Australians, like all people in general, are a caring people however sadly we continue to live in layers of racism which the Australian identity has failed to unveil. Many Australians have a hostile denial of our collective racist identity and of our discriminatory maltreatment of certain peoples. Since the day I was born into this country I have felt the layers of racism, and brutally so. I have been made aware of the colour of my skin, of my parents' country-of-origin, of the fact that I must assimilate in order to have prospects of personal advancement. One day I realised how deep to the bone racism cut. I realised that both my Masters and my PhD research were clearly linked to the racism I have felt. All three projects were research into racism and the pursuit of remedies and closure. However my own personal experiences pale compared to my Aboriginal brothers and sisters and to our Asylum Seekers. However we all suffer alongside them, either through our hostile denial or feelings of shame at our nation's collective racism.
When people call for an end to mandatory detention of our Asylum Seekers, who demonstrated tremendous courage to leave their homelands, we are really calling for an end to racism. When we call for an end to Aboriginal disparity and the effects of our crimes upon them which have led to inter-generational poverty, we are really calling for an end to racism. Those who do not call for an end to this racism, inadvertently support racism, and they are caught up in the racist layers yet unveiled. In their confusion they become self-regarding, not understanding how to fathom other-regarding apothegms and virtues, and instead compound racism and its hurts with perpetual imposts.
During 1999 the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination took unprecedented steps in forewarning Australia that it is perpetuating its historical and hostile racist identity. The Committee scolded Australia for not working to significantly eliminate Aboriginal peoples disadvantage. This year the UN Periodic Review Committee slammed Australia's mandatory detention policies and the impost of the Military Intervention upon the Aboriginal folk of the Northern Territory. We now have the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, a South African, describe what I have at all times known during the 49 years of my life, "a racist Australia". The Commissioner described similarities between Apartheid South Africa and Australia, and she called for an end to mandatory detention and indefinite incarceration of our Asylum Seekers. The Commissioner slammed the Northern Territory Intervention, and described the hurt for the victims of racism, for this impost was most certainly a layer of racism, and hence volatile injustices have transcended. The principle of Aboriginal advancement by Aboriginal peoples is still not understood by most Australians. If it was things would be different. West Australia is as bad as it gets in Australia in trying to displace racism. I have often fought harder than I should in the pursuit of equality, formal and substantive, and in the elimination of racism. The greatest shock for me was when I struggled to have practices implemented in a particular tertiary institution, which should be a bastion of identity-formation and higher knowledges, and where one high ranking staff member said to me, in front of a witness, 'Gerry, why do you bother, what do these blacks want, an education? Send them back to the bush where they belong'.
Between February 21 to 25 the Australian Human Rights Commission visited Villawood Detention Centre, one of 24 Detention Centres, which have cost six lives in eight months and in which thousands have been traumatised, have committed self-harm, and many who have descended into mental and physical despair, and who have evidently realised the layers of racism in this country, as I often did as a young child, in that in fact they are not welcomed and are unwanted. The Commission released its report and findings and prefaced the report with the frustration that they have spent more than a decade in the call for reforms to Australia’s system of mandatory and indefinite immigration detention.
Australia, in the context of its economic wealth and its status among the OECD nations, is one of the abject failures in terms of equality and justice for all peoples and in terms of eliminating racism. Australian governments will not comprehensively fund Aboriginal communities and they will not allow Aboriginal advancement by Aboriginal peoples whatever their political and cultural persuasions and settings, which like the rest of us are many. Australian governments have allowed for horrific living conditions to manifest in the Northern Territory, in its Central Desert, in the East Arnhem, and in other parts of Australia. The Australian government stands in the way of home ownership by Aboriginal folk and furthermore is trying to uproot them from their right to own their cultural and historical lands, that is what is left of them. One only has to visit the Aboriginal camps outside Kalgoorlie-Boulder, to view the squalid conditions our governments have in fact created. These communities are as worse as anything in the the Apartheid communities outside Soweto and Johannesburg. We have many Kwandebeles in Australia. It only takes six months to build a suburb in the southern and northern corridors of Perth with the full suite of community infrastructure including Broadband however it takes forever and a day to toss up a shack for Aboriginal folk in some community hub far removed from the remnants of their cultural lands.
