Instead of carefree play, a 10-year-old West Australian girl "looked into the future and saw nothing but darkness" when she killed herself in March, broadcaster Stan Grant told a conference on indigenous suicide.
The incident should have sparked a national outcry, he said during his keynote address at the first national conference on the prevention of indigenous suicide in Alice Springs.
"That should have been something that spoke to the heart of our nation," he said.
Her death was one of about 19 suicides in northern WA in a period of about three months, to silence from political leaders, he said.
"I wondered at the way we describe these things: an indigenous girl, an indigenous community, an indigenous problem. No - this was truly an Australian girl living in an Australian town," Mr Grant said.
"We speak of these things as being indigenous because it becomes someone else's problem.
"Imagine 19 people taking their lives in Australian towns in three months, imagine an Australian town where 25 per cent of the population is in prison, an Australian town with 50 per cent unemployment, imagine an Australian town where the biggest cause of death in people under 35 is suicide ... we would surely hear from our leaders then," he said.
But it was also incumbent on the indigenous community to stop the suffering of its children, he said.
"We cannot look away from our failings. Where we see violence, where we see abuse and neglect, where we see our own closing down the walls of the lives of our children, we need to stand up," Mr Grant said.
"We cannot cling to our misery, the memory of wounds, if that was to pass to another generation, if it is to lead to our children looking into the future and seeing nothing but darkness."
* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Local Aboriginal Medical Service available from www.vibe.com.au
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