The mental health epidemic in the music industry

Musicians across the world today are facing an epidemic; mental illness. An ever-growing number of musicians are coming forward saying that they have been battling with issues such as depression and anxiety, with a significant amount reporting that they are afflicted by chronic mental illnesses such as bi polar mood disorder and schizophrenia.

So why is there such a disproportionately large representation of mental illness present in the music community? What factors are contributing to musicians’ afflictions? This paper will first help the reader to analyse the situation of mental illness in the music industry from a global perspective and then look into the issue as it relates to musicians in Australia. The aim is to develop a greater view of the problem by exploring statistics and other factors to determine what variables are similar in all settings and establish common potential contributors to poor mental health in the music industry. The final section will showcase the organisations that are helping to identify potential solutions and exploring what steps can be taken to help musicians who are suffering and get them on the road to recovery before it’s too late.

The prevalence of mental health issues among musicians is now being recognised as a notorious global phenomenon; media outlets, academic institutions and other researchers are beginning to bring to light just how rife this dark side of the music industry is: A study done by Help Musicians UK suggested that over 68.5 per cent of the UK’s professional musicians reported suffered from some sort of depression or similar affliction, and 71.1 per cent had suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. Furthermore, 52.7 per cent of the 2,211 musicians surveyed felt that it was difficult for them to get help. (Help Musicians UK, 2016) These studies suggest that it is possible musicians can be three times more likely to suffer anxiety and depression than the average citizen. Therefore, it is clear that there are fundamental issues present in the music industry today that are wreaking havoc on the mental health of professional and amateur musicians alike.

The case is largely the same for Australian artists. Research conducted by Entertainment assist of 2,904 respondents across all sectors of the Australian entertainment industry found that 25 per cent of Australian performing artists and roadies have attempted or considered suicide. It also was found that those who were suffering did not know how to seek help, and did not feel comfortable discussing their issues with their peers and colleagues.  As a matter of fact, according to the research there is a systematic ‘negative culture’ that is described as a ‘toxic, bruising work environment’ ‘bullying, sexual assault; sexism and racism.’ (Entertainment Assist, 2014)

It is possible that there are inherent traits that musicians share that can be attributed to the phenomena of widespread mental health issues. Creativity and psychological well-being have always been a topic of research in psychology: According to the Indian Journal of Psychology “results of various studies and anecdotal reports suggest an increased rate of schizophrenia, manic-depressive disorder, depression, personality disorder or alcoholism in creative individuals.” (Indian J. Psych, 2007) This suggests that the mental health problems that musicians face are the dark underbelly of the mental states that also provide them with “the intense motivation, the conviction, egocentrism, the unconventionality, the imagination and the inspiration so necessary for new discoveries and breakthroughs.”

Furthermore, overactive creative minds that a supposedly large number of musicians have can lead them to turn to substance abuse to “still their overactive minds or to fuel their imaginations when they are feeling emotionally blocked and intellectually inhibited.” There is no hard and fast connection between mental health issues and creative people, yet there seems throughout history to have been an overlapping of creative genius and madness that may help to explain why so many musicians face these problems.

Nevertheless, in today’s world there is a host of challenges and setbacks that artists face in their careers, any one of which could have potential impacts on their psychological wellbeing, let alone multiple of those issues compounding, sometimes at once.

One overarching factor in the suffering of artists is poor pay and unsatisfactory financial compensation for their work: Entertainment Assist data shows that 76.5 per cent of Australian musicians and 65.7 per cent of singers earned less than $30,000 per annum in 2014.  Research done by the Australian Council for the Arts suggests that due to financial pressures and having to work other jobs, Australian musicians faced “difficulties maintaining the level of time and energy required to sustain artistic practice.” (ACA, 2013) It was also found that despite spending half of their time on their creative practice, they only earned one third of their income from it.

For new artists emerging in the digital age, earning enough to get by as a working musician is extremely difficult. Without relying on fan donations and crowdfunding, musicians can earn very little for their content. One emerging Electronic Dance Music artist reported that from their 1,023,501 streams on Spotify, they had earned only $4,955.90. (Digital Music News, 2016) What this means for many artists is that they have to rely on touring and playing shows and other events to keep themselves afloat: This almost inevitably means long hours, very little sleep and a constant demand to be performing, and performing well. Olly Alexander, of the British electronica trio Years and Years told Noisey about the pressures of touring: “I have days when I really don’t feel capable of performing or giving a good interview, but you have to do it. You can’t cancel a show or reschedule.” (Jones, 2016)

The extent of pressure from fans and labels doesn’t stop when the tour is over, however: Thanks to the advent of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, the actions and decisions of artists are being judged almost constantly. Any member of the public is able to post their opinions on an artist’s song, performance or even something they said in an interview.

This readily available platform for engagement with the artist does not require any sort of qualification. This means that the most hostile, hateful and critical comments are communicated to artists and, thanks to the anonymity of online discussion, trolls, racists, and what can be called haters, are  given a unrestricted means of abusing, harassing and denigrating artists with no real repercussions. This can have devastating effects for the artist, particularly if they are inexperienced and, in the past, have relied on fan support to gauge an idea of how they are performing and creating.

Earlier on in his career, Recording artist William Doyle AKA East India Youth would look to social media to check how he was performing: “I have so many memories of finishing shows and just checking the reaction on the internet straight away,” (Murray, 2017) With the breadth of audience interaction at play with social media, the validation that comes from fans can be addictive, and conversely, criticism and other negative comments can have an impact on artist than can lead them down a spiral of doubt and self-deprecation. This addiction to social media is no trivial matter; a lot of artists like William Doyle have decided to completely separate themselves from social media: “There are a lot of things in the industry that can burn you out, and social media was definitely one them for me.” (Murray, 2017)

These forums can bind artists in a vicious trap, as fans begin to gain animosity towards those who do not engage with them on social media, and the pressure to be posting online and broadcasting everything has led artists to feel that they have no privacy, and that they are constantly being judged. This has ushered in a new era of PR that manages artists’ online presence, so that the artist can gain their life back without being the subject of constant scrutiny.

