The Work of Janine Roberts
(She also writes as Janine Farrell-Roberts -(using her family name) - as with "The Seven Days of My Creation" and many of her magazine articles)
Her films on human rights issues won a Nomination for Best Documentaries, various film festival awards, and been on the BBC, the ABC, Channel 4 and WGBH (PBS network) across the Australia, US and Canada. Her human rights work has won support from the World Council of Churches, and organisations of the Methodists, Catholics and Presbyterian churches, and have been sponsored by indigenous organisations in Australia and Canada as well as the ANC in South Africa.She testified on human rights at the US Congress in 2001..
Her Books
"The
Mapoon Books" A trilogy on Australian treatment of
Aborigines - edited and co-written by her.. Humphrey MacQueen, a leading Australian
historian, reviewed this the finest work published in the Whitlam era (Whitlam
being a famouis Prime Minister associated with a cultural revival. Published
by I.D.A in 1976, Melbourne. Australia. 6,000 of each printed - and sold out.
"From
Massacres to Mining. The Colonization of Aboriginal Australia".
Its first edition was published by War on Want, 1978, London, UK - and used
to support a successful Aboriginal speaking tour across Europe with some 81
meeetings in five countires - a campign that succeeded in gaining protection
for the land of the Wik Munkan people of Aurukun, endangered by Shell's plans
to strip mine 600 square miles of their tropical forest destroying its sacred
places and hunt-gathering.
"Massacres to Mining: the colonization of Aboriginal Australia' a greatly expanded and updated edition of the above book that was published Dove Press, 1981 and reprinted in 1985. Melbourne Australia. This book was launched by Aboriginal spokesman, and gained major TV andpress coverage. It sold out quickly. Then the publisher changed hands and the book regretably went out of print despite its sales not diminishing. Update now underway with support from the World Council of Church's campaign for social justice.
To the review of book and wonderful letter from Xavior Herbert
To some of the other Massacres to Mining Reviews - including a fun one about my eating snake
"Jack
of Cape Grim' - a wonderful story of how a small Aboriginal band
of three women and two men, made a last stand against three military expeditions
agains them. Published Greenpeace, 1986, Melbourne, Australia.Sold out currently-
if interested in its reprint, please notify us.
"The
Seven Days of My Creation: Stories of magic, sex and gender'
(by Janine Farrell-Roberts) A 600 page investigative history of gender, sex,
mysticism, magic and religion, woven throughout a spirited and moving memoir,
published Iuniverse, 2002 - This is available to be purchased from this
website - click here
A direct link to the book on www.amazon.co.uk
Read first what readers have had to say "The Seven Days" Reviews"
"Glitter
and Greed: The secrets of the diamond cartel'
- a rivetting investigation of human rights, the environment and the
diamond trade across five continents .Published Disinfo Incorp. 2003, New
York. (launched UK in 2004) This book was reviewed as"enthralling', as
the produce of "hair-raising" research and as truly 'brilliant'
in the Independent newspaper. It is, it seems, the Fahrenheit 9/11 of diamonds.
To read the Indepentant newpaper's review - click here
Polio:
A Hundred Year Goose Chase? The Special on Polio published in May
2004 issue of the Ecologist was effectively a small book at 13,500 words..It
is available as two pdf files, a references file and as a research libray
for free download from this website. You can find it
on this website
Articles and Newstories.
She has contributed over thiry years to the following newspapers (not a complete list)
In the UK in the Independent, Independent on Sunday, Financial Times, and in Australia - The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Adelaide Advertise, Canberra Times; and to numerous magazines including - The Ecologist, Corporate Examiner, Retrieval, New Internationalist.
A selection of these features and newstories.
Films.
She has produced and written (sometimes with another producer)
"Munda Nyuringu: He's Taken the Land, He believes it is his, He won't get it back"
A story of the
colonization of Australia from an Aboriignal viewpoint - shot in the goldfields
of West Australia. Co-produced by Robert Bropho (Aboriginal Elder) and Janine
Roberts. Won Best Documentary Nomination - and was film of the week according
to the Sydney Morning Herald when it was shown on ABC TV.
