Sam writes on.......

As I sat straight and buckled my seat belt, I realised something interesting. To my left was an Aboriginal Yolngu woman, and to my right was a White Australian. 

I was travelling around Arnhem land researching the impact of MAF on that part of the world and had just hopped onto an MAF caravan to reach the Elcho Islands, which are close to the northern coast of Australia.

What is so interesting about having a Yolngu woman and a white man on the same flight as I am? 

No, it is not uncommon for Yolngu folks and non-Yolngus' (called the balandas) to interact, but the power dynamics are extremely skewed usually in favour of the balandas. In the church, at the marketplace, at the school and even the playground one can see the Balandas often are at the receiving end of the equation. 

I guess, power dynamics are complex things and it might not be right to frivolously use such complex equations in blogs, but I just realised, that on that MAF plane, where the Yolngu and the Balanda sat together, I could see a glimpse of an equal world. 

As one MAF staff said, the Westerner or the balanda is often there in Arnhem land, the aboriginal heartland, to serve the Yolngu tribe. To be the police officer, to be the teacher, the church pastor or the community health worker. While as lofty as the notion of service is, it sadly does come with the baggage of power, especially with so much loaded history behind it. 

This power dynamic inevitably takes away the confidence of the Yolngu. 

An Indian, as I read the history of my nation when the Westerners ruled, Indians always looked up to the Western world. The white skin was awe-inspiring. It took generations for the  Indians to realise that they could stand together on the same platform as everybody else. 

Of course, MAF is there to serve. To serve the Yolngu. But on that flight, I realised, that MAF doesn't only serve but also facilitates travel for the Yolngu tribes and in that process, puts everyone together on the same pedestal

Can MAF be the facilitator of equal power dynamics? Will there ever be a time when a Yolngu tribe will pilot a Balanda across Northern Australia, and perhaps across the world? Can MAF be the harbinger of an equal society where there is neither a Jew nor a Greek, there is neither a slave nor free, neither a Yolngu nor a Balanda, and everyone is seen and treated as those in the image of Christ? 

On the last day of the trip, I was asked to take devotions to the MAF Arnhem land community. I realised everyone in the hall at that time was a Westerner. When an Indian from a small town can stand on par with the Western world, there will come a time when the complex thread of power dynamics that bind the Yolngus will be broken. 

And MAF indeed has a huge role to play in it.