To summarise; low pay combined with an increased pressure to perform which leads to high working hours and lack of sleep can cause musicians to plunge into mental illness or substance abuse. Furthermore, the music industry is full of greed and deceit as those in positions of power, such as labels, try and milk every cent out of an artist and force artists into exploitative contracts that drain them of their emotional wellbeing and artistic and creative potential.

There are charity organisations that are seeking to help musicians facing these problems. Help Musicians UK is a charity fund that offers musicians a number of programs including a creative program; which helps them to be equipped with the skills to network, expand their musical skill set to develop and grow as artists and also a health and welfare program, where they provide support and also financial grants for any medical treatment the musician may need in sustaining their career.

The Australian Entertainment Assist is a health promotion charity that seeks to curb the high rates of mental illness in the Australian entertainment industry by offering programs such as three-hour mental health training sessions that are catered specifically to the entertainment industry as well as information sessions, meetings and promoting awareness of these issues in the public sphere.

The Arts Wellbeing Collective is another Australian organisation constituted of 90 Victorian arts bodies. The project was launched in 2017 and is dedicated to improving the psychological wellbeing of Australian arts professionals by providing counselling sessions and training.

The Australian music charity Support Act is launching a confidential mental health helpline in 2017 designed specifically for musicians struggling with the challenges they face in the industry. CEO Joanna Cave told ABC that perhaps a lot of young musicians are not really taking on board the extent of their mental health problems, and rather just treating it as part of the life of a muso: “I think within music there’s just that sense of people not knowing what to do and not necessarily identifying that that’s what’s wrong, they’re feeling very low, might be drinking too much, but not really figuring out that there’s a health issue materialising there.” (ABC, 2016)

When entering the music industry, a number of young artists are completely unprepared for the logistics and ins and outs of what it takes to have a sustained career as a performing and recording artist, and therefore face unforeseen challenges that take a toll on their stress levels and confidence. These types of initiatives are much needed in an industry that unlike others, has very little support for those facing issues, whether they are still working musicians or they have since retired.

There needs to be a growth of awareness of the issues that musician’s face in trying to sustain their career as artists. As more research unfolds and more groups like Help Musicians UK establish, those in high positions in the industry, particularly record label executives, tour managers and venue owners, can begin to provide better conditions for musicians. Yet, it is not only up to those in the industry, it is also up to the general public to support artists by buying music rather than pirating, by buying tickets and going to shows, and just by engaging with lesser-known artists with a mindset of support.

More importantly we need to remove the stigma that surrounds mental health. Olly Alexander told Noisey; “In our culture there’s still so much inherent shame when we talk about our mental health, and we still don’t talk about it in the same way we do our physical health.” (Jones, 2016) It is not only musicians who are made to suffer in silence due to a fear of alienation and casting out at the hands of a society that does little to face up to and address mental health issues, particularly in the professional world. Nonetheless, the issues that artists face are particular to their lifestyle of performing and recording and trying to stay relevant, and so they need a specific set of solutions that are tailored to them that ensures that they are in a positive mind-state to continue to create and achieve.

My experience at the Jewish Holocaust Centre – Elsternwick

The Jewish Holocaust Centre was established in 1984 by survivor volunteers and aims to combat anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice in the community, and highlight the real dangers of racist attitudes. There are over 18,000 original items in the archive brought over from Europe to Australia by survivors. Over 21,000 school students visit the centre each year to take part in a powerful and engaging educational program and have the rare opportunity to hear actual survivor’s stories of resilience, strength – as a testament to the unconquerable human spirit in the face of tyranny and evil.

Lisa Phillips – Director of Education

According to the Director of Education at the JHC Lisa Phillips, historians and curators are the “gatekeepers of knowledge” and the way in which stories about the past are told are just as important as the raw factual evidence. For the JHC, although they do not avoid the harsh realities of the Holocaust, the main focus of the museum is on the righteous and the brave that stood out in that dark moment of history: Those who sacrificed themselves to save lives, those individuals who did not shy away in the face of evil, and instead chose to act honourably and courageously against all odds. As Lisa Phillips put it, “individual acts of courage and humanity enabled beacons of hope to flicker throughout this period of darkness.”

As Lisa Phillips told the group, “stories that trigger intangible heritage imbue ordinary items with extraordinary significance”: They transform from a personal private item into a public item and in some cases items enter into a sacred place. The most telling item for me was the 1,5000 coat buttons collected to depict the 1.5 million children killed.

Under the Phillip Maisel Testimonies Project, the JHC has over 1300 video testimonies and over 200 audio testimonies in its archives. The project began in the 1980s named the ‘Melbourne Oral History Project’ and is used by researchers and students of oral history around the word. As explained by Lisa Phillips, survivor testimony creates a connection to the past events that other mediums cannot.

We listened to a moving speech by survivor Moshe Fiszman, who was born in Radom, Poland in 1921. When Moshe was 18 years old, after the German invasion, he was made to performed forced labour for a cup of soup and small piece of bread a day. This he described as “the good days of the Nazi occupation.” In 1942 his family was murdered at the Treblinka death camp. He was left all alone and sent to the Majdanek concentration camp, where he was stripped of everything but a pair of striped pajamas, a pair of clogs and a number: 25627.

Moshe Fiszman gives his testimony.

