I given some thought at all the things that have been happening around refugees. Given the new position (outrageous) by the Rudd Government, I thought it would be time for a bit of a discussion about the way we see the world and our response to refugees.
Why this blog now? Because I am looking into the issue of racism as I prepare for a trip to Stockholm that a very unfriendly volcano seems to have thwarted. What I am researching is the way that the issue of ‘race’ and ‘racism’ is treated in our popular culture. The outcomes of that research are still coming and I am in the midst of writing a paper which I will hopefully publish in the not too distant future.
The motivations for this research have two distinct directions: the first was the underlying themes that emerged in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy (that is, The girl with the dragon tattoo series, or in its original translation Men who hate women). One of these themes is the way that migrants are the target of violence and derision: ignored, violated, cheap labour and so on.
The second motivation for my research is the fact that Australian pop culture remains, essentially, colour blind. There are few positions for the non-white protagonist in Australian movies and television. Yes, there are exceptions but there is no way that the monochrome world of television reflects our multicultural society. Pop culture is such an important part of our society that we need to use it both as a mirror and as well as a significant guide towards attitudes: what does the lack of diversity tell us about Australian society.
Like I said, I will delve deeper into this at some future point - both with another blog and more formal publishing because now I want to highlight some aspects of refugees and amazing anti-racist activists that are responding to Australia’s stance on refugees – which I believe is deeply problematic and essentially racist.
To begin with, we should note that a refugee, according to the 1951 UN Convention, is:
Any person who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country.
It is surprisingly easy to identify who is a genuine refugee: it is hard for someone to pretend to speak another language or fake a religion. If someone claims that they are from somewhere, then it is quite easy to ask them some questions to confirm this.
A few facts from the Edmund Rice Centre that confirm that Australia does not have a refugee problem. Australia remains down the bottom of countries that see both refugee arrivals and those seeking asylum. Let's look at some of the statistics:
- Tanzania hosts one refugee for every 76 Tanzanian people (1:76)
- Britain hosts one refugee for every 530 British people. (1:530)
- Australia hosts one refugee for every 1583 Australian people. (1:1583)
There are many myths about refugees which there is no reason to list here but I recommend you check out the Refugee Council of Australia website where some are listed and responded to.
I can only think what I would do if that was me and my family and we were forced to leave a country or persecuted: I would do anything to protect them. What drives refugees are push factors (that is, things happening back in the home country) not pull factors, such as Australia’s policies on refugees (see http://www.smh.com.au/national/oceans-apart-over-brutal-reality-20100402-rjy2.html).
I fear that the Australian Government’s position, along with the Opposition and the trashy newspapers, radio stations and tv stations is aggravating a sense of concern and unease that Australians are feeling. This sense of unease is being used for political purposes and real leadership should be shown by the Federal Government rather than pandering to the racist posturing by the federal opposition. Both parties need to come together and take a humanitarian stance: we should not be playing with people’s lives.
This is made clear in a recent campaign undertaken by Amnesty International titled Don’t use asylum seekers as political footballs. There is a petition there that over 110,000 people had signed (including me). If you are passionate about this issue or simply want people’s rights and dignity to be respected, I encourage you to sign it.
In addition, there is a very cool group that has been set up celebrating Australia’s diversity: The anti-bogan website which states that ‘True Blue is not Skin Deep’. I like these guys – and they have an awesome facebook page! Join up and support their work through their petitions and also spreading the word.
If you want to see the human story about refugees, here is a story featuring a friend of mine. He is interviewed by the voice of America about Afghan refugee and recent Australian government policy to suspend cases of asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. You can follow watch it here.
I think this remains a key issue for Australia and we need to show everyone that tolerance, peace and humanity over rules hate and ignorance: don’t hate my friends, marinate! This week in Queensland the Hammered music festival was held and it is co-sponsored by the Southern Cross Hammer Skinheads. This is an international race-hate group banned in Germany for spreading Nazi messages! A group of activists stood up to them by holding their own peace festival.