The Australian Human Rights Commission raised its concerns at Australia's bungling snail like bureaucracy in that they take forever and a day to 'process' the applications of our Asylum Seekers. Once again our racist layers contribute to this snail like pace and the relative inactivity. When someone cares about something or someone they are active and not inactive. The detention of our Asylum Seekers is actually unlawful in these illegal facilities however justice is costly. People who have not committee any crime will never accept that it was lawful or any form of moral propriety for them to have been incarcerated for extraordinary long periods. Australia is perpetuating a racial crisis and its legacy will be borne by future generations. Many people have been incarcerated for more than two years and many people who have now gained citizenship were incarcerated for four years. There appears to be an effort by our Asylum Seekers to hang in for about a year however at the year mark it appears a threshold is reached where they begin to break down into depression and various clinical disorders. How long can they bow down and keep smiles on their faces to those who for the record do oppress them? The Commission described a critical overarching factor in that Australia's mandatory detention system permits indefinite detention. They described that there is no set time limit and the general inability for people to be able challenge their detention before a judge. And as of April there were over 1,000 children in Australia's mandatory detention centres thus breaching Australia's obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The major recommendation from the Australian Human Rights Commission is that the Australian Government should end the current system of mandatory and indefinite immigration detention, and in other terms that Australia should eliminate one of its most brutal layers of racial discrimination.
As a young child I had hoped the day would arrive that our unfolding human rights language would sweep away the last embers of racism, and my father would promise me that this would happen and most certainly in the lifetime of my own children if not in my time as a child. However we have stopped this journey for the time being. In 1992 the Keating led ALP introduced the horror of mandatory detention for our Asylum Seekers. During the last ten years we have lived the Tampa, the Royal Australian Navy disgracefully turning back boats of Asylum Seekers from September 2001, the horrors of Woomera, Baxter, Port Hedland, Villawood, etc., and then the notorious invasion that is the Northern Territory Military Intervention. Navi Pillay stated the truth, a truth that most of us one way or another do know and Australia is a racist country. As soon as most Australians admit this we can move to the next phase, away from the vacuum of inhumanity and start the journey to equality and humanity, and during the journey one by one unveil our racist layers and discover one another.
Gerry Georgatos
Masters in Social Justice Advocacy, Masters in Human Rights
PhD in Law researcher in Australian Deaths in Custody
Convener, Human Rights Alliance
Comments
With the most room, we take in the fewest people per square km
nice tweak of the numbers, look at it this way, the amount of people we take PER SQUARE km is the worst in the world, we have the most room per head per square and the numbers dont tell the full story, easy to manipulate the outcome by cherry picking the stats, FACT IS WE HAVE THE MOST ROOM, the most in the world
Good on Ya
Next gen we should take alot more people into Australia and put them in the middle if the Simpson desert because we have so much land would you like that?
Figures and Statistics.
Australia accepts one refugee per 1650 Australians.
The UK accepts one refugee per 535.
Norway one refugee for every 450 Norwegians.
Tanzanians one refugee for every 75 Tanzanians.
In terms of the OECD countries Australia is last in terms intake.
In terms of the world's refugee intakes, there are 71 countries involved in programs, and Australia ranks 32nd out of 71 countries, and behind twenty OECD countries.
In terms Gross Domestic Product measures, in other words in terms of a country's economic and social wealth Australia ranks very poorly and way down the list with countries like Switzerland and Norway way up there.
There are 44 million displaced peoples and refugees throughout our world, tragically just about most of them will never be resettled or helped, millions are inside the borders of neighbouring countries and others trapped in some of the world's poorest countries. There are ten million in various UNHCR camps or under their auspice and even those in these camps will need 170 years to resettle them alone. At least nations, such as Australia, can live up to agreed to quotas, share the humanity to the best of their ability, and resettle people through the most humane processes and means. Australia, no country, can solve as it is the world's refugee and displaced peoples crises however we can do our bit and do it fairly and humanely. Tragically Australia does not even live up to its 13,500 per annum quota always falling a couple thousand short, we don't even live up to our promise of 500 Asylum Seekers from Indonesia, 'processing' the applications of only 113 last year! and only bringing 50! in the previous year! So our expected figures as low as they are, are a myth or lie to the Australian community.