Moshe worked on the camp making Axis weapons before being taken on an infamous death march: He along with hundreds other Jews were made to walk six days through the harsh Polish winter to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Recognised by the Nazis as being able-bodied and able to work, he was sent to the Dachau concentration camp, just before the liberation he was made to walk again through the Australian alps, it was here that Moshe was sure he would meet his demise: The German Commandant ordered Moshe and his fellow Jews to lie down on the edge of a lake. The Nazi troops raised their weapons ready to fire, when, in an instance of pure serendipity, a German woman came and begged for the Commandant to spare their lives, yelling that the American forces were closing in fast, and that they should flee if they want to survive. The Commandant obliged, and Moshe was free: Weighing only 48 kg with not a thing to his name, he searched for four years for a place to live in Europe, and eventually emigrated to Melbourne and has since raised two daughters and has made it his life’s work to make sure no one forgets what happened to him and some 6 million other Jews.

There is debate among scholars as to how we should use survivor testimony with its undeniable factual inconsistencies. Different fields of research have deliberated on the merits and faults of these accounts.

Roseman puts forward that sometimes these discrepancies in survivor accounts should not be considered inaccurate per se, but as rather reflecting “the different perceptions of the contemporary and retrospective observer.” Roseman argues that comparing their testimony with other empirical sources would serve to “illuminate the very process of memory” that is integral to this field of inquiry.

Hensley, in his review of Greenspan, argues that an “immense tapestry of historical data” can be provided by testimony as each interview provides new insight that creates new layers that add to the depth and scope of the research.

The listener of someone expounding stories of extreme pain and suffering is looking, in the midst of physical evidence, for a unique narrative that encapsulates the human experience and witnessing of a traumatic event in history: “the trauma – as a known event and not simply as an overwhelming shock – has not been truly witnessed yet.”

The listener becomes an active party to the formation and cognizance of testimony as they are “the blank screen on which the event comes to be inscribed.” It is in this way that the listener takes on the trauma of the event and so feels the strong emotions associated with it.

Speakers of trauma often exhibit silence when giving their testimony: In many ways, the silence can provide as much insight into the trauma of an event as spoken words. The listener must acknowledge the silence as part of the narrative.

The significance in first-hand witness testimony is not in its finite details and historical accuracy, but rather in the conveyance of memory, feeling and emotions in reaction to events. We must stay vigilant with regards to historical accuracy, although this does not mean that we should discredit first-hand accounts which get some things wrong: It only speaks to the nature of memory and its ability to blur and shift perceptions of past happenings.

Just in the way that the Auschwitz survivor interviewed by Laub testified to the survival and to her vital memory of helping people, so Moshe testified to the unbreakable human spirit as he spoke of the German occupation of his hometown and the subsequent dehumanisation that was carried out by the Nazis; to the importance of family and loved ones, as he spoke so dearly about his brothers and sisters who were lost in the camps and to the commitment to never let the world forget about the horrible ordeals that millions of Jews like him endured from 1933-1945.

The juxtaposition of the silent room compared with the passion and conviction in Moshe’s voice provided an intangible record of the Holocaust and persecution of the Jews that cannot be read in any textbook or displayed in any museum. The silent pauses between Moshe’s words encapsulated the gravity of the situation he had found himself in some 70 years ago; as though each second of silence enhanced and reinforced the catastrophe in the story being told. As explained by Laub, it is not only a survivor’s speech, but also the “very boundaries of silence which surround it” that put forward a compelling “assertion of resistance”

The events had caused Moshe to endeavour to tell all that will listen about what happened, in the hopes that history will not repeat, and that the suffering of millions would not be for nothing.

The piece that stood out to me most was the large hand-made wooden model of the Treblinka death camp made by survivor Chaim Sztajer, who lost his wife and child in the camp. Sztajer’s daughter Malka Silver spoke to us about her father’s story of intrepidity as he survived living in the camp for over two months.

Although second-generation Holocaust survivors such as Malka never lived through the terrible events that their parents did, they nonetheless have a relationship with these experiences in such a way that they are transmitted to them “so deeply that they seem to constitute memories in their own right.”

This Post-memory of such tragic events can have drastic effects on an individual’s psyche, so much so that trauma can “recall, or reactivate, the effects of another.” That is to say, that the sons and daughters of Holocaust survivors hold the “guardianship” of a generational past that they have an innate living connection with.

Intergenerational acts of transfer vis-à-vis inhereted traumatic memory are instances of traumatic recall but are removed generationally and formed by “imaginative investment, projection and creation” , and so, do not bear the explicit effects of post-traumatic-stress disorder, yet do appear to directly impact, even overshadow, the lives of the next generation.

When Malka was recounting the tale of her father to our group, you could hear in her voice that she was deeply affected by the tragedy of his ordeal and by the horrors that her family underwent. Malka undoubtedly had the narrative of genocide and the oral history of the terrible events that preceded her preside over her psyche and made a part of her subconscious from an early age. As Hirsch warns, to be raised with such “overwhelming inherited memories” can have the devastating effect of displacing and overwhelming the postgeneration’s own stories and experiences.

The display of Chaim Sztajer’s model and Malka’s accompanying story is characteristic of Hirch’s definition of the postgeneration as working to counteract the loss of embodied connections that forged communities by reinvigerating narratives with fresh expression, thus reactivating distant social and cultural structures.

The most important thing I took away from the experience was Moshe’s urging us to not take freedom for granted: In his words, “freedom is a gift – not a right.”

Melbourne ‘Vox Popper’ exposing community issues

Adam Kane, creator of Facebook Page ‘Melbourne Vox Pops’ shows us the less reported side of the world’s most livable city.

