I am pissed off. Near where I live is a little hillside town which has been in the news of late. Not because it is quaint and the people lovely, but because it has been branded as racist. And ashamedly so, a group of locals and I’d presume a group of not-so-locals, are giving it their best shot to reveal to the world their redneck credentials. They are angry at the Federal Government’s decision to transform 83 empty defence houses into a detention facility for asylum seekers.
Here is where I air my first grievance. The Federal Government did not consult the local community. They did not give any warning or attempt to first assure people that it would address concerns about safety and pressures on already stretched local services. Instead, the Government took a different route. By not informing the residents first, it knew, when news broke of the planned detention facility, it would result in outrage, thereby taking the focus off its decision. With anger comes the inevitable racism. And with fear-driven ignorance in the forefront, the Government can then blame racist attitudes for the opposition to its proposal. But, by doing it that way, the Government has also provided the opponents with a loophole. The racists of the community have been able to hide (badly) behind a banner of “not being consulted”, while stating publicly: “We’re not racists”. And that pisses me off. However, although I am annoyed at the way the Government went about it, it’s not the detention facility that I disapprove of, it’s the rednecks.
Angry locals have managed to turn what is essentially a lovely hillside town into a cesspool of nastiness. There’s been many a vile comment made about the asylum seekers, but one viewpoint which has stuck in my mind, and promoted with gusto by the Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, is if you let the asylum seekers live in such an idyllic place it sends a “red carpet” message to the people smugglers and boat people. Are you for real? All they deserve is concrete surroundings, no trees for them. C’mon, they are people. They are willing to go to extreme measures to come here. These people have chosen to flee all that they know, their customs, their families, their friends, their way of life, to come to a country largely with nothing. To come to a country where dealing with loneliness, racism, prejudice and lack of opportunity is more simple than facing what their homeland has to provide for them. For many, the option to apply legally to live in Australia was not a viable option for them for fear of death, continued persecution and harm to their family. Imagine the fear they must have felt taking those first steps off their home soil. They chose to come to Australia because we are meant to be a nation of giving everyone a fair go.
I can understand for some locals there is a fear of the unknown. For some locals, they are already struggling economically and they fear more people coming into their town will only make things harder for them. However, these possible “new” Australians could enhance their community, spend money in their businesses, enrich their schools and community groups with new food, new languages, new ways of doing things. These people will also work damn hard at anything you throw at them. They will do anything not to have to go back to a life of extreme hardship.
These people have hearts and souls and families and fears and dreams like anyone else and a small hillside community has the opportunity to embrace them. They have an opportunity to become an example of tolerance, rather then reinforce the stereotypes often associated with “small-towns”. Instead, it’s walking into the Government’s trap; banjos in hand. It saddens me to know there are others who don’t believe everyone is entitled to a life of clean and safe living conditions, free from persecution. That where you are born should not define you. I believe it is everyone’s responsibility to reach out and help others in their greatest times of need. Maybe, if some of these “concerned citizens” started to actually show genuine concern for others, outside of their sheltered existences, they would realise how amazing it feels to give with your heart, rather than turn people away.
Hi, I'm Bianca Wordley, I write about life.
Well said. My personal favourite is when people start a sentence with “I’m not racist, but…”
I agree BW – I was on a 400km road trip listening to ABC News Radio and heard this news story and the fear driven racist (intentional/ unintentional) responses to this and after hearing it for 5 times had to turn it off due to embarassment I felt as being a fellow (ex-pat) South Aussie.
Am currently reading an awesome but sad essay by Phillip Adams in ‘The Ideas Book'(2005, Uni of Qld Press) which spoke about the effect Pauline Hanson had on Australia and turning a tolerant Aust into a distinctly intolerant one; and the games that Howard (and also Labor who agreed with the policy) played with refugees re the Tampa crisis, ‘children overboard’ and the fearmongering both ‘teams’ caused (they are hardly ‘sides’ given they are on the same side for the most part).
The worst of it being that the media perpetuated the bullshit the pollies tried to disseminate and 5 years later – we are STILL ‘debating’ about ‘illegals’ and ‘queue jumpers’ which is unnecessary and, in reality, inhumane!
We shouldn’t be arguing about where to put these ‘camps’ but working out how to accept refugees without the need for camps at all.
There but by the grace of god go we Aussies that we don’t have to consider leaving our homeland, taking our children and few belongings and trusting in the humanity of the people of another country. If karma existed the majority would be turfed out on their arses!