When I write about racist layers I include the type of thinking that leads to discriminating against various humanity. For instance we can be collectively outraged at the horrific footage of the maltreatment, and rightly so be outraged, of cattle in Indonesian abattoirs and hence equate this to inhumanity. However we do not display the same intense collective outrage at the prospect, underwritten by the fact it happens, of rattan canings of Asylum Seekers in Malaysia, nor of the brutal oppressive confinement of humanity in a network of detention centres, some of which I have been to.
Layers of racism include not an attack on northern European folk, so called white folk, Anglo-Celtic and Saxon folk, rather within the Australian context, as was evident within the South African context, there was an advantage to being fair skinned, because of predominant layers of influence and engagement. This is not an attack on white folk rather that we have to move advantageously by pro-social means to an equitably inclusive society that is made up within all layers of all people hence we become one peoples.
We have to move away a world described in for instance the tv show Neighbours (ironic!) in that all the cast is white skinned, Anglo-Celtic, and with Muslims and Asians merely guests to the Erinsborough suburb that makes up Neighbours, this Australia is exclusive.
It is no coincidence that UN Human Rights Chief Commissioner and the Australian Human Rights Commission describe racism, discrimination and nuances all elevated by racialist fears and assumptions.
We have layers of humanity that cannot distinguish collective outrage from racialist layers, let alone racist layers. When Schapelle Corby was arrested, there was an intense Australian sympathy, at least in significant numbers, that called for her immediate freedom from the 'heathen' and that she was 'victim' because many argued her 'green eyes declare her innocence, you can see it in her face'... The media focused on her, how much had this to do with with her appearance. For all I know Schappelle is innocent and I wish her like any human being the best, and her freedom, and I will be saddened to know someday that she was completely innocent some day, however when several months later an Australian youth, of Vietnamese origin, named Van Tuong was HANGED in Singapore, other than the odd news byte merely following his perilous journey and noting of his death, there were no calls for his freedom, the Australian public had not galvanised itself in a campaign similar to the one for Schappelle, because maybe he did not have fair skin nor green eyes, and because maybe he looked more like those incarcerating Schappelle.
Our layers are many, and yet to be unveiled, however albeit the many wrongs we inflict upon each other I believe that we are unfolding the first of these layers, and I do positively believe that our equitable human rights language is unfolding, however the frontiers are always scary and often ugly.
In terms of the Irish slaves to the Americas it is true this did happen and they were indentured to various goals of the British who it is true inflicted much brutality and oppression upon the Irish over a period of time that they did not relent from nor honourably apologised in reflection. The Irish were forced into fighting for the survival of their identities including their cultural and historical ones and sought clandestine education through the Hedgemasters, similar as Greeks oppressed by the Ottomans for more than 400 years did and who kept Greek identity alive and burning and in resistance by education by candlelight in caves. It is true too that the Aboriginal peoples resisted with their very bodies and were massacred in genocidal numbers in hundreds of such incidences such as the Coniston, Kimberley and Pinjarra massacres. It is true Australia imposed a vicious Apartheid upon Aboriginal peoples so they would be excluded unless they conformed to various layers of their own oppression. Australia's real history is yet to be unveiled in our education systems.
Gerry Georgatos.
Gerry Georgatos
Deleted because of...
"because you are greek keep your chin up mate we know its not your fault your a wog.P.S can your parents speak English yet or are they like all the other old wogs that have lived here for 30 plus years and the only thing they can say is "me no speaka de english"
Stealing is not inventing
Stealing is not inventing , go back and read the history books bro.
Most technology of today comes from China and the middle east
think you will find most technology of today comes from China and the middle east, you offer no help to your cause, ignorance is bliss
Figures and Statistics.
Australia accepts one refugee per 1650 Australians.
The UK accepts one refugee per 535.
Norway one refugee for every 450 Norwegians.
Tanzanians one refugee for every 75 Tanzanians.
In terms of the OECD countries Australia is last in terms intake.
In terms of the world's refugee intakes, there are 71 countries involved in programs, and Australia ranks 32nd out of 71 countries, and behind twenty OECD countries.
In terms Gross Domestic Product measures, in other words in terms of a country's economic and social wealth Australia ranks very poorly and way down the list with countries like Switzerland and Norway way up there.