Simon Nathan

@simonpnathan

May 5th, 2017

Adam Kane, a freelance journalist from Melbourne, has created a Facebook page named Melbourne Vox Pops where he, equipped with video camera and microphone, goes around various suburbs and events in Melbourne and interviews the inhabitants of the suburb or the attendees of the events.

Adam has gone to disenfranchised suburbs of Melbourne including Sunshine, Dandenong, Broadmeadows and Footscray and has covered events in Melbourne including New Years Eve, Moomba Festival, White Night and Sexpo.

The page has become enormously popular in Australia as the interviews have provided some comedy gold from some hilarious characters. But more importantly, the interviews have also shed some light on some of the more ‘swept-under-the-rug’ issues in Melbourne that see limited reportage, particular on nightly news.

Adam interviewing during ‘White Night’ in Melbourne. Photo credit: Adam Kane YouTube

Through his candid video and straight-to-the-point line of questioning, Adam has successfully painted a picture of the truly ugly side of our great city: Videos exploring the less wealthy suburbs such as Sunshine and Dandenong show an ever-growing drug problem (particularly ice and heroin) that can only be described as an epidemic, as well as the rampant crime that goes on day-to-day.

One interviewee in Dandenong, when asked about the types of crimes he witnesses, responds “From people getting rolled, to people stealing cars, you know? Just another day in Dandy.”

The videos also portray racial tensions and increasingly hostile police relations: One interviewee of African descent in Sunshine says: “You always see police here,” she continues, “they only arrest black people. That’s racist.”

A Sunshine local is then asked what he thinks of the African youth there. His response: “They’re alright, they’ve just got a little bit of disrespect for police.”

This is a bear knuckle display of an issue in our society that is barely acknowledged in mainstream news. The youth of our suburbs are finding themselves increasingly in trouble with police and resorting to drug use to compensate for a lack of effective care by the social institutions we have in place.

The myriad of destitute and drug-affected interviewees from these less fortunate suburbs evoke a sense of sympathy in viewers as the truly hideous problem of poverty and drug dependence is put in full display, without any sugar-coating.

An abandoned house in sunshine being effectively taking over by heroin addicts littered with used syringes, cigarettes and empty beer bottles is explored in one of the videos in Sunshine as a homeless man explains that this where he has to lay his head at night, constantly disturbed by heroin addicts throughout using the abandoned house to shoot up.

YouTube video: State of Sunshine. Property of Adam Kane

But it’s not just drugs and poverty in our suburb that is being explored by Adam: Binge drinking and other youth aggression have brought about violence in the city of Melbourne. Events like White Night and Moomba were marred by violent behaviour on the streets leading to multiple arrests by police as fights between different groups broke out.

Image: Youth is arrested during violence at Moomba 2017 in Melbourne. Photo credit: Adam Kane YouTube

This type of independent journalism really shows the power of social media for individuals to take control of the flow of news media information and provide substantive news coverage that is outside the world of political economy.

In-depth and personal reportage like this can create a new sense of awareness in the public to recognise issues and work towards solutions. The interviewing style of Adam Kane is not only entertaining, but it also creates a real human element in issues that would otherwise be only seen as lines or statistics on a piece of paper.

The Balancing Act

Are Australians giving up too much of their lives to work?

Published Oct. 2015

Australian workers are finding the balance between work and life increasingly difficult to maintain as longer hours, casual terms of employment and unpaid overtime have become the norm in modern workplaces.

So, do Australians work too hard, or is our work/life balance as it should be?

According to the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry General Manager of Workplace Relations Lisa Burrell, solid legislation and industry standards, on the whole, provide Australian workers with a good balance of their work lives and personal lives.

“There’s a range of options for workers to structure their work around their personal commitments,” Ms. Burrell said.

But according to Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) spokesperson Mara Theodore, the work life balance is probably not as it should be.

“It’s obvious, according to the data, we work too hard,” Theodore said.

According to a study by The Australian Institute, on average, full-time workers in Australia reported working six hours of unpaid overtime each week worth an estimated $9,471 a year and only one in five workers were working the hours they would like to.

“We can’t even call ourselves a country with an 8-hour day: 40% of our workforce doesn’t even have that,” Ms Theodore said.

But not all overtime being worked is unfair. There are many in Australia performing reasonable hours of overtime that are paid in expectation of this commitment.

“There will always be roles where there is a requirement to show [flexibility]. It’s the degree of variability that is the debate, not whether it’s needed: Whether 6 hours, or 10 hours is reasonable,” VECCI spokesperson Lisa Burrell said.

A decrease in job security across the board could also be a contributing factor to the large amounts of unpaid overtime being worked.

In an article (web) published by the ACTU, a survey of 1000 people across Australia concluded that 27 per cent of people find their job position insecure.

“If people felt more secure in their jobs unpaid overtime wouldn’t be necessary,” Mara Theodore said.

According to the ACTU, about 40 per cent of the Australian workforce is now employed in casual roles without sick leave, annual leave, and public holiday pay.

 “That’s a dreadful thing to try and maintain work/life balance, because your income is not secure and you can’t plan for the future. There’s no guarantee of being offered future shifts,” Ms. Theodore said.

So what can we do to change this or as an alternative to unpaid overtime and longer hours?

“We can stand together collectively in unions and fight for flexible hours to maintain work balance,” ACTU spokesperson Ms. Theodore said.

According to VECCI, technology or different roster techniques could be used to ensure employees are not overworked.

Simon Nathan 2015

The Right Amount of Exercise Study

I conducted this study to measure the amount of exercise people do and how happy they are with it.

