Politics

Protesters Are Making A Huge Stand Across The Country For Indigenous Teen Elijah Doughty

"We're not gonna stop until you stop murdering us."

by Sam Langford  24 July 2017
Elijah Doughty

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Hundreds of people gathered outside the NSW Supreme Court today in one of several nationwide protests against the justice system’s handling of the death of Indigenous teenager Elijah Doughty. Protests were also held in Adelaide and Canberra, and a rally in Melbourne is planned for Friday.

Protestors called for the death to be recognised as murder, and left handprints in red ochre on the windows of the court building, symbolising “the blood of the many, the thousands [of Indigenous people] that the Commonwealth has killed”.

Doughty, who was 14, was run over and killed by a 4WD in his home town of Kalgoorlie last year. The driver of the 4WD had been deliberately pursuing Doughty because he believed the boy had stolen his motorcycle, and stated in court that he was driving “too close” to Doughty.

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Last week, an entirely non-Indigenous jury found the driver not guilty of manslaughter. He was convicted on the lesser charge of dangerous driving occasioning death, and was sentenced to three years in jail.

At today’s Sydney protest, Indigenous speakers expressed anguish and outrage at the verdict, calling on Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to “come together in solidarity” and “stand together as one to smash the bullshit that’s happening in this country”.

“Elijah Doughty is my blood, he’s my family”, said Kalgoorlie-born Meyne Wyatt.

“I’m from Kalgoorlie. I lived in Kalgoorlie. I know that life. I’ve been chased by people in cars — white people in cars.”

“This kid was 14, he was a child, he was murdered. Not manslaughter,” Wyatt said. He expressed disgust at the sentence handed down earlier this week: “Three years! Shame!“

Another Indigenous speaker, Elizabeth Jarrett, targeted the media and public response to Doughty’s death. “And what are the headlines saying?” she asked. “He shouldn’t have stolen a bike? Where’s the headline saying that man shouldn’t have stolen a life?”

“How did this mother read a paper about her son’s life being taken for a fucking motorbike?”

Gomeroi man Cameron Manning echoed these sentiments about media and social media coverage of the trial.

“All I’ve seen, all over social media, is white people making excuses for murder,” he said. 

“Our people are still being murdered, every day. How many of our people are still in jail, illegally, for things white people would get a slap on the wrist for? Our suicide rates are a national disaster, and it’s still being ignored.” 

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The protest also remembered Indigenous deaths in custody, such as those of Ms. Dhu, a 22-year-old Yamaji woman who died in police custody in 2014 after being arrested over unpaid fines, and David Dungay, who died in Sydney’s Long Bay prison in 2015 after being restrained and tranquillised despite repeatedly saying he could not breathe. Another protest will be held this Friday at Hyde Park to demand answers regarding Dungay’s death.

As today’s rally came to a close, speakers invited the crowd to cover their hands in red ochre and leave handprints on the windows of the Law Courts. Amidst hundreds of handprints, the words “murder” and “Justice For Elijah” stood out in tall red letters.

“You better look out,” said Jarrett, “because we’ve got a lot of mob fired up here. We’re not gonna stop until you stop fucking murdering us. Murder is murder.” 

“It could have been your child. It could be your child next. Think about that.”

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A Melbourne rally for Elijah Doughty will be held on Friday the 28th. The next Sydney rally is also on Friday 28th, and will march from Hyde Park to NSW Parliament at 11.30am to demand answers regarding the death of David Dungay.