An Indigenous woman fears to return to Broome for medical treatment after she was told she was 'too drunk' to catch a bus, and then allegedly threatened by the driver that she would be kicked off during a nine-hour journey.
Last month Indigenous woman Flora travelled to Broome from the remote WA community of Mulan for a medical appointment. She is in her sixties and has heart and kidney problems, as well as diabetes which requires ongoing treatment. She can speak up to 14 languages but English is not her first language, and as a result, she missed her bus home.
Flora waited for several hours for the night bus at the Broome Tourist Bureau, and while there she went into a state of hypoglycaemia - a condition that occurs when a person’s blood glucose level has dropped too low, and she needed urgent medical attention. Her husband Cam, a Walmajarri man, said if it wasn’t for the help of a kind stranger, she could have died.
Cam told NITV News that when the bus arrived his wife was initially refused permission to board.
“When my wife went to get on the bus, the driver challenged her saying that ‘she was too drunk’ when in fact, she was actually still recovering from the hypo,” Cam said.
“The Greyhound Bus driver said to my wife - a kidney and heart patient and a sick Elder, that if she ‘misbehaved’ on the bus, no matter where they were, he would ‘kick her off the bus’.
The journey home took more than nine hours, which Cam said was an uncomfortable and traumatic ride for Flora.
“During the trip she asked the bus driver to turn the heater on as it was too cold and he ignored her request. She was left having to drape the curtain window around her to keep her warm. She spent more than 8 hours on the bus worried that she would be kicked off, my wife was petrified.”
Cam said the incident had been deeply distressing for his wife.
“My wife suffers from heart and kidney problems as well as diabetes. White talk is probably a fourth or fifth language for her,” he said.
This sort of stuff happens all the time. We're sick of it so happening to us mob, something needs to be done.
Cam said (PATS) which organised the trip to and from Broome for Flora's appointment, didn't make it clear enough that a patients’ return ticket wouldn't be booked until after they attended their hospital appointment, and as a result, his wife ‘didn’t know where to go or what to do’.
“My wife slept rough on the streets with some blankets that locals in Broome gave her. The next morning she went to a parish in Broome and was fortunately given bread and tea.”
PATS told NITV News it is currently piloting the translation of an information video about PATS into Aboriginal languages.
This treatment is not unusual according to Cam, who said it happens often to Aboriginal people whose first language isn’t English when travelling from remote communities for medical treatment.
"This sort of stuff happens all the time. We're sick of it so happening to us mob, something needs to be done."
Greyhound Australia was contacted but refused to comment.