The Right Amount of Exercise

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Words by Simon Nathan

It’s late one winter night. Sudanese-born Melburnian Wicthiel King sits alone at Southern Cross train station. He is heading home after finishing a long day of study at JMC Academy and work as a Youth Leader at the City of Brimbank’s Centre for Multicultural Youth. As he waits for the train, he is checking Facebook, pumping music; earbuds in. He looks up to his left and sees two Protective Service Officers walking from the opposite end of the station and feels a sense of security, but also some mild apprehension. They get closer and closer to him, walking past the dozen or so people also waiting on the platform. As they get within a few metres he gives a polite nod to the officers. Wicthiel receives no nod back: only a hand gesture requesting him to take out his earbuds. Confused, Wicthiel obliges, and what follows is a series of interrogatory questions: “Where have you been tonight, mate?” one officer asks. “Can I check your ID?” asks the other. “Not again…” Wicthiel mutters under his breath.

This is just one example of why South Sudanese and other African youth feel disproportionately impacted by police traffic stops and field contacts in comparison to the rest of the population. In the Australian court system, all peoples are presumed innocent until proven guilty, but for many young Melburnians, who are just trying to do good and live out their lives, the reality is just the opposite; a lot of places they go, they are considered guilty until proven innocent. It can be something as trivial as being looked at strangely by someone on the train, to something as potentially damaging as being rejected from a job interview, or being hassled by Police and arrested.

So, among others, what is the biggest cause of this misrepresentation of African youth in Melbourne? Many fingers point to their portrayal in the media. Media and Television student Wicthiel King feels this is definitely a factor: “Australian mainstream news organisations like Channel 7 keep promoting a negative view of our youth. We are not all the same.” Witchiel said. He readily admits that yes, there are youths in the community that are trouble makers, but he argues that this is the same as any community, and the media shouldn’t generalise the actions of a few and turn it into a question of race. Channel 7’s coverage of the Moomba incident in March 2016 received a lot of criticism from the South Sudanese Community after allegedly claiming that the entire APEX gang involved in the brawl were of South Sudanese descent. “At my work I had to speak out on the big issue of APEX. It has affected a lot of good kids in the community because we are now judged equally.” Wicthiel said, “even if you are doing good in life, people look at you in the same respect [as APEX] and ask you if you know anything about them.”

Steps have been taken by Victoria Police to teach officers to remain unbiased towards different cultures. The Equality is not the same report and initiatives like it are working to strengthen the relationship between police and different communities in Victoria. Wicthiel says that this type of education should be combined with an increase in the diversity of the police force: “Having an African police officer on duty would mean that they could relate to their people easily and make them understand what’s going on.” Witchiel said, “I believe education is the key to better living. I think in order for change to happen, the police department need to invest more into learning about different communities and understand their way of life as well as educating them on the law and order in Australia. That way there will be less problems in the community.”

This issue has much wider implications on the Australian and particularly the Melbourne community. It should bring us to question how race is portrayed in the media. In a free, western democratic society such as Australia, there should be no disadvantages to anyone because of their ethnicity. Yet generalisation and the use of race as a theme in mainstream media stories are perpetuating a malignant distrust and suspicion of African youths in our society. The majority of which are ordinary people trying to do right and achieve their goals in life.

Witchiel King is a South Sudanese-born Melburnian in his early 20’s. Throughout his life, he has been the subject of police harassment and general prejudice because of his descent. Witchiel has done work at the City of Brimbank’s Centre for Multicultural Youth speaking out about these issues and during his time has met with the Chairperson of Victoria Multicultural Helen Kapalos to talk about the issues that are affecting the South Sudanese community. Working in Media and Television, Witchiel is very knowledgeable on the topic and has extensive understanding of the history of the media’s portrayal of South Sudanese and other African youths, particularly Somalians and Ethiopians.

Through this investigation, it is apparent that this is an issue that needs a lot of further research and reportage. As efforts by Victoria Police continue to bridge the gap between themselves and the multicultural community, there is seemingly little done to change the way news outlets report on these matters to ensure there is not a misrepresentation of the wider community within a specific context.

It would be advantageous for journalists to continue to speak with community leaders such as those at the South Sudanese Community Association of Victoria and others like it. This would work to create an open dialogue to achieve progress in this matter.

Simon Nathan 2016

Blazing the trail: A warrior’s journey of strength and sacrifice

Words by Simon Nathan

Though he is young, the fighter in the red corner stands calm and ready. His opponent is bigger, stronger and more experienced than him, but he knows that won’t matter: this moment is the culmination of hours upon hours of training, and he is ready. He closes his eyes and begins to visualise the plan of attack.

Ding Ding Ding. The sound of the bell is like a call to action. His eyes open; he is calm but intent. The moment he hears that bell, all the nervous anticipation dissipates and is replaced by a rush of adrenaline forcing the mind silent and evoking an almost superhuman focus. The only objects in his awareness now are the two eyes that stare menacingly across the ring from him.

The referee signals the two to begin. The crowd’s cheers are muffled, and in their place is the now amplified sound of his opponent’s footsteps on the mat as the two fighters advance toward one another, ready to do battle.

James Blaze is just like any other 20-year-old psychology undergraduate, except for one thing: his university job isn’t making coffees, or working in a clothing store; he is a professional kickboxer. Fighting out of Sting Gym in Dandenong, James has been competing as a fighter since he was 19 years old.

James began his training in martial arts at age 13 after his parents enrolled him into a Taekwondo class when they thought that it might help boost James’ self-esteem and also help him to defend himself. “I think they may have been brainwashed by all the high school bullying over-reported in the news,” James says. Little did they know that this would be the beginning of a journey. Those initial Taekwondo classes helped James cultivate the attitudes and principles that make not only a good fighter, but also a good human being. “It was a strong foundation for embedding discipline, self-control and goal-directed activity, all of which are important to a developing young adult,” James says.

