Reflection on Indigenous Health Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Reflection on Indigenous Health. Answer: For the person of this assignment, I decided to interview my aunt and assess how her life differs with mine. Before interviewing her, I sought her consent and assured her that her story would be as confidential as possible. She agreed to take part in the interview and below is the account of her story. Jane (not her real name) is an Australian by birth whose family migrated to Afghanistan when she was very young because her father (my grandpa) was working there. She narrated that, back in 2000, she had to flee Afghanistan simply because there is too much persecution and war in the country. She narrated that her father lived among the Hazara ethnicity. Hazara is one of the most marginalized ethnicities in Afghanistan (Barfield, 2007). For over a long time in history, Hazara ethnicity has been greatly persecuted (Barfield, 2007). According to Chiovenda (2014), the officials from Afghanistan have been executing massacres on in Hazara and depriving them essential social amenities like electricity. Because of this reason, Jane, in the company of his family had to escape the country and settle in a country that would be safer. Well, with a giggle, Jane reported that when she and the family left Afghanistan, they did not know that Australia would be their final destination. Apparently, their life was hell after they left the country. She and her family did not have a means of transport and thus had to hide in trucks, ware on bare feet and even trek in the dangerous darkness of the night. After the long and treacherous journey, they made their way and were now out of Afghanistan. But that was not the end of the journey to Australia because at this point they got into Pakistan. Since Pakistan was not their best place either, they proceeded into Indonesia and finally, by means of a boat they sailed into Australia. Jane recounted that they arrived in Darwin and front there; the authorities transferred them to Curtain where they ended up being detained. According to Jane, the detention was a big surprise because while making their way into Australia in search of safety never did they think that they would instead be put into prison. The main reason, according to Jane, for moving to Australia was to find a safer, secure home that could afford them the human value and dignity they deserved and so the imprisonment thing was a big shock to them. In Curtin, they were in the middle of the desert with fences all around them and hardly enough food to eat. The security guards were all over holding guns and other weapons escorting them around. They wondered why this would be done to them bearing in mind that there was not a single crime they had actually committed to warrant this treatment. By then, Jane was a young a girl and the fact that she was put in an environment that looked more of a prison coupled with the memories of the persecution she and her family underwent while in their country traumatized her too much. Jane recounted that, she and her family were lucky enough to just stay in Curtin for two months as they were offered temporary protection visas that allowed them to get into community. They stayed in Tasman ia for a while then, moved to Sydney. After the release and subsequent relocation to Sydney, Jane faced many hardships as everything was new there. She did not know how to be part of the society. She did not have friends. She was not used to the food culture there. This was a great social-cultural shock she faced. However, Jane was able to adapt after sometime. Unlike what used to happen in Afghanistan, Australia was different. One of the values that Jane holds is the value of education. Back in Afghanistan, Jane reported that most people from her ethnicity were not allowed to have access to education. However, she is amazed at the fact that Australia allowed her access to farther her education and get employment. The other personal value that Jane reported to hold dear is safety and peace. In Afghanistan, persecution was the order of the day. According to Barfield (2010) Afghanistan has been historically known to be the very unsecure and unsafe as bombs would strike any day. By moving to Australia, Jane was happy that Australia is safe and secure. Also, Jane values relationships so much. She narrated that in Afghanistan, there is no interaction among the people and thus no one hears the voice of another regarding any problems they may have hence no harmony unlike it is the case in Australia. Jane recounted that also unlike it is the case i n Afghanistan, in Australia there is much respect and love among the people regardless of race, culture or even religion. In her final remarks, Jane explained that, despite the many problems she encountered while moving to Australia including long hours of trekking, the boat sails and being imprisoned in Curtin, she finally found Australia her a haven she was looking for. Not until I had the chance to hear the story about her life, I have always thought, Jane, the now fairly old women in my neighborhood, has had a pretty smooth and peaceful life as she always looks joyous, sociable and welcoming. I thought that I have been the only person who has gone through much in life and had social problems. I would like to acknowledge the fact that there is a big rift between Janes life and my life. Firstly, I have never been subjected to social injustices that are quite traumatizing like ethnic persecution unlike Jane. Secondly, while Jane was imprisoned, I have never spent a day in prison. The third difference is that Jane was denied access as a child but for me, I have had full access to education all my life since my very young age. The next difference between us is the fact that, while Jane values building relationships by way of being an extrovert, I believe in being an introvert or simply put: I do not believe in relationships. According to Jones (2014) personal values, beliefs and attitudes are essential in a person life as they act as guiding principles. I must agree that Jane, to a great extent influenced my life, personal values, beliefs and attitudes. My personal values and beliefs have always been limited to love, tranquility, family and education. However, her life story made me to develop other values and beliefs. Apparently, value for other people not just family, belief in networking and building relationships, understanding and respect for all as well as value for humanity are critical values for on to have as reiterated by Moss, Wilson (2010). Back when she was living in Afghanistan, it is clear that there was inhumanity as evidenced in the persecution that the warlords and officials meted out on them. Basically, inhumanity is bad as it may lead to severe consequences like death of persons. It is saddening to hear about this inhumanity caused her traumas. From her story, I have developed a strong conviction that people must be treated with humanity. From Jane experiences, I have also learned that building relationships and networking is an essential personal value. When Jane arrived in Sydney, she knew no one around. However, through her extrovert nature, Jane was able to quickly interact, connect and build relationships with the people around and soon adapted into the society. Basically, the value of understanding and respect for other peoples culture is important. From Janes story, I have learned to develop this value in my life. For instance, Jane arrived in Sydney, place with a completely new cultural beliefs and religion from her previous place. However, Jane respected each persons religion as well as cultural beliefs something that created peace and tranquility between her and the rest of the people around and perhaps prevent ethnicity and racism. References Barfield, T. (2007). MARTIN EWANS, Conflict in Afghanistan: Studies in Asymmetric Warfare (London/New York: Routledge, 2005). Pp. 198. $63.00 cloth ALESSANDRO MONSUTTI, War and Migration: Social Networks and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan (London/New York: Routledge, 2005). Pp. 346. $90.00 cloth.International Journal of Middle East Studies,39(03), 494. doi:10.1017/s0020743807070778 Barfield, T. (2010).Afghanistan: A cultural and political history. Princeton University Press. Chiovenda, M. K. (2014). The illumination of marginality: how ethnic Hazaras in Bamyan, Afghanistan, perceive the lack of electricity as discrimination.Central Asian Survey,33(4), 449-462. doi:10.1080/02634937.2014.987967 Jones, I. (2014). Varieties of personal theology: charting the beliefs and values of American young adults.Journal of Beliefs Values,35(3), 381-383. doi:10.1080/13617672.2014.980075 Moss, S. A., Wilson, S. (2010). Integrating the most unintuitive empirical observations of 2007 in the domain of personality and social psychology into a unified framework.New Ideas in Psychology,28(1), 1-27. doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2009.02.011