To the original Munda Nyuringu film release photos, cartoons and leaflet
To the film's Reviews and Awards
"The
Diamond Empire" - a major international
television series - also available as a single feature lenght film. As shown
on US and UK television in 1994.
. A hard-hitting investigation of the international diamond trade and De Beers - shot in six continents - shown in North America by WGBH as a feature length special - and by the BBC over two Sundays in 1994. This unique film was at first dropped from circulation under pressure from De Beers but it is now available here on a CD playable on all modern PCs or Macs. Click here to purchas it.
The pressure from the Chairman of De Beers persuaded the Chairman of the BBC, Marmaduke Hussey, to order that the Board had to preview all its rushes. John Birt, then Head of the BBC, decided also to try to remove Janine Roberts from the final stages of making her film - and he only succeeded in doing this by putting pressure on her while she lay for two weeks critically ill in hospital after being assaulted during production. She was told her film would be killed if she did not agree - but if she did, then the BBC would finish it to her script. However later on the BBC had to call her back in again since "we understand you did all the research on the film."
This film had a rough time in Australia - where the ABC backed it enthusiastically at first, and helped fund its production, then was intimidated by De Beers into dropping the film from its schedules after adversting it to the public as a forthcoming major series. Read a review in Canada and the ABC announcement promoting the film in Australia (issued days before the ABC cancelled it.)
Read the controversy over the film in Canada.
Despite the film never having a judgement made against it in court, despite it having an excellent review in the New York Times, and despite it never being found to be libellous or inaccurate, the ABC still have not released it in Australia
Also - due again to threats by De Beers, the BBC and most of the film's investors have refused to sell the film to African TV stations - and WGBH will also not sell videos of it to the American publi
"Monkey Business" a powerful investigation produced for Channel 4 in 1998. the story of the contamination of the polio vaccine with a cancer-linked monkey virus. Co-produced with Rosie Thomas for the Dispatches series on the UK's Channel Four TV, also shown as a Four Corners by the ABC in Australia. Write to Jan if a copy is wanted.
Other films that she initiated, and for which she wrote and researched the original script..
"Strangers in their Own Land' Directed by Chris Curling - for World in Action Granada. An investigation of RTZ and the Bauxite mines on Aboriginal reserve land in Queensland, Australia.This was seen around the world - but in Australia, the ABC were sued by Comalco (owned in part by RTZ) because they believed it was libellous to say they had "stolen" Aboriginal land. (they had taken mining rights over a thousand square miles, including much of the largest Aboriginal Reserve in Eastern Australia,)
"A plain and Sacred Rite" A BBC Everyman program on Aborigial spirituality and diamond mining - shot in NW. Australia - much in it about Aborigines and Argyle diamond mine.
Direct Actions. These include -
1967-9 organiser of soup runs and action for homeless people in London. (working with the Simon Community)
1968 Elected sociology student representative - involved re lock-out at LSE.
1971-3 Publishing on Apartheid, on colonism in Niugini and Fiji, and on Vietnam war - one of the many co-editors of antiwar journal 'Retrieval".-Involved in support of draft resistance movment. - working closely with Australian aid agencies.
1974 Asssited the Mapoon Aboriginal communty to return to their tribal and - from whcih they had been removed in irons.
1975 Working with the Aurukun Aboriginal communtiy - and the North Queensland Aboriginal Land Council - succeed in stopping Shell from strip mining500 sq miles of the monsoonal forest that is the home of the Aurukun Aboriginal people.- many other similar actions over the next ten years.
1982 Took key role in stopping RTZs plan to use cynanide to mine underground rivers for gold in Northern Victoria, Australia.
1995-6 Lyminge Forest protest in Kent, Uk - take part in long action with local village people and with many eco-warriors that was successful in protecting this forest from destruction. (It is a forest she knew as a child)
Would you want to know more about her motivation? Read her Personal Resume available here. It tells the story of her struggle from her childhood to find her identity - and the assaults she later had to endure during her investigative work. This story is also told with humor and much weaving of history in her memoir-investigation. "The Seven Days of My Creation" - see above.