Through tremendous hard work and dedication, James received his black belt in Taekwondo before putting his career on hold to finish his high school studies.

After being accepted into a bachelor of psychology, James recommenced his training, this time taking it in a new direction: he moved away from the more fundamental and rudimentary martial arts training of Taekwondo, to the pure combat sport of kickboxing. At age 19, James joined Extreme Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in Ringwood where he honed the basics of combat-based striking and began preparation for his first official bout. To balance university study and master the art of kickboxing, James would have to disregard the laid-back party lifestyle that the majority of teenagers enjoy: “I taught myself the value of practice; of honing a skill while the competition is partying or sleeping; of sacrificing when nobody is looking,” James says.

Competitive kickboxing training is among the most rigorous and onerous of any discipline. A typical session begins with an extensive warm-up: a five kilometre run, five three-minute rounds of skipping with 30 second intervals of push ups in between each round, and then 15 minutes of hitting the boxing bag and shadow boxing. Then, and only then, does the real work commence: the trainers take the fighters through an hour of drills, conditioning training and the sparring in the ring. This is then followed by a warm-down of a few hundred push ups, sit ups or some medicine ball conditioning. To get an idea of the body of work required to successfully compete in the sport, James completes these training sessions four to six times a week, often staying late to do extra training and spar with his fellow fighters. “Honestly, I hate training. You get hit hard, you run out of energy, you get hungry and thirsty during and you are constantly stressing about whether you are improving or not. However, all the time copping beatings and wringing out clothes full of sweat, aching muscles, bruises, clanging bones and wanting to quit is worth it when you get in the ring and think: ‘there is nothing I have not done to win this fight,’” says James.

James’ first fight came just five months after beginning his combat training. His debut would prove to be one of the biggest challenges of his career: Unexpectedly and at the last minute, James was told that the rules of the fight would be changed to ‘K-1’ kickboxing rules. This ruleset allows the use of knees as well as the usual kicks and punches normally allowed during the fight. This was something James had not trained for: “This scared me hearing the news a day before the fight because I was not ready to be kneed,” James says. Knee strikes can be some of the most devastating strikes in competitive kickboxing; they have been known to cause dramatic injuries such as fractured skulls and broken ribs. “Signing the papers to fight was the scariest part because, as a newly emergent adult, I was signing my responsibility if I were to die in the ring!” James says. The build-up immediately before the fight was something James will never forget. “I remember warming up and I could hear gunshots going off, but they weren’t gunshots, it was some fighter warming up hitting pads. I was so nervous that he could possibly be my opponent,” says James. Despite these adversities, James went on to win the fight via unanimous decision by employing clever striking techniques. Since then, he has competed in six official bouts and has defeated opponents much larger and more experienced than him.

When people hear of his occupation, they ask questions and some even question his character. Yet, he doesn’t do the sport to be violent; he does it because of a dedication to hard work and excellence. He describes himself as a healer, not a harmer, which is evident in his pursuit of work in the field of psychotherapy. James says: “I need hard work, guts, heart, perseverance and loyalty in my personal life, even if I had never even trained in kickboxing. In my opinion anyone who has these qualities can go a long way and achieve whatever they want in life. If I move forward one per cent 100 times, I will reach my goal.”

Simon Nathan 2016

Upcoming 2017 smoking ban a contentious issue

Words by Simon Nathan

One reason the city of Melbourne has been named the most liveable city in the world for six consecutive years is its thousands of bustling cafes and top-notch restaurants. A new law stands to change the makeup of these venues: Effective in August 2017, smoking will be banned from all outdoor dining areas.

Smoke-free areas have been slowly brought in to Melbourne over the last 3 years: The Causeway was made smoke-free in 2013; Howey Place, Equitable Place and Block Place in 2014; City Square, QV Melbourne and Goldsborough Lane in 2015; and The Tan, Princes Park and RMIT University in 2016.

Other public areas in Victoria that are now smoke-free include schools, hospitals, children’s playgrounds, skate parks, patrolled beaches, outdoor swimming pools, train stations, courts, police stations and underage events.

The new laws are predicted to lower the Victorian smoking rate, which has more than halved in the last 3 decades.

Anti-smoking body Quit Victoria is in full support of the ban and they are confident that the laws in combination with other strategies will drastically reduce smoking rates and discourage people from beginning to smoke.

Quit Victoria director Dr Sarah White is committed to ensuring that more Victorians than ever before are supported in their efforts to quit smoking and be free from second-hand smoke and embraces the introduction of these laws.

“Quit welcomes the introduction of smoke-free outdoor dining across Victoria from August 2017, which is in line with community expectations. In this day and age, Victorians expect to be able to dine outdoors without being exposed to second-hand smoke,” Dr White said.

The ban will also work to estrange smoking to negate the perception by young people that smoking is a socially acceptable and also assist those who are attempting to quit by decreasing their opportunities to smoke.

“Smoke-free areas also help prevent young, impressionable children from coming to regard smoking as ‘normal’ behaviour. They are important for people trying to quit smoking to avoid temptation and stay quit,” Dr White said.

Dr White also says that the law will likely extend to outdoor drinking areas at venues like pubs and bars.

The ban has been met with overwhelming support from the Victorian populace: a 2014 Cancer Council Victoria survey found 73% of Victorian adults disapprove of smoking in outdoor dining areas and a similar study had found that more than half of Victorians had avoided sitting outside at cafes or restaurants in the past year due to people smoking.

Melburnian Ray Pinkerton is one of those in favour of the ban. Ray, like many non-smokers, finds being subjectdedto others’ cigarette smoke abhorrent.