By standing up and refusing to accept racism, we can help blunt those who use it for their own ends. We can also change the political culture of this country!
Cheers, james
2 comments:
Alright James,
I am a student in contemporary society this semester and attend all your lectures at Kingswood. You make some interesting points but they are opinions which ignore important things you probably don't consider. When you complain about the dominance of white people in Australian movies and television, you forget that Australia thankfully still has a high percentage of whites. Also, they don't pick white people off the street on purpose, people audition for these roles. Australia has a history and culture tied to it, and this is the white Australian image which I can't understand why it is fought against. Do you really think it is right to expect to completely change a country's identity. Identities and cultures should be preserved and have their own place. Any country would have the inclination to protect such things. You can't relate any of this to racism. Another thing, the refugee system is a joke, there is no way you can justify hundreds of boats packed with these people just sailing in and then recieveing Australian people's money to just give everything to them and allow them to bring their entire family here when Australia already has enough issues on its plate. Tanzania's migrants are just other Africans who would assimilate and fit right in, they remain 99% African, they have less than 1% of any other ethnic group. I am of British descent and I can tell you Britain has huge problems with migrants taking their jobs, housing and their culture and history relating to their identity. Britain has so much history and culture which is being phased out because of immigrants. There are towns in Britain which look like a third world middle-east slum. Australia will follow down the same path very soon. Differences are what will always separate people apart and cause conflict, so the more diversity a society has, the more problems relating to that will arise. Multiculuralism will never work and is simply going to destroy and eventually wipe out the real people of that nation. Why is pride and protection of your ethnicity and culture and its future so supported but if you're white it's not allowed?
Dear Patriot90
Thanks for your post... I am glad you find my classes interesting appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts...
To respond directly to some of your points...
1. Complain about the dominance of white people
Sorry, I cannot remember complaining (as a white person, I think they are ok). What I said was that what we see on television and other pop cultures we do not see a true reflection of our society - which is quite complex. This is not complaining, but stating a fact.
2. You also say that 'thankfully the majority is white'
Not sure what this means... does someone's skin make them a nice person? Not sure you can take that position... are blue eyed people nicer than brown eyes? Hard call... so why would skin be any different?
3. History of a country and identity...
Yes, Australia's last 200 years have been dominated by 'white folk'... BUT, how much do we know about the Afghanistan migrants that populated much of this country in the early 1990s? Not much - this has never been a pure white nation (not mentioning the Indigenous folks).
Any nation should change its culture because no culture is static. We are not 1934 Australia - so our culture has changed. Should we not acknowledge it? No culture is preserved - they all change. Yes, we should protect some things - Australian has an important cultural industry, but we also need to see a changing one at that.
4. Hundreds of boats
There are not hundreds of boats.. there are only a handful. The most number of illegal immigrants are European and US citizens who overstay their visas, work illegally and rob the Australian tax payer of taxes and also Australians of jobs. The few thousand refugees hardly impact us at all.
The other thing is being a refugee is not a lifestyle choice - it is an extremely dangerous and desperate act. I would say these folk would rather stay at home with their families.
On costs - we are part of a global community and we all have responsibilities. Ideally, solving issues at the origin is what we want, but in the meantime, we have a global responsibility to help the world. Like the US sent firefighters to help Australia at the cost of the US citizen - imagine they said no?
5. Slums
Good piont - but are there also not slums of all white folk? These are structural problems that we cannot simplify as immigrant problems.
My parents came here and lived in an area that was considered a slum... they, along with many other Greeks moved on as they established themselves. They received benefits - which they have paid back tenfold as they worked... there is nothing to indicate that this process is will not happen again... but we must address structural problems for everyone, not just migrants...
To end... I love this country and my Australian culture. My country and culture is one that welcomes people with an open hand and gives them a go: the country that discriminates is a change that I do not like (we did not turn away Cambodian or Vietnamese refugees in the '80s)... so it is a culture I want to fight for...
I hope that makes sense
Cheers, james
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