There are 44 million displaced peoples and refugees throughout our world, tragically just about most of them will never be resettled or helped, millions are inside the borders of neighbouring countries and others trapped in some of the world's poorest countries. There are ten million in various UNHCR camps or under their auspice and even those in these camps will need 170 years to resettle them alone. At least nations, such as Australia, can live up to agreed to quotas, share the humanity to the best of their ability, and resettle people through the most humane processes and means. Australia, no country, can solve as it is the world's refugee and displaced peoples crises however we can do our bit and do it fairly and humanely. Tragically Australia does not even live up to its 13,500 per annum quota always falling a couple thousand short, we don't even live up to our promise of 500 Asylum Seekers from Indonesia, 'processing' the applications of only 113 last year! and only bringing 50! in the previous year! So our expected figures as low as they are, are a myth or lie to the Australian community.
When I write about racist layers I include the type of thinking that leads to discriminating against various humanity. For instance we can be collectively outraged at the horrific footage of the maltreatment, and rightly so be outraged, of cattle in Indonesian abattoirs and hence equate this to inhumanity. However we do not display the same intense collective outrage at the prospect, underwritten by the fact it happens, of rattan canings of Asylum Seekers in Malaysia, nor of the brutal oppressive confinement of humanity in a network of detention centres, some of which I have been to.
Layers of racism include not an attack on northern European folk, so called white folk, Anglo-Celtic and Saxon folk, rather within the Australian context, as was evident within the South African context, there was an advantage to being fair skinned, because of predominant layers of influence and engagement. This is not an attack on white folk rather that we have to move advantageously by pro-social means to an equitably inclusive society that is made up within all layers of all people hence we become one peoples.
We have to move away a world described in for instance the tv show Neighbours (ironic!) in that all the cast is white skinned, Anglo-Celtic, and with Muslims and Asians merely guests to the Erinsborough suburb that makes up Neighbours, this Australia is exclusive.
It is no coincidence that UN Human Rights Chief Commissioner and the Australian Human Rights Commission describe racism, discrimination and nuances all elevated by racialist fears and assumptions.
We have layers of humanity that cannot distinguish collective outrage from racialist layers, let alone racist layers. When Schapelle Corby was arrested, there was an intense Australian sympathy, at least in significant numbers, that called for her immediate freedom from the 'heathen' and that she was 'victim' because many argued her 'green eyes declare her innocence, you can see it in her face'... The media focused on her, how much had this to do with with her appearance. For all I know Schappelle is innocent and I wish her like any human being the best, and her freedom, and I will be saddened to know someday that she was completely innocent some day, however when several months later an Australian youth, of Vietnamese origin, named Van Tuong was HANGED in Singapore, other than the odd news byte merely following his perilous journey and noting of his death, there were no calls for his freedom, the Australian public had not galvanised itself in a campaign similar to the one for Schappelle, because maybe he did not have fair skin nor green eyes, and because maybe he looked more like those incarcerating Schappelle.
Our layers are many, and yet to be unveiled, however albeit the many wrongs we inflict upon each other I believe that we are unfolding the first of these layers, and I do positively believe that our equitable human rights language is unfolding, however the frontiers are always scary and often ugly.
In terms of the Irish slaves to the Americas it is true this did happen and they were indentured to various goals of the British who it is true inflicted much brutality and oppression upon the Irish over a period of time that they did not relent from nor honourably apologised in reflection. The Irish were forced into fighting for the survival of their identities including their cultural and historical ones and sought clandestine education through the Hedgemasters, similar as Greeks oppressed by the Ottomans for more than 400 years did and who kept Greek identity alive and burning and in resistance by education by candlelight in caves. It is true too that the Aboriginal peoples resisted with their very bodies and were massacred in genocidal numbers in hundreds of such incidences such as the Coniston, Kimberley and Pinjarra massacres. It is true Australia imposed a vicious Apartheid upon Aboriginal peoples so they would be excluded unless they conformed to various layers of their own oppression. Australia's real history is yet to be unveiled in our education systems.
Gerry Georgatos.
Gerry Georgatos
Still the best country, and we'll work through our issues
Australia is “Still” the "Best Country" on this planet.
Sure we have some issues.
But we will work through them.
And "In-House".
And “Without Interference” from the “UN”, “Professional Agitators”
and “Professional Activists”.
Arthur, we are all entitled to our views and our contribution.