“I find second-hand smoke to be objectionable. It takes my breath away, often makes me cough, and sometimes makes my eyes water,” Ray said.

Second-hand smoke has become such an issue for non-smoking Melburnians like Ray that many have to take steps to actively avoid being subjected to it. When Ray spots a group smoking on the street, he will cross the road or take a different route.

“I even avoid walking behind people who smoke in the street or hold my breath as they pass the other way,” Ray said.

Ray believes that due to the health dangers they present, the rights of smokers come second to those around them who do not smoke.

“I think the rights of non-smokers and those who work in the affected dining venues are more important than those of smokers who can easily take their unhealthy habits elsewhere: There is absolutely no reason a person needs to smoke while remaining around others who are in a dining area,” Ray said.

Rays also says that, in general, smokers have an attitude that their rights are more important than others. He believes that it’s time smokers are held accountable for their littering and pollution of the air that others breathe.

“Smokers are the polluters and they need to start being aware that their filth is no longer considered normal and is anti-social,” Ray said.

But the laws have not been met with unanimous support: Smokers like 31-year-old Police Dispatcher and Melbourne University graduate Marlon Slack say that these types of laws go too far.

“I can understand the motivations of the ban, but I think it’s unfair, classist, unreasonably broad and ultimately, a fruitless endeavour,” Marlon said.

Marlon admits the negative impact second-hand smoke has and is aware of the drawbacks of the habit, but says that it should not be up to government to control how a venue operates like this.

“I think that ultimately it should be up to the venue to decide whether or not smoking is allowed. I can understand why the ban is coming in, and I can understand why the government is doing everything it can to stop people smoking, but I think this is a little extreme,” Marlon said.

Marlon says that the ban will mostly impact those of a low socio-economic background and will adversely affect them disproportionately to the middle and upper class. He says that if you ban smoking in an upper-class suburb like Toorak, the clientele won’t care, but workingclass areas and venues will suffer.

“Banning smoking in the Sunshine workers club or at a RSL in Moe will have a far greater impact on the people who go there to eat and socialise. Those places will have to change the way they do business and the people who go there will change the way they interact.” So will change the habits of smokers? Marlon thinks not.

“It will have close to zero impact on me, and how I smoke. If I am at a venue that doesn’t allow smoking in an outdoor dining area than I’ll just walk 50 meters away and have a light up there,” Marlon said.

Smoking is such a social endeavour; friends go out to coffee to enjoy a coffee and a cigarette. For smokers on a night on the town, drinking and smoking go hand in hand. Marlon believes that taking away smoking from venues has the possibility of completely changing their appeal.

“Where the new laws will change the places I go to is when it comes to pubs that do food on the side. My mates and I go to a whole bunch of places because they’re great to have a cigarette at – Workshop, The Brunswick Green, the Carlton Club and places like that. After the ban comes in those places won’t be the same,” Marlon said.

Marlon says that he is concerned for venues that base much of their business around smoking and feels that they shouldn’t have to drastically change the way they’re set up to remain viable.

This is one of the main concerns raised by those in opposition to the ban: the impact it may have on businesses that have a large percentage of patrons who are smokers and who smoke at their venues.

Claudio Crupi, owner of popular Brunswick Italian restaurant Minimo, is apprehensive about the new laws, but says that he welcomes the change.

“Will it affect business? I hope not, but I am concerned. At the same time, the amount of filth left by smokers and their butts is disgusting,” Claudio said.

Case studies on similar laws implemented in Queensland indicate that there is little to no long-term effect on businesses after laws like this are put in place.

Queensland has had these types of laws in place since 2006 and according to research conducted after the ban was put in place, 30% of Queenslanders surveyed are visiting outdoor dining and drinking areas more often, compared to 9% who said that were visiting them less often.

Quit Victoria Director Dr Sarah White says that there will be no negative consequences for venues, and the change will in fact help business.

“Smoke-free dining will be good for business, as well as protect staff and customers from the well-documented harms of second-hand smoke,” Dr White said.

Furthermore, research undertaken by the City of Melbourne on the trial in Causeway Lane indicated that an overwhelming majority of café businesses interviewed wanted to see a continuation of the ban.

Victoria will be the last state in Australia to bring in these laws, but Victoria has a city that is unlike the others; a city like Melbourne whose culture is synonymous with wonderful cafés and magnificent outdoor dining and this culture is shared by all of its people; including smokers.

Simon Nathan 2016

Anti-Vaxxers and the ‘No Jab, No Play’ policy.

By Simon Nathan

Child immunisation has been a topic of extreme controversy and hostility in Australia and around the world. In January 2016, the Victorian government brought in new laws to reinforce the importance of vaccination and to keep the immunisation rates in Australia growing to prevent the spread of potentially deadly vaccine-preventable diseases.

Bram Alexander, spokesperson for the Victorian Department of Health and Human services stressed the importance of immunisation in keeping our society free from harmful diseases. Well known diseases such as Diphtheria, Polio and Meningococcal C that have caused tremendous death and suffering in the past have largely been eradicated due to immunisation.

Mr Alexander said that immunisation is also vital to shield the more vulnerable people in the community, especially children who as a result of their chronic illnesses cannot receive immunisations: “We mustn’t be complacent. What we want to do is have as many people in the community protected through vaccines as possible, because that affords everybody else in the community protection,” Mr Alexander said.  

According to Health Department research, as of January 2017 around 93% of all Australian children under five are fully vaccinated. “There’s a goal of 95% coverage that we want, we’re not quite there across all the markers,” Mr Alexander said.

