Consultations Homepage || Meeting Notes: 14 June 2003
Consultations with members of the Arab Australian and Muslim Australian community in Tasmania
Hosted by the Anti-Discrimination Commission in Hobart, Tasmania on Saturday 14 June 2003
The meeting was chaired by Dr Jocelynne A. Scutt, Commissioner, together with Ms Santi Mariso, Community Education and Liaison Officer and Mrs Pia Struwe, Investigation and Conciliation Officer with the Anti-Discrimination Commission, and with Mr Stuart Beswick of Multicultural Tasmania. It was attended by some 24 invited participants, two of whom were children (10/13). The Commissioner gave a short introduction. Then everyone introduced her/himself and said a few words about where they had come from and their interests. Everyone was asked if they had any particular issues they wished to raise in that session, to be taken into account in the working groups. Everyone was content to break up and have a ‘report back’ session later. The group then divided into three workshops to discuss the issues as set out in the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission flyer. At the ‘report back’ session each group identified their responses to each of the issues, and individuals in the group elaborated on some of the points raised.
1. What are your experiences of discrimination and vilification?
- One or two
participants said they had experienced no discrimination or vilification,
and had found the community to be positive and to treat them no differently
from anyone else. They felt respected and included in activities. As
the discussion proceeded, however, these participants indicated that
they had received complaints from others about discrimination and vilification,
because members of their communities came to them with these issues
as they were significant figures with authority (for example, the Imam).
- Participants said
that an ignorance of overseas countries, religions, looks etc meant
that they had to deal with questions and attitudes which were discriminatory
and did not go beyond a ‘surface image’ of them or their
countries of origin. This was identified as a ‘huge problem’:
where you come from or how you look or dress can motivate others to
harass or discriminate against you. There is an ‘image’
problem or issue, which interferes with interaction because non-Arabic
and non-Muslim Australians (anglo-Australians) ‘see’ countries
of origin in narrow, constricted and fanciful ways. One said that because
he was from the Sudan, people speak with him as if ‘everyone’
from his country of origin was starving, living in huts, and had never
seen cities or motorcars, or a television set. He found this upsetting
and felt as if his intellect and intelligence were being ignored, or
that people believed he had neither. He identified the image of ‘personalities’
engaging in fundraising activities with ‘starving children’
on display as a source of this confusion.
- There was a general
agreement that language is important: words can have different meanings.
Also, some people use language in what they believe to be a ‘jokey’
way, or act through language as ‘familiars’ rather than
respecting boundaries or privacy, and treating people with respect.
It was also agreed that not everyone in the community acts in the same
way. Ignorance is a huge problem: where a person comes from or how s/he
looks or dresses can motivate others to harass or discriminate against
the person.
- Day to day dealings
can be fine, but employment is a problem: jobs are not there, or not
there for newly arrived people from outside Australia. There was general
agreement amongst adult participants that they wanted work, and were
out looking for it, but there was a lack of jobs for them. Some people
treated them and spoke to them or about them as if they had come to
Australia for the social security. Community ideas like this upset them,
participants said. They said that others had had to leave the state
to find work. They did not wish to do this, but the lack of employment
was an incentive to do so. Where work is obtained, problems arise with
‘jokes’ – some co-workers engage in racist ‘jokes’.
Concerns were raised as to how people can address this issue and for
those who are unable to deal with this type of ‘joke’.
- Further on language,
a number of issues were identified. These included problems in accessing
health services because of language barriers and prejudice: one participant
said that when she attended at a hospital emergency service, she was
left sitting for hours with her child and the doctor told her, when
he saw her and her child, that her child was ‘always’ sick
and this was not correct. She went with someone to assist her, but the
doctor still treated her badly, she said.
- Discrimination
on buses was identified as an issue: sometimes buses went by without
picking them up, and they suffered abuse from the people waiting for
the bus, or avoidance or rudeness from some other passengers. There
was a complaint about a new arrival being asked to get off a bus, however
participants said that things have moved on since then with much work
being done with Metro.
- Accommodation
problems also were identified, including harassment when they sought
accommodation and refusal to consider them fairly. Problems with housing
were identified as affecting, particularly, refugees from Africa.
