2100 words – or shorter summary
I will lay out here, a factual description of the occurrences that occurred in the Spring of the Year of our Lord 2021, in the month of September, with as much accuracy as possible.
My much more renowned colleague of whom I have written much would no doubt not have even needed to stir from his comfortable leather chesterfield to solve this mystery, and it would barely have taken a puff on his long-stemmed briar to know every relevant detail; though it may have taken him much longer to lay out the facts in such a way that you or I may understand and know all the answers.
He has suggested in the past that it might be amusing to occasionally write up some of life’s more trivial mysteries that he does not involve himself in, but I am forbidden in these endeavours from mentioning him by name, as he says that might not be quite sporting.
One day I might even know exactly what he means, if and when he arises from his current state of pontificating puffing tortured torpor; (mixed in with frenzied bouts of manic fiddle renditions, until one or more strings twang broken) and he deigns to enlighten you and me, my dear readers, with his somewhat acerbic condescension as reveals all to us mere mortals.
Hello Sweeties! Oops a genre switch.
2 Boring Intro bit
Hi Everyone, I’m Drew, and I am a 12 stepper, an Ainslie Village dweller, and I have a confession to make, a revelation, a request, and of course, an amends.
Admins, please allow this, you have some knowledge of this, and I am not breaking anyone’s protected anonymity but my own.
My drugs of choice are food and money, in particular overeating to numb my pain and overspending.
I mainly ended up here not because of my addictions, but from becoming physically disabled eighteen years ago, and some ableist and abusive family members who I trusted too much. I only know maybe the back story of twenty people here, but of those five are recurrent cancer & chemo, two schizophrenia, one Crohns, one brain damage, four domestic violence, and most of us have at least one mental health issue as well. I personally have M.E. (myalgic encephalomyelitis), which is a lot like Long Covid, and actually added Long Covid in November ’22, Joy.
I am also neurodiverse – Autistic, ADHD plus lifelong depression.
I live in Ainslie Village, and love the environment, if not *everything* else 😉. Since well before I got here, most of the communal areas have been closed, although I have been trying to get some reopened, in particular the Rainbow Room, a craft and queer safe space originally started by the Rainbow Commune, a lesbian collective back in the seventies and eighties.
Much of my spending has been for the revived Rainbow Room, creating a safe space for everyone, queer, neurodivergent, and those who happen to be fabulous in other ways and facilities to use in it.
3 The truth about The Goodies (no not the TV show!)
A little group history of generosity and good intentions:
In September 2021 some residents heard Ainslie Village had infected people and was locked down totally.
As soon as lovely local Buy Nothing groups heard, they banded together and organized a very generous sweet surprise for the residents of Ainslie Village, and this was later expanded to include staff.
A confession: I never received any of the bought pastries, nor did anybody in my block, or the residential blocks on either side, or those in other blocks whose phone numbers I knew.
[And I have never found a resident since, who received any of these!]
3.1 Sussing out the Straying Sweeties
A day later, I left the enforced confines of my block and went to the table outside the admin building which was as close as we were allowed, although we were really supposed to stay within our blocks, or later under our porches. Eventually someone came out, and I asked “I heard some sweet treats were to arrive?”
I received an odd look, then they went back inside, before returning some minutes later; while I sat on my walker, to say “Yes, it’s coming soon, what is your room number?”
I did wonder a little at the question, and I am sure my distinguished Colleague would have discerned at once what dastardly play was under way, but alas I am not so perceptive as you no doubt realise, and many things need more explanation & elucidation.
An hour or so later, someone knocked at our door, asked for me, and handed me a supermarket iced bun in a bag. No lovely handmade notes by your children, no individual pastries.
Sob.
Part one of the dastardly subterfuge was now clear.
4 The real truth and logistics
I enquired subtly, discreetly, over time what happened, because by then ‘the locals were getting restless’ and management had asked me about rumours they had heard of a riot.
I asked the BuyNothing admins if they could follow up from their end, and they rang the Office here, and were gaslit and lied to. They were told “They were distributed to residents and left at their doors, somebody else must have stolen them”.
Food during lockdown *was* delivered to our doors, or blocks, but it was always delivered in person, to a person, or people; and a bit like feeding time at the zoo, most residents confined were fairly desperate for food, news and contact with other people, even if they were muffled up in head to toe PPE.
So the person on the phone was not familiar with how the food distribution worked, safe in their guarded tower of Admin.
Even if they had been delivered as they claimed on the phone, someone I know would have received the treats. There are some dodgy people here, but no resident is so talented as to do a comprehensive or even semi co-ordinated sweep of 24 doorsteps, gathering up 180 packages, while dodging health care workers and roaming security guards.
5 Creative Consulting Detecting
My curiosity was piqued! Where had the delectable delights disappeared to? What devious deception delayed my discovery? What secrets were stifling my singular sleuthing success?
180 residents + 35 staff x 3 pastries in each lovely little package with individualized stickers, = 645 baked sweet little items.