Arthur, there are many 'best countries' in this world. There is beauty here and there, not just somewhere alone. We have much caring and much honour however we have like so many other places dilemmas. We inhumanity towards peoples, such as our Aboriginal brothers and sisters in the remote, in the Northern Territory, in the Kimberley, in some of Murri country. I understand what you write about, and I agree there is no single panacea however we have various political persuasions and apothegms and there is no one banner to guide peoples, however justice is demarcated in terms of it being a right to all people and that we have a right to equity and to consent.
Our 'issues' in this country are deep, such as the perpetuation of inter-generational poverty and this has racialist underwriting and premises and the origin-of-thinking that led to this is now generational, and pervasive.
There is no such thing as 'in house' and this is the weakness that we often delude ourselves as we deny the right to scrutiny and transparency that we hypocritically demand of others and in our judgments of others.
Australia is a country of great beauty such as any number of other of the world's regions however it is not a bastion of justice and it is a disingenous disservice to so many to purport otherwise.
In terms of professional agitators and activists, I am certainly someone who works with peoples and someone who disseminates however I make not a single quid from any of it and rather I am out of pocket, however my philosophy is my logic and my meaning, and yes I will forever agitate for remedy, for throughcare to equity for others thus far denied it or who hold back from it because they are not supported and I see this as prosocial.
I do understand some of what you write and what you appear about however I do not pretend to fully understand your arguments and views however like mine you are entitled to yours and I find discussion, such as this thread, actually a beautiful thing, and our right, and contributive to the unfolding human rights language.
Cheers Brother, kindly, Gerry.
Good for you Gerry.
Good for keeping up the discussion and having the courage to write back to people. You are a hero and bigger than others in not letting shitty remarks get to you.
Refugee spin masks racism
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/opinion/post/-/blog/talkingpoint/post/4...
Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
It is sadly unbelievable and appalling in the fact that those with the capacity for change and progress argue that they are lost for solutions. Steve Pennells writes a good descriptive piece, page 28 June 11 in The West Australian, however despairingly quotes the confounded WA Indigenous Affairs Minister Peter Collier, the WA Nationals Brendan Grylls and Kalgoorlie MP John Bowler. In terms of Aboriginal disparity they agree that they do not know what the solutions are. How dare Peter Collier maintain the Indigenous Affairs portfolio? How dare there be Ministries for 'Indigenous Affairs', how demeaning and racist are these? We are all humanity and we need to live and walk alongside each other, and we need to allow for each others advancement.
Steve writes, "For years, successive WA governments have handled the Indigenous crisis with clumsy juggling of ideology and pragmatism, throwing money at problems when they became public." Let us get the facts straight, our governments created the crises. Secondly, they have never adequately funded the rights and development of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters. Our Aboriginal brothers and sisters for near a century and a half were the only peoples in this country that lived in Apartheid and who the majority were denied the right to accumulate various equity, such as infrastructure, education and health. To remedy this our governments, State and Federal, need to prioritise vast amounts of funds, sustained at least for over a generation. This is not rocket science, however it is something governments do not want to do.
Colonialism had a devastating effect upon Aboriginal peoples, and the British colonialists were the 'greatest' slum-builders in history, inducing poverty on the original peoples of Australia, South Africa, the Indian subcontinent, wherever Brittania went and their predominant legacy for these peoples was to reduce them to inter-generational poverty. How do you remedy this? Well, return to them adequate amounts of wealth to build equivalent communities in terms of standards that the rest of the population enjoys, and allow for Aboriginal advancement by Aboriginal peoples and drop the paternalism.
Steve correctly referred to the appalling state of the Kalgoorlie-Boulder camps. I have visited these camps on three occasions. It is to this State's and to the Commonwealth's utter shame that people languish as under-nourished in all areas of life including their right to prosper their cultural settings. Australians can look at similar situations elswhere in our world and ironically scream discrimination and racism!
The camps are a disgrace in that they are essentially Apartheid-like settlements, where our Governments, State and Commonwealth, are prepared to allow and embed people in this dire living. The State and the Commonwealth would not allow Anglo-Celtic folk to live in this en masse dishevellment. Recently, Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin was applauded for the paternalistic insult of $100,000 to $500,000 in funds to the Boulder camps. It was appalling for Kalgoorlie Mayor Ron Yuryevich and O'Connor Federal MP, Tony Crook to consider this drop in the bucket as some sort of meaningful investment or a first step in the rightful and long overdue advancement of these people trapped, enmeshed and incarcerated in the Boulder camps.
