This World

The Boy from The Block (2004x11)

: 08, 2004

Seventeen-year-old Aboriginal Thomas James Hickey, or TJ as he was known to friends and family, died on Valentine's Day 2004. He was impaled on a metal fence after falling off his bicycle near the notorious Sydney suburb of Redfern, also called The Block. The Block is a largely Aboriginal district where TJ lived with his mother and six sisters. No-one knows exactly what happened but it is likely that TJ, who had an outstanding warrant against him and some cannabis in his pocket, panicked at the sight of a patrol car and sped off as quickly as he could. But the following day The Block erupted into violence amid rumours he had been chased to his death by police officers - an allegation strongly denied by the police. Forty officers were injured in what became a running battle with scores of Aboriginal youths. While the rest of the nation was shocked by the images of the violence, many Redfern Aboriginals said that white Australia "had it coming." They told the programme they felt like second-class citizens in their own country and claimed the police discriminated against them. With unique access to TJ's family, reporter David Akinsanya investigates the story behind the riots and asks why Aboriginals have disastrously failed to integrate into their own country. He also asks why so many white Australians have a stereotypical image of their indigenous neighbours as layabouts and drunks