell them to get back where you came from. But… at no stage were refugees ever banned to islands and forgotten about.
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December 29, 2016 at 3:44 am
Racism often lurks beneath the surface, Gez. My parents were intolerant of ‘wogs’ when I was young. Dad became less so with time, working with Italian, Greeks, Yugoslavs, Dutch, and Aboriginals. As he aged he became quite good at talking to people of various backgrounds. The only people he disliked were pommies. The whinged and never integrated, always hoping to return to the Old Dart for,a jknighthood. You know the type! Mum has never really embraced multiculturalism, always voting for the conservatives to keep the foreigners out!!
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December 27, 2016 at 11:00 pm |
Another excellent post. Starts off humorous but then, wham! the bitter point hits us like a train. This is shocking, to say the least. Governments around the world are rotten to their core. Keep ranting, Gerard…some of us are listening!
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December 27, 2016 at 11:29 pm |
Thank you, Jenny.
Some trade has been struck with the Obama government whereby the refugees will be traded for Central American refugees, but with Trump in control after the 20th of Jan. 2017 it will be seen if that will go through. It seems just too ridiculous that one lot of refugees can be traded in for another group. How heartless and mean.
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December 29, 2016 at 8:07 pm |
I too am disgraced, highly embarished and angry about this governments illegal actions to such desperate peoples. We get involved in other people’s wars to basically please the USA. We are so good at sending in troops, planes and “advisers” and bomb the sh.t out of them.
Millions of displaced people and refugees are created. We then intercept them as they are fleeing and as a reward, fling them with their children into detention centres complete with razor wire to be so called assessed.
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December 30, 2016 at 12:54 am |
Gerard, you have a great understanding of people in general and Australians in particular. And we call ourselves a Christian nation.
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December 30, 2016 at 12:57 am |
Happy Go Lucky, I agree totally with you. How come some of us see the world better than others. Is there something wrong with us or are the others wrong?
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December 30, 2016 at 1:06 am |
To make things worse, Australia is now going to side more with Israel. What next, bomb the Palestinians?
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December 29, 2016 at 9:38 pm |
I thought Boxing Day was for taking things back and getting refunds. We have a neat solution. We don’t buy presents.
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December 30, 2016 at 1:05 am |
Good solution Andrew. Instead of presents, get the guests to do some house-work or mow the lawn, clean the shed. I am over the moon it is over now.
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December 30, 2016 at 3:59 am |
In your politicians eyes and the people that take care of the refuges, they don’t see them as human. After all they have forgotten that once upon a time their ancestors were refugees. An extremely sad state of affairs. Poor man that died. The nurse should be very proud of her neglect.
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December 30, 2016 at 4:12 am |
This issue has been festering now for over 3 years. It was meant to be a short term ‘solution.’
The Government seems to wait for their numbers to go down through total despair, self- harm, going catatonic with grief, attrition and neglect.
This ‘solution’ is close to mimicking earlier death camps of Nazi Germany. This government’s intention is there.
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December 30, 2016 at 4:42 am
My God, what a sad state of affairs. Our country is falling apart and yours is apathetic.
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December 30, 2016 at 5:54 am |
Nothing wrong with us Mr Berlioz. No need for any apologies for having our opinions as strong as they might be.
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December 30, 2016 at 6:09 am |
Apathetic is not the only view that comes to my petspeopleandlives. Immoral, arrogant, untruthful, un Christian and illegal as per world wide laws that the polies choose to just simply ignore can be added.
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December 31, 2016 at 2:04 am |
It goes beyond the politicians to the people, Gerard. I am looking at what has happened in America— and the racism and the lies and the greed that has allowed it to happen. And the media that feeds off of the negativity. –Curt
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December 31, 2016 at 2:18 am |
You are right, Curt.
I hope that this coming year will see an end to this group of refugees on Nauru and Manus, living in endless detention for not having done anything wrong…
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December 31, 2016 at 1:31 pm
Me too, Gerard. It is such an injustice. There is no excuse for it. Or for most of the other refugee problems, many of which, we have helped create. –Curt
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January 2, 2017 at 4:11 am |
Can’t say I get much pleasure out of this but here is an alternative national anthem I wrote, first posted on the Ellis blog:
Advance Australia Where?
Australians let not us rejoice
For we were never free
We’ve black man’s soil and blood for oil
Our home is girt by greed
Our land abounds in desperate rifts
Of laws so damned unfair
In history’s page without a wage
Advance Australia where?
In dodgy strains then let us sing
Advance Australia Where?
Beneath our hazy Southern Cross
We’ll mine our sacred lands
And deliver this selfish place of ours
To multinational hands
For those who’ve come across the seas
We’ve boundless pain to share
With razor wire let us conspire
To Advance Australia Where?
In joyless strains then let us sing
Advance Australia Where?
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January 2, 2017 at 9:17 pm |
Brilliant, Chris. Advance Australia Where indeed.
Did you read the latest ABC news. Apparently we should be ashamed of receiving a pension. Senator Leyenhelm reckons pensioners are failures and should be deeply ashamed.
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