Short Story Of Scrutiny
Short Story
Scrutiny. Scepticism. Shock. It was all too familiar, the look on the faces in the room. An aboriginal female in a doctor’s coat. She glanced around the room as she sat down. The dullness of the grey walls seemed to absorb the lost hopes and dreams of the young men around her. The stale oxygen that lingered in the small room was slowly suffocating under the sterile smell of disinfectant. The only glimmer of light was a small corner of a window where the morning sun shimmered through. She looked at the piercing eyes surrounding her, their suspicious thoughts displayed only too clearly on their faces.
She had been here before, a new town, new job, new patients, same old issues. Prejudice came in many guises. It was time to look …show more content…
Years of continual contempt from those she was trying to help weighed heavily. Wearily she looked around the room, her eyes searching for inspiration. She knew she didn’t have long before the rest of the men in the room followed the lead from the man who was now revelling in watching her distress. Her throat tightened, she felt like a caged animal, helpless and imprisoned, a prisoner of her skin colour and her heritage. The sun stopped shining in the corner.
“I’m only here to help, I’m aware in this room alcohol and drugs have adversely impacted your lives.” This was too much for the man.
“An aboriginal trying to help us with our alcohol problems!” The room erupted with derisory laughter. She was exasperated that the men couldn’t differentiate between her profession and that of her skin colour, she wondered if any of these men had ever met an aboriginal. What had caused brought about their ill-informed misconceptions? Perhaps they had, had negative personal experience and that was why they were being so hostile.
Dr Tadim had grown up in the city, in the care of a white middle- class family, she knew many educated aboriginals however it seemed in this room that no-one could conceive of that. She reflected for a moment her years of struggle the feeling of not belonging anywhere not within her white family and not here in this room. At that moment the light in the room
Scrutiny. Scepticism. Shock. It was all too familiar, the look on the faces in the room. An aboriginal female in a doctor’s coat. She glanced around the room as she sat down. The dullness of the grey walls seemed to absorb the lost hopes and dreams of the young men around her. The stale oxygen that lingered in the small room was slowly suffocating under the sterile smell of disinfectant. The only glimmer of light was a small corner of a window where the morning sun shimmered through. She looked at the piercing eyes surrounding her, their suspicious thoughts displayed only too clearly on their faces.
She had been here before, a new town, new job, new patients, same old issues. Prejudice came in many guises. It was time to look …show more content…
Years of continual contempt from those she was trying to help weighed heavily. Wearily she looked around the room, her eyes searching for inspiration. She knew she didn’t have long before the rest of the men in the room followed the lead from the man who was now revelling in watching her distress. Her throat tightened, she felt like a caged animal, helpless and imprisoned, a prisoner of her skin colour and her heritage. The sun stopped shining in the corner.
“I’m only here to help, I’m aware in this room alcohol and drugs have adversely impacted your lives.” This was too much for the man.
“An aboriginal trying to help us with our alcohol problems!” The room erupted with derisory laughter. She was exasperated that the men couldn’t differentiate between her profession and that of her skin colour, she wondered if any of these men had ever met an aboriginal. What had caused brought about their ill-informed misconceptions? Perhaps they had, had negative personal experience and that was why they were being so hostile.
Dr Tadim had grown up in the city, in the care of a white middle- class family, she knew many educated aboriginals however it seemed in this room that no-one could conceive of that. She reflected for a moment her years of struggle the feeling of not belonging anywhere not within her white family and not here in this room. At that moment the light in the room