I love Australia but…sometimes I want to throttle someone (maybe the ubiquitous “they”?) for the way we manage to get our priorities ass-up.
Let’s talk about tolls. We Aussies have an odd fascination with what we call “the road toll”. This is a national obsession in which we keep a tally each year of the number of deaths on our roads. We break it down via each state or territory and give it a lot of air time around busy, holiday times (like Easter) when we all love to get in our Holdens and go somewhere else.
It’s an important issue, obviously nobody wants people dying in car accidents and education plays a vital part in the prevention of road death and trauma. Particularly when so many deaths could be avoided by small changes in behaviour – less speed, less drink driving and less marathon conversations with your best mate via text message whilst negotiating roundabouts. So you’ll get no complaints from me regarding the good intentions behind the road toll. Here’s where I find it all a little bit weird.
Our local newspaper recently printed page after page of stories, information and photos relating to the deaths of three Western Australians on our roads within a 24 hour period. Fair enough. Continue flicking a little further into the paper and there sits a lonely little column about a ten year old child in the north of our state who has committed suicide.
Ten. Years. Old. Not dead as the result of an accident, poor judgement, or a single mistake at a critical moment. Dead by choice at the age of ten. I went on to read various press articles regarding this unimaginable loss of a child and discovered many similar stories for the first time. An eleven year old boy who died by suicide in 2014, followed by the suicide of his mother nine months later. Three dead in our Goldfields region, buried side by side within five days of each other. Nineteen of our indigenous people dead by suicide since December last year.
Where is the outcry regarding these deaths? Where is the National Suicide Toll within our media highlighting that some years, we lose twice as many people to suicide than to our roads? Why are road deaths so fascinating for us to hear about while our children killing themselves is a taboo topic? I suspect that many of these suicides of our children are ignored in the media because they are often our Indigenous children. From another part of this country. Where these things “just happen”. Not in our backyard and not of our concern.
As the Easter long weekend approaches, you’ll hear plenty across all forms of media about being careful on the roads. About double demerit points if you speed or do the wrong thing whilst driving. The Police Commissioner may make a plea to all drivers to be extra careful. You’ll certainly hear the road toll numbers. This year, do one more thing.
Ask yourself who are the unheard of others who have lost their lives this Easter weekend, preferring death to life in the “lucky country”?
If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24 hour support) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (24 hour support). For urgent, life threatening emergencies please call 000 (Australia) or your country’s emergency line. For further information relating to suicide, depression and mental health, visit http://www.lifeline.org.au, http://www.beyondblue.org.au or http://www.youthbeyondblue.com.
She Doesn't Wear Her Shoes... 