- Some participants
had suffered, or know others of their community who had suffered, comments
such as: “Go back to your country” and “Go home you
murderers”. This latter occurred particularly after 11 September:
several women approached the Imam to ask for help because they had been
shouted at by people calling out at them from a car when they were walking
on the street. After this, the women were afraid to go out in public.
The problem was one associated particularly with head-dress: harassment
of women wearing ‘hijab’ in public places. Another instance
involved some young people on the street, pulling at the women’s
‘hijab’ and pushing them. This conduct amounted to assault
but the women were unable to go to the police because they were not
confident.
- Stereotyping
associated with appearance was identified: some appear to think automatically
that people of ‘certain appearance’ must be from Afghanistan,
Iraq etc, that they must be Muslims and they are ‘terrorists’.
The point was made that as Tasmania is not as diverse (in numbers) as
other places many people are not exposed to other cultures and don’t
understand the benefits that cultural diversity can bring. It was said
that Tasmania has an image problem as a white community that does not
itself understand how diverse the community is. Often the discrimination
is not explicit but shows itself in difficulties people experience in
getting employment, housing and the emphasis on ‘clean English’
(without ‘non-Australian’ accent).
- One participant
had been called names at school, but said it was not a case of ‘separating’
Muslims or Arabic Australians, but everyone who was not anglo-Australian
was put together as ‘wogs’: rubbish/garbage was thrown at
therm because they were ‘different’ or ‘foreign’.
This occurred some decades ago in the Sydney suburbs for this participant.
The (present) school students said that there was some name calling
at schools, but when this happened on an occasion that the young person
was a target, the school principal spoke with the boy who did the name
calling and that student became a friend of the one he had called names.
- Participants
discussed other issues associated with language and words. How long
someone has been in the country, their English language capacity or
accent can lead to discrimination. Issues such as being ‘forced’
to change names because one’s name is ‘too difficult’
to pronounce arose. People feel that they need to change their names,
‘anglicising’ them to fit in better and make it easier for
others to say their name. There was agreement that people should respect
others and try to call them by their real name. There was also agreement
that there have been some changes in this regard, with greater possibilities
of people keeping their given name or family name and not ‘having’
to change it to conform. It was generally agreed that there can be difficulties
for people who speak with what is seen as an ‘accent’ –
some people have ‘no time’ for people who have an accent
(different from ‘standard’ ‘Australian’). There
was discussion about all groups having experienced difficulties when
they first come – Irish, Greek, Italian, Vietnamese etc. The issue
of people being referred to not by their name, but as ‘African’
or by their race, colour or ethnicity was raised.
- Retaining culture
but not being ‘cut off’ from others was raised. There can
be an implication that if people keep their culture, they are ‘shutting
themselves off’ from the mainstream, but anglo-Australians are
‘allowed’ to keep their own culture and ‘shut others
out’. There are open communities elsewhere, whereas Tasmania appears
to operate on the basis of cliques and is much more closed. It seems
to be part of the Australian way to make it more difficult for new arrivals
and those who are different to fit in.
- Further on being
seen or believed to be ‘inward looking’, some participants
said that this was also associated with not knowing one’s rights.
Problems not only relate to not knowing rights, however: some incidents
are not being reported because victims/survivors don’t want to
make things difficult for people who are discriminating. People generally
do not want to report incidents as they happen so often and ‘it
is not worth it’.
- The media was
seen as important, particularly as it misinforms the public, or plays
a significant role in this. Participants complained that the media too
often does not take time to find the ‘facts’. Media report
only the negative aspects of Africa instead of informing people that
Africans coming to Tasmania come from many different ethnic groups,
languages and cultures. People don’t seem to understand that people
from Sudan do not all ‘look the same’ and that there are
people of African and Arabic background or origin in north African countries,
and that north African countries neighbour Arabic countries.
- Advertising was
also an issue, because it does not reflect the ‘real composition’
of the Australian population. The point was made that we only see ‘white’
anglo-Australian people on television and in print advertisements. The
media in advertising and other aspects should portray Australia’s
multicultural society.