The Health Department urges all parents who are unsure of the ins and outs of immunisation to speak with their local medical professionals. “GPs are very up to date with information regarding vaccination and different diseases. Obstetricians are very up to date on this as well and can give advice to expecting mothers and families about what they should and shouldn’t be doing.” Mr Alexander also said that “there’s no vested interest in them misrepresenting the benefits of vaccination: They would never set out to cause harm.”

Parents are also warned to only get their information from verified reputable sources and to steer clear of dangerous unsubstantiated articles and groups online: “The internet is a place where all kinds of things can be populated and people take the view that just because you do some “research” on the internet, that everything you find is accurate. Well, it’s probably not, and it shouldn’t be relied on,” Mr Alexander said.

Jane Leonforte

Jane Leonforte, an ICU nurse and leader of an Asperger’s support group is a “Pro Vaccine-choice” advocate who believes that individuals should have the choice whether or not to vaccinate their children. Jane claims that her son Andy became sick after receiving a Diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough combination vaccine at a very young age and has had continued health problems throughout his life. “Within a week he developed bronchiolitis, bilateral ear infections, his respiratory rate was 70, he had very high temperatures, vomiting, couldn’t keep down fluids or any medicine. He went on to have chronic ear infection and lost 30% of his hearing,” Jane said.

Jane believes that vaccines run against our nature, and that our children should be able to deal with diseases naturally: “My school of thought is; I want my children exposed to these diseases because I want their immune system challenged and matured.  I want them to get stronger, naturally. Our bodies, they’re amazing things. We’ve been created just perfectly. When you start interfering with nature, problems happen,” Jane said.

Jane also believes that not only are there direct links between vaccines and a range of developmental problems such as Autism, but also that there are a lot of ulterior motives behind vaccination such as collusion and money ties between big pharmaceutical and medical institutions. “It all sounds a bit conspiracy theory, but the information is out there,” Jane said.

On the other side of this issue is Ken McLeod, a leading member of the SAVN; which stands for Stop the Australian Vaccination Network, a group over 2000 Australian health professionals taking on the anti-vaccination lobby group registered in New South Wales known as the AVN.

Ken said that the ideology of the SAVN is not to ignore anti-vaccine rhetoric, but to take it head on and dispel it: “Within government and health departments there was a deliberate policy of not commenting on the claims assertions of the anti-vaxxers. That strategy has been in place for decades. It’s around the theory that you shouldn’t give publicity to the cranks. My group sprung up in resistance to that. We shouldn’t ignore them: we should hit them head on.”

Ken says that his group has been very successful in their plight: “We’ve wiped out the AVN, they’ve gone from a very wealthy organisation with a lot of credibility in the mainstream media, to now being widely regarded as ratbags,” Ken said.

Ken said that despite this, the fight is far from over: New parents are more likely than ever to be coerced into believing anti-vaccine rhetoric. “It is becoming more an issue because it’s now in social media. These people can circulate and network very effectively through social media. They can spread their ideas to vulnerable people very easily,” Ken said.

Ken also said that we mustn’t be satisfied by the national immunisation rates and that we must address the low vaccination rates in some of the smaller localities in Australia, especially in the northern rivers of New South Wales and in the Adelaide Hills. “When the rates drop below say 90% you really start to see the re-emergence of these diseases. In some localities in Australia it’s below 50%, which is worse than the rate in South Sudan,” Ken said.

Most notably, the town of Mullumbimby in northern NSW has a vaccination rate of below 50%.

Ken urges all parents looking for information on immunisation to go to authoritative sources like their state’s Department of Health and their general practitioner.

The Fight of the Honey Bee

Australia is facing an agricultural crisis that may lead to the devastation of our food industry and the increase of disease and sickness. At the centre of his crisis stands a seemingly insignificant insect: honey bees.

Australian bee keepers, or apiarists are reporting losses of around 30% of their hives each winter and honey production has dropped by 50%.

Barry McCahon, an apiarist from Daylesford, Victoria said that last winter he had lost 60% of his hives in a span of only six weeks.

“Out of the twenty hives we had, we lost twelve,” Barry said.

These losses have already had a negative effect on the industry: Australia can no longer export honey and the price of honey is rising each year, but the issue has even wider implications: Pollination from Australian honey bees is responsible for nearly two-thirds of Australia’s food production and much of our livestock is also dependent on Honey Bee pollination for their food supply.

A Honey bee nest inside of a log. Credit: Simon Nathan

The causes of this decline in bee numbers has been widely attributed to the use of pesticides on plants that bees pollinate, particular the nicotine-based pesticides known as neonicotinoids (NNI).

Among other symptoms, the pesticides are thought to interfere with the bees immune systems, making them susceptible to disease, and to interfere with their natural radar system which guides them to and from the hive, causing them to get lost and die while out searching for pollen.

NNIs have been banned in Europe and USA and are recognised as contributing to diminishing hive numbers, yet Australia has not banned their use on commercial plantations.

Simon Mulvaney, founder of Save the Bees Australia has been working to prevent the decline of bee numbers in Australia by pushing for the ban of insecticides and to ensure that the harmful varroa mite, a pest that has devastated bee populations worldwide, does not reach Australian bee populations.

“Sometimes, you’ve got to take hard measures to do the right thing,” Simon said.

According to Simon, the solution to declining numbers lies in the reconfiguration of the pollination industry and a shift from large scale farming to localised small-scale farming to reduce bee exposure to harmful chemicals and stressful conditions.

“Bees are getting a lot of attention online and throughout the world now, and we’re getting a lot more beekeepers. So instead of a company owning 60,000 hives, we can have 60,000 individual bee keepers sharing and trading produce,” Simon said.

Save the Bees has created a Honey Map to find local Australian bee keepers.

Simon Nathan 2017