It’s not everyone’s idea of a holiday, but Diamond Rozakeas, co-owner of award-winning cafes Top Paddock (Richmond) and The Kettle Black (South Melbourne), chose the 44˚C heat of Alice Springs and Uluru for a recent one-week break. She was also invited to experience life in the remote indigenous community of Mutitjulu.

The experience both shocked and inspired her.

Diamond and her fellow travellers were invited to Mutitjulu by the legendary elder ‘Uncle’ Bob Randall, and Tjanara Goreng Goreng, an indigenous academic from Canberra who has been visiting the community since the mid 1980s.

No-one talks about Mutitjulu, or ‘Muti’, as it is known. Most people never see it.

The busloads of wealthy tourists would be horrified to know that this tragically impoverished ‘camp’ was just seconds away from their air-conditioned, sanitised coach tours of the Rock. Yet the traditional owners of the area, with their 50,000 year old history, are so close, but so totally out of sight and mind.

Eighty-two-year-old ‘Uncle’ Bob lives at Mutitjulu. A revered member of the stolen generation, he’s an acclaimed educator, author, storyteller, administrator, award-winning songwriter and a traditional owner of Uluru.

In 1999 ‘Uncle’ Bob was named Indigenous Person of the Year. He is the star of Kanyini, the award-winning documentary which covers his life story and espouses the Kanyini philosophy – the connectedness, love and responsibility for all things.

One of the highlights of Diamond’s (and her friends’) visit was witnessing a sunrise meditation with Bob from a hilltop at the edge of the community, literally a stone’s throw from the Rock. Bob gave blessings for our lives, the earth, the sun, moon and the stars.

“It was a magical experience with someone so connected to the past and the present, all in view of the magnificent ancient Rock,” she said.

Bob has spoken all over the world on the Kanyini philosophy and shared the stage with some of the world’s most famous spiritual leaders, including the Dalai Lama.

Even after recent major heart surgery, this legendary outback octogenarian is tireless, but haunted by the thought that he may be running out of time to help his people. It frustrates him.

Bob established the Kanyini Foundation to preserve the indigenous culture and ensure its continuity. The foundation has many admirable and ambitious projects to lift the Mutitjulu community out of its present, dire, circumstances. Sadly, due to a range of factors, few of the projects have come to fruition.

Sitting outside the modest house he shares with his American-born wife Barbara, Bob told Diamond that at one stage the population of ‘Muti’ was around 800. It had jobs for the locals and a health centre, started by him, which had two doctors and half a dozen nurses. Back then the community was still hamstrung by many inter-generational problems.

Tjanara Goreng Goreng told Diamond that when she first visited Mutitjulu in the 1980s, she saw dazed adults and children alike with cans around their necks sniffing petrol. It became an epidemic.

Alcohol was rampant as well and all the issues that accompany that addiction. Slowly the sniffing stopped and the community also became ‘dry’.
The community developed a pulse; motivation began to stir, but it was short-lived.

Over the years, legislation changed often and funds for various projects were decreased or withdrawn. The health centre was reduced to two part-time nurses. Jobs almost vanished, as did the population, now down to around 250.

There’s still a battle to get kids to school. Aimless all day and night card games pass the time of day for many adults. Grandparents often care for the children because their parents have moved to Alice Springs.

To the visitor of the enclosed community of Mutitjulu, there’s an obvious lack of motivation and care. The community is dying, literally.

“The guts have been ripped out of the community,” said one elder, even though there’s a handsome basketball court (funded by Nike) and a sparkling
swimming pool, which Diamond and friends never saw anyone use during half a dozen visits to the community.

Locals tell you that since the ‘intervention’ initiated by Prime Minister John Howard, services have diminished, multiple levels of bureaucracy mean things get done at a glacial pace, except a gleaming police station, which cost $2.4 million and was constructed at warp speed.

Many believe the mining industry is waiting for the right conditions to exploit the great mineral wealth which lies below.

When Tjanara Goreng Goreng arranged for Diamond to visit ‘Nana’ Barbara Tjikatu Winmarti’s house, she was warned to expect some challenging conditions.

It was an uncomfortable sight and experience. Rubbish scattered inside and out, broken amenities, multiple unkempt mattresses strewn everywhere, mangy dogs scavenging and an overriding unhygienic environment. The house caters for ‘Nana’s’ extended family – up to three generations of adults and children.
“In spite of the squalor, the large group of women who call this ‘home’ showed a deep sense of sisterhood,” Diamond said.

The generous food hamper she brought along was eagerly received by the women. Food, especially fruit, vegetables and meat, is difficult to source and expensive at the local community supermarket.

“Food and nutrition is a problem and a factor in their health issues. It is difficult for them to understand about good nutrition when they can’t even afford the staples,” Diamond said.

Housing is also problematic. The lifestyle, traditions and cultures of the locals don’t fit into the designs of the western-style housing. Their extended families often mean some houses have up to 20 people living in them, yet they were built for only four or six people.

As you tour the community, packs of dogs scurry everywhere.

The carcasses of old cars are dumped anywhere; it’s like a scene from a Mad Max movie.

Except for a few buildings, everything looks neglected.

For all the discomfort of her experience with the indigenous women she met at the house and observed when they visited the Sails resort at Yulara, Diamond found them to be shy, gentle and gracious. They were also very talented artists.

So who is to blame after decades and millions of dollars ‘invested’ or squandered in indigenous communities throughout Australia?

“Blaming is unhelpful,” Diamond said. “The question should be ‘how can we help?’.”

After many visits to the community during her stay in the area, and after numerous conversations with elders and community members, Diamond felt the consensus was to invest time in the children.

“Show them how nutrition and hygiene work so they can show their parents and elders. Give them something to do; lay the groundwork for a brighter future, rather than the bleak one which awaits them now,” she implored.

As part of that ‘future’, Diamond and her partners from the Top Paddock cafe in Melbourne are aiming to make a difference.

“We’d like to set up our own philanthropic foundation working in conjunction with Bob (Randall’s) Kanyini foundation and Mutitjulu community programs supporting self-determination and self governance,” Diamond said.

Aware of the many past attempts by people to ‘make a difference’, she understands the challenges and blockages which will appear. It’s why she and the team are keen to work with existing programs and locals to ensure they have ownership and that any commercial ventures are viable and sustainable.

When asked ‘why bother?’ when everything else has failed to lift these people out of their Third World conditions, Diamond provides an insight into her own Greek culture.

“When you come face-to-face with substandard living conditions and the seeming injustices of it all, it affects you. You have a choice; to return to your comfortable lifestyle and forget about it and say ‘it’s not my problem’ – out of sight out of mind,” she said. “Or invoke the age-old Greek spirit of filotimo, and without any expectation of personal gain, take action to make a difference in these marginalised people’s lives.”

It seems Diamond is not alone in wanting to do something to empower these forgotten people, after decades of neglect. A number of people have approached her with offers of help.

“Of course,” she says, “I would love the Greek community to support us too, in the spirit of filotimo.”

Reflecting on her trip to Alice Springs, Uluru, Yulara and the magnificent sights, it was the extraordinary people she met along the journey which inspired her and touched her heart, especially ‘Uncle’ Bob Randall.

“With support, I would love to help create something tangible which could magnify Bob’s already great legacy and give Bob and his people hope for the future,” she said.

For those who would like to offer assistance with projects, Diamond can be contacted at diamond_rozakeas@hotmail.com, mobile 0425705566.