- Participants
raised complaints processes: when people make complaints they feel frustrated
as they don’t get feedback on how those complaints are being managed
and the progress of them. Communication can be an issue, whether the
complaint is about housing, transport, health services, etc.
- Participants said that there is a perception of Tasmanians as racist, and this means that people may arrive with a negative view of Tasmania. There are a range of views on the motivation of refugees and migrants in coming to Tasmania and Australia, including the notion that they are ‘just coming to get welfare’.
2. What is being done to fight anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?
A number of projects and activities were identified, including:
- One of the students
spoke of a Multicultural festival where students brought foods/dishes
of their home country’s cooking and everyone shared. This was
a most successful event.
- In some primary
schools, members of community groups visited and raised awareness about
their countries.
- Tasmania schools’
curriculum is embracing ‘essential learning’ – with
a component including values and perceptions on multiculturalism. Unfortunately
the federal government has withdrawn funding from TasDec Global Learning
Centre which provided information and support to teachers in schools
and also presented information/classes to school students, and involved
many people from various countries of origin in their teaching programs
so that the students had the benefit of speaking with and hearing from
people of different cultures and race/ethnicity about their country
of origin, culture and background, etc.
- Networking
For Harmony
has been working with local communities to promote tolerance and understanding
of different cultures. One project is the ‘restaurant project’
where Indian restaurants joined together and a leaflet is published
and distributed at the restaurants and elsewhere about the culture and
food. The Thai restaurants have been engaged in a similar project which
is to be launched at a ‘drop in’ centre at the end of June.
- The Imam has
been inundated with requests to speak to teachers, schools and community
organisations since September 11.
- The Imam was invited to speaking at a Parliament House public rally organised after September 11, and received an ovation with much clapping and appreciation for his words: he began by identifying himself as Muslim, and that was when the clapping broke out.
3. What more could be done to fight anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?
The following suggestions were made concerning the six objectives identified by the Isma? project.
Promoting positive public awareness
- The media was
seen as central, as well as organisations such as the Anti-Discrimination
Commission. The media and advertising should be encouraged or required
to portray the multicultural society: there is a need to present to
the community the diversity within the community as it is, and in its
fullness.
- Advertisements
at bus stops were suggested as a way of promoting awareness and positive
images of people from various cultures and ethnic origins. Because there
can be abusive conduct and racism expressed at bus stops, participants
believed that it was important to provide some immediate redress in
these spaces.
- Cross-cultural
training for companies, health workers and other services.
- Promotion of
our multicultural society in schools. More people from different communities
should visit and talk to schools.
- Community festivals
and festivals in schools, particularly associated with food, music and
other forms of entertainment and awareness.
- There needs to
be community access to bodies and premises of organisations including
the Anti-Discrimination Commission and promotion of community awareness
on people’s rights under anti-discrimination and human rights
law.
- Educational opportunities
for people to learn about the backgrounds and religious practices of
those in their community need to be promoted.
- There needs to be development work for communities that are ignorant, because the ignorance causes problems for them and for people from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, etc.
Challenging stereotypes
- Advertisements
in the print media (newspapers, magazines, etc) and on television should
have ‘real life’ models from varying cultural backgrounds
and race/ethnicity rather than all being anglo-Australian.
- Invite Imam to
talk to various groups such as Rotary, Lions etc and organise group
meetings with representatives and members of various communities and
organisations and groups such as Rotary, women’s organisations,
etc.
- Teaching and awareness programs in schools are essential, as children learn to discriminate early, and this is reinforced by negative images through the media and (unfortunately) at home. Therefore, schools programs need to include parents where possible or relevant and also have to be done in tandem with programs in the community – such as through organisations, local councils, etc. These all need to promote egalitarian values and a ‘fair go for all’ and (what are seen as) typical ‘Aussie’ values.
Providing community support
- There is a need
for strong political, community and business leadership, and this will
come through the promotion of cultural programs and education, and will
also promote them. Strong leadership from the top of government, business,
community organisations and within communities is vital.
- Ensuring that
where people have to go to hospital or the emergency service, or make
reports to the police etc a community member attends with them, and
they have support from organisations, etc in going to these places.