I finally discovered what happened after official quarantine ended a couple of weeks later, from the trainee nurse who received the delivery. The staff had taken them all. When they were delivered, apparently they did ask who they were for, and I’m pretty sure they said “residents and staff”, but all they seemingly heard was “staff”. She did look a little guilty as she was relating the story.
They should have known, however, by the numbers, that 215 packages weren’t just for the staff.
I’ve tried to think it was an honest mistake, but in combination with other things from that period and my more recent experience, and actually doing the maths, no, it was a deliberate act of stealing and graft, which they tried to blame on us! Theft at that scale is way beyond the average village resident. Plus, most of us don’t steal from each other.
I don’t know exactly how it happened, but I’m sure the decision wasn’t made by the trainee nurses.
645 pastries works out at 18 pastries per staff member.
And for them all to be gone the next day, when I enquired, so that they had to rush out to the shops and buy an iced tea bun to placate me with, means that they had an almighty party and gorged themselves, or took them home as a treat to their families.
6 More theft: Free Wifi + Tech?
I was also talking to some politicians and other groups during the lockdown, petitioning and trying to get free wi-fi for residents. I was told there was no need, it was already fully funded and allocated and would go in straight after lockdown.
Eighteen months later and no change. Sorry, I tell a lie. They have been installing secure solar-powered security cameras all over the village. What happened to the funding for WiFi?
I was also told that funding had been approved and distributed to get disconnected residents iPads or other tablets during lockdown.
Again, that money, or the devices themselves reached no resident I am aware of. One got a mobile phone, but that was from CAHMA, not Argyle Housing, ACT Health, or the social workers here.
To steal on a scale like that, on three fronts requires much more effort and organization.
7 Sweet Little Lies, Theft & Denial
Many other things are stolen from us at Ainslie Village, and particularly during the lockdown.
At least prisoners and zoo animals know who their captors are, can see their faces, know who is responsible. We dealt day in and day out with faceless PPE blobs who had no names, no responsibility to us, and no accountability. Likewise, both prisoners and zoo animals know what they are eating, have choices.
We had choice taken away, our freedoms; with no accountability, very little understanding (with the exception of some of the Social Work volunteers & some staff I knew from Directions Health), and our dignity stripped away, and most of us have some degree of PTSD due to living long term with a disability or chronic illness.
More was taken too – A Canberra Times reporter & photographer (who came to talk to me about my push for FreeWifi) were turned away, with very heavy-handed attitude and stern warnings, some of which were contradictory and nonsensical.
The lockdown itself was a violation – to shut down a population of 270 for just a couple of infected people in one out of 24 buildings.
Isolate the infected, not the whole populace.
One other resident went through these and many other violations with a Legal Aid lawyer, looking toward getting a Class Action lawsuit, with lots of positivity, until the next stage…
When it turned out no senior partners at any Canberra Legal practice were willing to take the case to court, to the next level, for fear of poisoning their reputation and large client base, the Government, APS, or the Health Department over the human rights violations against a couple of hundred unhoused people.
We have so little dignity left to us after disability, disease, despair and too often abuse; led us to become homeless.
They chip away at what we had left, and made us feel subhuman in the process.
8 The Biggest Theft of All – Your Safety
This is all somewhat historical, but just one last piece, and again this is theft from you, and in fact all Ken Behrans.
The security guards (who would barely look at our faces, let alone give us even a name) were *very* strict about maintaining a perimeter around the Admin building and front gates. And no farther, they never went beyond-Apart from when accompanying health workers and deliveries. Which means residents (well, all who are not disabled like myself, I mean) just walked out by the side or back entrances, leaving their phones behind and/or not checking in anywhere.
I told security, then the head of security, all I got was “I know, we know, we’re just doing what we’re told” or bad attitude. So anybody driving past got the appearance of protection from all the unwashed infected inside, but no actual protection. Except from those of us who couldn’t walk out.
Leaving aside the logic of isolating 200 people for weeks for two infections when out in the wider community they did not shut down suburbs; if you’re going to do it, actually be effective.
Actually, that was when I realized – it *had* been effective and robust, and they had done what was requested of them. They protected the most important place and people, the Admin building like a fortress. No dirty unwashed infected got near, and hang the rest!
And that rest was you, and all Canberrans. Any death or ongoing disability that occurred from random outbreaks in our area during lockdown can be probably be laid squarely at the feet of whoever made the choice to protect the people in the Admin building above both the residents in Ainslie Village and you, in surrounding suburbs, with a visible yet pretend and very porous perimeter.
That theft was of your security, and potentially & probably lives.
And that’s not the end of the story yet! I’ll even suggest some good action to make or take shortly.
Actions
Ring Ainslie VIllage and ask what happened?
Staff in their contract with the ACT government are supposed to “enhance the reputation of Ainslie Village within the community”.
Let me know if they continue to blame residents, I’m used to it now!