How long will we continue to hide our hostile denial of racism and systemic disenfrachising racialism in this country? How long will we continue to disregard and disempower people from accumulating equity? How dare politicians pat themselves and each other on the back with chief-protector like paltry hand-outs?
It takes only six months to build a suburb in our metropolises, with all utilities, broadband, shopping centres, schools, parks and access to various services. Why is this high standard not occurring in remote, semi-remote, and rural communities for our Aboriginal brothers and sisters? Why are they are not compensated with home ownership and the security of the remnants of their lands so as to move forward rather than enduring social engineering, once again, for instance in the Northern Territory, and elsewhere throughout Australia?
If you want Aboriginal advancement by Aboriginal people, if you want people to enjoy their identities, if you want disparity and disadvantage to end, if you want Aboriginal folk to enjoy health and education, if you want us all to work alongside with each other, to enrich our national identity, to walk together side by side, then let us pursue the justice that has for so long been denied. The Aboriginal folk of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Laverton, Leonora, Roebourne, Halls Creek, the Northern Territory and everywhere else deserve to be fully regarded by the State and the Commonwealth. Give them full funding, build real communities, do not steal their lands, allow for their full suite of human rights. It's easy.
Gerry Georgatos
PhD in Law researcher in Australian Deaths in Custody
Convenor, Human Rights Alliance
We're said to be 10x more racist than the US
Here in the US, I run into minorities from australia all the time---Chinese, Turks, Lebanese, Indians--who have come to the US to work and/or go to school. They all say the same thing: australia is 10x more racist than the US, and, if they can help it, they have no intention of returning to australia.
Unsupportable racism toward our 3rd world Indigenous communities
Gerry you are definitely passionate and intelligent but people need to be presented with the the facts and make up their own minds. Real change comes from within.
Gerry you should have zero tolerance for racist remarks and if I were in your shoes I would have confronted your academic friend and set him straight, Aborigines just like the rest of us should be given a choice on how to live.
I went to a multicultural public school and high school and was treated like dirt both by the students and teachers because I was too smart, too good and too big for my boots - being a wog had a lot to do with it as well.
Some immigrants coming to Australia especially from countries that are totalian government put us down as racist.
This is hypocrisy and denial of human rights abuses committed to citizens under communist and sharia laws.
These people should be thanking us tax payers and the democratic commonwealth countries for giving them asylum and a paycheck.
The United Nations needs to continue to go to South East Asia to improve human rights for children and women to stop the prostitution of children and peadophile tourism.
New immigrants have far more opportunities at welfare, education and employment than was offered to the European immigrants and their descendants that built up this country to modern standards.
The real unsupportable racism today is toward some of our Indigenous communities that live in 3rd world conditions due to the maladministration of tax payer funding. This should be the focus of any human rights advocate.
I agree with modern day politicians such as Mal Brough.
Mal gave a stuff and would have made a better leader than Tony Abbott and prime minister than Julia Gillard and/or Kevin Rudd.
Multi ethnic, yes, but only one dominant culture
The Blanket statement " Australia is a racist country "is absolute crap, a more accurate statement is that racism exists in parts of Australian society, as it does in any country, by non whites and white people. Unfortunately it is a fact of life and we just have to learn to get on with life despite whatever happend in the past. I would also argue that when I grew I up, within school I saw racism, but I also saw alot of inter racial harmony and understanding and fun - taking the piss in the uniquely Australian way where both sides were using Racial slurs againts each others race as a joke, and both of them laughing about it, without taking it to seriously.
Alot of people on the far left unfortunately suffer from ' white guilt ', I have nothing to feel guilty about as I personaly was not responsible for what happened in the past, and if anything, I could cry victim as my relatives (and their countrymen) were persecuted, sent to concentration camps and killed by the Communists, had their country invaded and taken over and thousands of political prisoners were killed off. The point being, there are many peoples of this world, not just indigenous, that have gone through alot, but we live in Australia now, and yeah there have been issues, but we just get on with our lives and try and make the most of it, and certainly don't think about getting any "compensation" from the country that raped my country of heritage, why bother, Australia has so much opportunity, and yes even for the Aboriginal people, I can't tell you how mant job applications I have gone for where it says " we encourage Aboriginal and Torres straight Islander people to apply for this position "
If someone says " why bother " about certain Aboriginals , they are probably referring to those that don't want to help themselves, but most Australians would be happy to give an Aboriginal a job if they see they are making an enthusiatic effort to make a change and actively seek employment. That same person that said why bother would probably be the first to congratulate someone like Cathy Freeman who had achieved so much.