- People need to
be encouraged through specifically targeted programs to assist ‘working
across communities’ so that people from varying backgrounds are
put in contact with people with differences, so that they have less
fear of the other all around.
- A mentoring program
should be developed to provide support for people newly arrived in Tasmania,
and this will also serve the purpose of educating the mentors and ensuring
that they gain knowledge about other cultures, etc. This would also
work toward promoting egalitarian values and a fair go for all and typical
‘Aussie’ values.
- Workplaces need to be informed about prayer times so that there is respect for workers’ needs to engage in prayer, and less feelings of ‘interruptions’ in the workplace when there is no need for this, because there can be fair and proper accommodation of religious needs.
Strengthening relationships between communities
- Joining other
communities needs to be facilitated, so that people of varying cultural
backgrounds and race/ethnicity can make connections across boundaries.
- Teaching other
languages helps to promote understanding and tolerance. Advantage needs
to be taken and promoted of the fact that people coming from other cultural
backgrounds, race/ethnicity, etc have language skills that can be passed
on, so that learning languages can be a ‘two-way’ process
rather than people being seen as ‘non-English speakers’
and therefore ‘language deficient’ when often they have
more than one language and could be of valuable assistance in ensuring
that anglo-Australians have an opportunity to learn more than one language.
- ‘Open days’
at the Anti-Discrimination Commission would serve multiple purposes.
Some people don’t know that the Anti-Discrimination Commission
exists, and do not know the role of the Commission: they would learn
through this ‘open’ opportunity, and would meet people from
other communities and have opportunities to speak with them and learn
about their cultures, etc. They would also learn about their rights
and freedoms, and have an opportunity to make contact with representatives
of the Commission and other agencies, etc.
- The Imam holds ‘pot luck’ every week at the Mosque and this is an opportunity for cross cultural awareness and community interaction.
Improving public safety
- Local councils
need to be informed about any issues arising in the streets such as
abuse from cars or on the street, and the police need to be made aware
and take into account that abusive incidents may happen, and be trained
in dealing with them where there is a racist element (that is, their
training needs to broaden its scope if this aspect is not a part of
the training).
- Some people are scared walking around at night, and they need to have their fears eased both by having opportunities to learn about the culture and also providing opportunities for people who are racist and may attack or vilify people of other race/ethnicity or religions because they are perceived as ‘different’. For example, the only information about Africa ‘out there’ is very negative and this impacts on arrivals. Improving public safety is closely linked with the need to provide better information.
Informing communities about their rights
- This can be done
by Anti-Discrimination Commission attending meetings of local communities
and inviting people from the communities to participate in activities,
forums, workshops, and open days, etc.
- The Anti-Discrimination Commission’s Community Education Liaison Officer and other Commission members can go out into the community, to schools, organisations, Migrant Resource Centre, etc to ensure that people have opportunities to learn and discuss their problems and rights, etc.
Ensuring complaints are taken seriously
- Care needs to
be taken in communication and understanding that people from varying
cultures do not follow complaint procedures because they may have different
approaches in their countries of origin. It also needs to be remembered
that people may have complaints in their country of origin, but they
will be different complaints from those they have when they are living
in another country where race and religious issues are the basis of
their complaints. Feedback on how complaints are managed and progressed
may need to be more frequent because of language and cultural differences
and greater uncertainty about the process, etc.
- The point was
also made that we need to empower people to deal with situations as
they arise, and this means that we need to learn how to do this and
ensure that it happens and works. This will require ‘teaching
assertiveness’ and also ensuring that (in particular) agencies,
service providers etc are trained in understanding and receiving complaints
from people of diverse backgrounds and dealing fairly with them.
- Need to let people know who they can contact with issues as they arise as often they feel powerless and as though there is no-one to assist.
4. Other issues and suggestions
More opportunities for forums so that people are able to see that their issues are taken seriously and action can be taken.
Note: This report was written by Dr Jocelynne A. Scutt, in a joint effort with a substantial report from Ms Santi Mariso and additions by Mr Stuart Beswick, and workshop reports written and delivered by Mrs Pia Struwe, Ms Mariso and Mr Beswick.
