Johnson, Matthew

Mellor, Joe

English

Lancaster E-Prints

19/12/2019 What do Aborigines & people in a former mining community in NE England have in common?https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/environment/what-do-aborigines-people-in-a-former-mining-community-in-ne-england-have-in-commo… 1/7Home   News   EnvironmentWhat do Aborigines & people in aformer mining community in NEEngland have in common?By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Drawing on culture to promote well-being:communities united by their precarious circumstances Leading academicMatthew Johnson, Aboriginal community leader Mary Graham andAshington community researcher Tony Bennett, examine how so-called‘good culture’ can unite communities on opposite sides of the world. TheNorthumberland pit village of Ashington and Aboriginal settlements […] by Joe Mellor —  March 26, 2015 in EnvironmentBy Joe Mellor, Deputy EditorDrawing on culture to promote well-being: communities united by their precariouscircumstancesLeading academic Matthew Johnson, Aboriginal community leader Mary Graham and Ashingtoncommunity researcher Tony Bennett, examine how so-called ‘good culture’ can unite communities onopposite sides of the world.The Northumberland pit village of Ashington and Aboriginal settlements around Brisbane arecommunities united by their experience of relatively stable and long-established social systems beingdismantled and replaced by apparently ‘precarious’ ‘circumstances’ including unemployment,marginalisation and state management of people’s lives.TLE NEWS POLITICS OPINION BUSINESS SPORT ENTERTAINMENT FILM FOODLIFESTYLE PROPERTY TRAVEL TECH/AUTO  SUPPORT FREE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM Privacy policy T&C s FAQ Meet the Team About TLEAdvertise19/12/2019 What do Aborigines & people in a former mining community in NE England have in common?https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/environment/what-do-aborigines-people-in-a-former-mining-community-in-ne-england-have-in-commo… 2/7As a result, people in such communities o en face public criticism for being welfare dependent, whileat the same time having their support services cut in austerity drives. There is some private sectorwork available, but it is o en based on uncertain and short-term contracts. Both communities nowface circumstances which are ‘precarious’ and inflict considerable and unrelenting stress on people.This has increased the pressures on families, and relationships in general, leading to socialdisintegration, isolation and loneliness, as well as fostering mental health problems and ‘lifestyle’illnesses such as diabetes.In response, members of the two very distant, distinct and di erent communities are coming togetherto develop new, ground-breaking, approaches to tackling these challenges and to promotingcollective wellbeing.They will identify and draw on traditional values, such as equality and solidarity, to advanceinstitutions capable of encouraging collective action, challenging harmful behaviour, minimisingisolation and loneliness and improving health.So, just what do these communities, on opposite sides of the globe, have in common to enable themto discuss what we describe as ‘good culture’?While not wishing to romanticise the groups or obscure the enormous geographical, historical andcultural di erences involved, certain core themes have emerged.Many of today’s major problems, such as poverty, social disintegration, alienation, loneliness and ill-health arise from the increasing absence of a ‘good culture’, characterised by strong community spirit,an ethos of looking a er one another and less social isolation.Historically, there has been a shared objection within both communities to the ‘aggressive egoism’ ofbig business – quite o en coinciding with or leading to an appreciation for modesty and self-deprecating humour. This is o en combined with a powerful emotional connection to land or placeand a strong desire for some stability in relationships.Related PostsRenewables edge out gas in generating power for  rst timeAir pollution ‘can trigger depression and may even lead to suicide’Doctors warn PM that pollution is making the NHS winter crisis worseExtinction Rebellion activist glued herself to DLR train to save her children  19/12/2019 What do Aborigines & people in a former mining community in NE England have in common?https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/environment/what-do-aborigines-people-in-a-former-mining-community-in-ne-england-have-in-commo… 3/7This is something that the medical sociologist Aaron Antonovsky saw as vitally important in helpingpeople to manage stress and promote well-being.If life is coherent, the experience of stress is not overwhelming and flourishing lives are possible, evenwhen faced with di erent circumstances, like those faced by both communities historically.By working withthe land, people in Aboriginal communities developed an intimate