I also think there are some general Aussies who have varied views on race, but that is human nature and something you will find in any country. I know a Chinese friend who hates Japanese, and other Chinese who has put the past of the massacre of nanking, China behind her and she has Japanese friends.
I have also met Indonesian Chinese who don't like Malay Indonesians, and have known some Christian Indonesions that don't like Muslim Indonesians and said in Australia they get alot less trouble because it is a predominantly Christian country, they were heavily discriminated against in Indonesia for being Christian. (although the religious persocution is not a racist issue, it's a religious one, religion not being a race).
As for having muslims become part of more dominant part of Australian culture ?, no thanks, why should we change Australian culture to a backward and barbaric one ? , Australia should never be multi cultural, multi ehtnic, yes, but only one dominant culture, all men are created equal, but all religions and cultures are not. That's not to say people can't celebrate their unique foods with family etc or private cultural festivals etc Oz Asia festival for example, but, people coming to Australia have to assimilat, not the other way around.
Head held high walking arm in arm with my Indian husband
Sydney, rude and racist. I will hold my head high while walking down your streets arm in arm with my Indian husband. When you stare at us, I shall cast a shroud of embarrassment your way.
Very rarely have I seen Australians act in a racist manner
FACT: most australians today are of mixed ethnicity, i myself am of english , irish, italian and afgan background, but by all my countrymen, i am called and welcomed as aussie, my wife is half australian half thai, but she is welcomed and called aussie by our countrymen, HOWEVER by the minoritys you speak of, i have randomly been called a white cunt or white dog and my wife has been called an asian cunt and asian slut !! Very rarely have i seen australians act in a racist manner, howerver i see it constantly from other ethnic groups, specificly our indiginous australians. so GERRY , mate, from a couple of multicultural aussies to another, YOU are a RACIST, we welcome all aussies from all walks of life, but ones who think like you are ruining it by creating separation in race and sparking ancient fires!
In 13 years here I have faced racism on every aspect of my life
Well i have been here for 13 years and i have faced racism on every aspect of my life. the only reason i chose to come down to australia was because I thought this country had some dignity, respect which it does but maybe 1 to 5%. I still see that if you are an non anglo you will never get a decent job until you are a doctor, IT, professional, engineer, or accountant, because most australians are too lazy to study. in other professions and industry you will see that the white anglo, they lack the skills and experience yet they manage to get jobs in the higher position example a 23 year old is a campaign manager for UGL. She had no clue how to run the business and she had people around her working under her directions who had no clue on their job description and had poor management skills.
A country like the US is more tolerant towards all cultures and religion even though they are at war. The dont ask for the "American experience" in their job environment and gives everyone from every background an culture a fair go. On the other hand a fair go is forced upon the White anglo to avoid a racial or law suit. They talk about fair go but it is fair go only for the white anglos.
Another example if you apply for a job in australia your CV never gets a chance because they read your name if its arabic, indian name it goes straight in the bin . I did an experiment a year ago. in which I sent my CV to few major recruitment agencies applying for a position paying around 90K a year, I had the same old response "unfortunately you have not been successful". I changed my name to a anglo name and sent the same CV on the late hours of the morning to the same recruitment agency and i had a phone call at 8:40am from the same agency offering me the opportunity to come in for an interview. I mean how more racist can you get.. this is just one example i have random white anglos meet me at parties and say i hate indians, they come in this country and take our jobs. i mean what jobs, aussies dont want to drive cabs, they dont want to work in 711.
Conclusion is Australia follows US like bees to honey so its time they change their attitude towards other nations and people who came to Australia for the love of this country as it is called australia but it belongs to no one but only its true natives........