Well, that’s what I think, anway. x
Well said Bianca. I am going to use this article with my students at school (if thats ok). As a class we ananlysed the one sided argument against the asylum seekers in The Advertiser and the kids tore it to shreds! This will give them an opposing viewpoint.
Daniel
Many talk the talk, but I think we can all NIMBYs when push comes to shove. It worries me that people so freely express these sorts of opinions in this day and age. x
PS – I just noticed that while I’ve been busy introducing myself over on the romance post, you already know me… and even 40 Skinny Street made your blogroll. I’m so happy that my big fat self has actually been deemed worthy of a blog roll. Love your work and, really just wondering why I haven’t found you until now… x
Thanks for your comments everyone. And sure, Daniel, you can use the article for your students.
My Facebook mates have also commented here is a snippet of one who lives near the town – “I was lucky enough to host a war-time refugee from the former Yugoslavia for work experience. She had recently arrived and although a qualified and highly experienced mechanical engineer, had to start life all over again. Her tales of what she and her family had to endure through the war were horrific to say the least and her courage truly amazing. She lived in a cellar for 18 mths with 2 small children. The kids couldn’t go outside as it wasn’t safe, and she would have to walk miles each day barefoot through fighting zones to find food and provide for her family. I will never forget how overwhelmingly grateful she was to me for showing her the smallest amount of kindness. She and family will spend a lifetime now repaying Australia a hundred times over for letting her in to our special country and giving her a go. She didn’t mind having to start again because she was just grateful to be alive and safe. We have also had many former refugees work for us on the orchard over the years. Mostly highly qualified people who have had to flee and leave behind everything they had and start all over again. They are happy to work three jobs just to build their lives back up to where they were before war broke out. Now it seems since Sept 11 that there is a groundswell of racist sentiment and hatred being fuelled by propoganda justifying “war on terrorism”, conveniently a cover for war on Islam and all things non-western…..
…… but don’t get me started!!”.
I just cried reading your last comment. I loathe racism and I loathe narrowmindedness.
There was a status doing the rounds on Facebook not too long ago;
“PASS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY U GET 12 YRS HARD LABOUR,
PASS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY U GET SHOT.
PASS THE AUSSIE BORDER ILLEGALLY U GET A JOB, A DRIVER’S LICENCE, A PLACE TO LIVE, HOUSING BENEFIT, HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION, CHILD BENEFIT.. NEED I CARRY ON.. THIS COUNTRY’S A JOKE”
And of course, every narrowminded fuck reposted it and moaned about how asylum seekers get everything, and the Aussies get nothing.
Makes me blood boil.
Would love the send the ungrateful bastards to Afghanistan or Sudan to go through through what these poor people go through and then maybe, just maybe they will realise just good they have it here in Australia.
Ok, I’m stepping off my soapbox now. Great post BTW x
Great blog! I sometimes work with a program in Melbourne which supports asylum seekers in the community waiting to hear the outcome of their Visa applications (which can take years) and meanwhile with no right to a job, medical care, study etc…. anyone who thinks these people do it easy is WRONG. The funny thing is that the community where the centre is based (inner west Melb) supports these people well, generally- they are themselves poor and often second generation migrants and know what it is like to be an outsider. But if you try and place them in the “leafy” suburbs all hell breaks loose. So unfair. Thank you for highlighting the dichotomy.
I was listening to Anh Do on “Conversations” a while ago and he told the story of being a child refugee from Vietnam. It was an incredible story of 35 Vietnamese refugees on a boat, out at sea for 4 days, starving and dying. He told of how they then ran in to pirates who stole everything they had and how the pirates held a baby over the side of the boat threatening to throw it in unless they handed over everything they had. It was an incredibly moving story (that I am currently destroying) but the main point at the end was the baby who was almost thrown in to the water was his brother Khoa Do. Khoa went on to be the young Australian of the year. Both boys won scholarships, worked hard and have overachieved in everything they have done. What a loss it would have been if we hadn’t had let me come to Australia. Beautiful post, well said. Don’t let the turkeys get you down.
Wow – what a great, thought provoking post. I think you hit the nail on the head though in that the racist remarks are generally stemming from people’s own fear. Fear that they are not going to be able to feed their own families in this recession. Unfortunately the refugees become the scapegoats.
Beautifully written <3