relationship, notjust with the land, but with each other.In a completely di erent context, people in Ashington worked together to shape and manage the landin their native North East through mining.They developed a shared sense of identity and purpose around which to base their relationships witheach other and other communities.In both cases, by working together with some measure of equality, solidarity and non-dominationwithin groups, they ensured that events were largely comprehensible, challenges manageable andactivity meaningful.Breaking the active, everyday engagement between people and their land, through colonialdispossession in Australia and the closure of the mines in the North East of England, meant that someof the cultural resources that had been essential means of upholding communities in their particularcircumstances were lost.Aboriginal Australians, dealing with o en harsh natural environments, developed forceful forms ofresponsibility sharing within kin or family units.Having an entitlement to a share of goods within networks meant that unpredictable elements of theenvironment were made more comprehensible, bearable and manageable.And emphasising that people had an obligation to share meant that they could not hold the recipientsof goods beholden or indebted, underscoring a sense of equality and solidarity.It is claimed, as a result, that there is no Aboriginal phrase for ‘gratitude’, with a notion of businessbeing completed or ‘over’ in its place.In Northumberland, the feudal system from which Ashington gradually emerged was brutallyhierarchical, with generations of Northumbrians perpetually beholden to wealthy landowners and,subsequently, mine owners for their very existence.Given that background, the traditional reluctance of people in places like Ashington to enter into debtis understandable.19/12/2019 What do Aborigines & people in a former mining community in NE England have in common?https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/environment/what-do-aborigines-people-in-a-former-mining-community-in-ne-england-have-in-commo… 4/7Joe MellorHead of News & Social Media at The London EconomicYour email address will not be published. Required  elds are marked *CommentName *People, particularly of our grandparents’ generation, o en preferred not to eat than to take on debtswhich would leave them subject to the power and unpredictable whims of individuals andinstitutions.In place of this, credit unions, building societies and social clubs were developed in which people,scraping together resources, felt that they were engaging constructively as equals to mitigate andmanage unpredictable parts of their lives.But since the link with the land has been lost, and people have been moved onto welfare systemsgrounded on o en demeaning notions of indebtedness or pushed into precarious forms ofemployment, people’s well-being has decreased.In an era of so-called ‘Big Society’ and the ‘well-being agenda’, we ought to remember that the linkswith the land and the related ‘resistance resources’ were systematically undermined because theywere threatening to various powerful interests and agendas.For communities to restore coherence, they need to work with one another across radical di erenceto present alternatives to these moribund approaches. The work has just begun.Leave a Reply19/12/2019 What do Aborigines & people in a former mining community in NE England have in common?https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/environment/what-do-aborigines-people-in-a-former-mining-community-in-ne-england-have-in-commo… 5/7Email * WebsitePOST COMMENTTrending fromTLEThe British Government has ruined my lifeLift The Ban petition reveals staggering cost to UK economy ofasylum seekers being banned from workingJeremy Corbyn is the most smeared politician in historyALL TRENDING19/12/2019 What do Aborigines & people in a former mining community in NE England have in common?https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/environment/what-do-aborigines-people-in-a-former-mining-community-in-ne-england-have-in-commo… 6/7Latest from TLEHundreds join artists, from Brian Eno to Nigel Kennedy in powerfultribute to Jeremy CorbynTeenager involved in homophobic bus attack is let o Hotel review: Opus, VancouverSet For Life Results Thursday 19th December 2019About Us19/12/2019 What do Aborigines & people in a former mining community in NE England have in common?https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/environment/what-do-aborigines-people-in-a-former-mining-community-in-ne-england-have-in-commo… 7/7 © 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. 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What do Aborigines & people in a former mining community in NE England have in common

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What do Aborigines & people in a former mining community in NE England have in common

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