If not race, everyone will find other reasons to hate each other
Well, I have a solution. There are three actually from which we can choose. 1) All 'whites' can go back to Europe (a bit hard for people who have been here for generations to know where they actually originated from, but for arguments sake we will send them to England). At the same time every-one in England who is not of english origin (and in fact all foreigners in all countries who do not originate there) have to go back to their country of origin. This option may be a bit impractical since a lot of people now are mixed race. 2)Every-one is forced to inter-breed (the lightest with the darkest, less light with less dark, all nationalities mixing) until eventually we are one big homogenous tanned group of people. 3)Every-one just agrees to get along. Eitherway, if it's not race then every-one will just find some other reason to hate each other.
Red hair no friends
I grew up in a all white neighbour hood we would fight people who came from a different town to us, you would ride the train and fight the boyz at different stops who were also white because they were not from our town we would punch on and look out if you had red hair.We all loved it except for the kids with red hair.
Hellojo you are on the money
White people are victims of racism as well
BTW, I have no problem with stopping racism. I don't like racism and think resorting to that sort of behaviour is the domain of the ignorant and stupid (people who can't reason or articulate themselves properly so resort to name-calling instead). However, let that include racism towards white people too. Yes, that's right, white people are victims of racism as well believe it or not! I have been taunted both overseas and here in my own country. So every-one, just remember that all of humanity originated from just two people in the middle-east near Africa (even science supports that). Have a nice day!(-:
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Please write your own headings to save us time. - An editor
White people found Noah's ark
Well said, but all humanity is traced to more recent times to Noah and his ark found on Mt Arrarat every one else died in the flood.white people found it
So?
x
Missed out on apprenticeship because reserved for Aborigines
i just want to say for you that think wer not being fair on aboriginals.... i recently lost my job through lack of work, and went to the centrelink jobseeking office to find an apprenticeship. I was told there was 4 apprenticeships available, but they were for aboriginals only. So i go to another agency. 3 apprenticeships for aboriginals, and 1 for white people. Hows that fair? And i know what im talking about i live in an area where there are many aboriginal people around, if people think that theyre persecuted they have no idea what theyre talking about
Scared, guilty, no culture, no idenity, hence racism to cover up
the subject well and truly speaks for it self ... yes australians dont want to admit it everything is under the carpet about the ill treatment with non whites professionally and socially. australians has taken soo many attributes from UK an US but they have not taken the non racial aspect. the thing is australian are scared, guilty to some way also behind from the rest of the world. because socially an professionally they are backward they dont hve a culture they dont have an identity so they use racism to cover up their weakness. unfortunately this will take a long time to change.......
Australian culture from originating countries and 225 yrs here
You are wrong, Australians do have culture from the countries they originated from, and the culture that has developed over the last couple of hundred years and frankly I'm not scared about the past at all. And of past mistakes, we LEARN from them.
Not only white people are racist
I've noticed that when people think racism, the think of white person undermining someone of another race (Aboriginal, Chinese, etc.) but that is not entirely true. I admit, I myself, am white. But I am not racist. I have many friends who come from different countries and have different colour skin, but I treat them no differently. I have noticed, however, that I am treated differently by other races. An example of this was when I was walking down the street I saw two people who looked Asian. I just kept walking, looking at the sky (there are very nice sunsets where I live) and I noticed they had crossed the road. I waited a bit and then looked back to see they had crossed back once they had passed me. Is this not racist? What did they expect me to do? Chuck a stone at them or threaten them? My brother had another bad experience. He told me he was playing a game of dodge ball when one of the girls broke the rules, staying in the game when she had been clearly hit by the ball. My brother had spoke up and told her that she was out. But she just said "Shut the f**k up and get out of my country you white c**t". I would just like to point out that the white people are not the only racist people like so many are lead to believe. There are also times when some people think that someone is being racist through unfairness such as a bad grade or being declined a job. This is not always the case, it just may be the way that person treats everyone.
We are not all racist
There are racist people where-ever you go. But just because some people in the country are racist, doesn't mean we are all racist. That's like saying all Asians are smart, all black people are un-educated and all white people are racist pigs.
Re: Australia a RACIST COUNTRY, and it is official! We are ...
Your all a bunch of typical whinging pommie cunts that think your too good,and your a bunch of fucked up niggers that got fucked up from the above,and your just a bunch of wogs that got fucked up by the above and above that as well....so who fucked the world then???yep pommie fucken bastards did...