I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I’ve stopped buying the Daily Telegraph and, although I probably should, I don’t subscribe to their online version either. As someone who is in public life, keeping abreast of current events from more than one source is important. But I decided a while ago (I think it was during the last Federal Election) that apart from its crude entertainment value, the paper provided little in the way of impartial analysis.
Because of this, it wasn’t until I was buying my morning coffee that I noticed the front page headline and Tim Blair’s noxious two-page article. As someone who has been active in the local area for the past two decades, I knew that an article like this one would be an invitation to those with sympathetic views to stir the pot and add their ill-informed contributions. Sadly, it was thus.
In the space of just two days, more than 400 people have commented on the article. And although the original piece disappointed me, it was the vitriolic and irrational comments it elicited that disturbed me the most. For as long as I can remember, there have been those who are prepared to abandon objectivity to whip the scared and ignorant into frenzy. This article, and others in a long line of thinly-veiled swipes at residents of South West Sydney, and in particular, Muslims, provide the platform for hateful, jingoistic and bigoted outbursts.
I’ve already issued a response to the original story, so a detailed analysis again is not required. Suffice to say, I think Tim saw what he wanted to see and heard what he wanted to hear. How else can you explain his statement “Australia may be multicultural, but Haldon Street is monocultural”? Anybody who has walked down Haldon Street couldn’t help but notice the prominent Anglican church on the corner of The Boulevard. Or the African hairdresser who specialises in those amazing tight braided hairstyles. Holy Spirit College, the local Catholic High School is also just one block back from Haldon Street and the area is home to a strong Bengali community, Indonesian community and Islander community just to name a few.
"The Aussie sense of ‘a fair go’, ‘lending a hand’ and supporting the underdog are what made Australia an attractive destination for hundreds of thousands of migrants including my parents."
But the truth is, this article and other inflammatory media stories like it are not the problem. They are a symptom. The problem is a deep and powerful sense of fear caused by ignorance and intolerance.
This is evident in the nature of comments posted in response to the story. Many pointed out the need to protect the ‘Australian’ way of life’ and that ‘these’ people don’t embrace Australia or its values’. Sometimes the comments are oblique references to Islam and Muslims; others are much more overt in their criticisms. But all this talk about the ‘Australian way of life’ and ‘Australian values’ makes me think back to my own childhood.
I grew up in a very working class suburb in outer western Sydney. I am the youngest of five and both my parents were born in Egypt. My father’s family background was Italian and my mother’s was Maltese. Not surprisingly, as a kid I possessed the dark hair and features of my migrant parents. To my bewilderment, these features seemed to betray me in the eyes of my peers who, unfamiliar with these obvious differences, felt compelled to single me out. My experiences weren’t extreme and over time, the number of incidents dropped to next to zero. But they did give me an insight into prejudice and intolerance.
Where Australia's immigrants were born: Sydney
The comments posted on stories like Tim Blair’s piece citing ‘Australian values’ intrigue me. As someone who was born here, grew up here, went to the local school and delivered milk and newspapers to the neighbourhood, I thought I understood the Australian values being alluded to. Things like helping a neighbour; Defending the underdog; Standing up to bullies and fighting for a fair go; The sort of values and qualities that Australians want to be identified with.
"We need an acknowledgement that being an Australian is not exclusive to a particular cultural, ethnic, religious group."
Yet it seems to me that those who make these comments in the context of Lakemba and Muslims are exhibiting anything but the values they judge others by.
Here’s another irony. In my experience, these same values are at the core of communities like Lakemba. And there’s a simple explanation for it. The Aussie sense of ‘a fair go’, ‘lending a hand’ and supporting the underdog are what made Australia an attractive destination for hundreds of thousands of migrants including my parents. And the families and communities of suburbs like Lakemba, and migrants from the more than 200 countries that have settled here, have embraced these values and in doing so, have made us a richer, more dynamic and vibrant country.
That’s not to say there aren’t problems here and elsewhere in Australia. The deeply disturbed fanatics who use extreme interpretations of religion to justify their horrific and terrifying statements and actions cannot be excused or tolerated. But the attempts to link these disturbed individuals with those who happen to be of the same broad faith is simplistic and wilfully ignorant. Such actions do a great injustice to the 99.9 per cent of those who simply go about their life, working and raising a family.
This is one of the reasons why I strongly believe our civic leaders - politicians, religious leaders of all faiths and respected community leaders need to denounce the intolerant, hateful, divisive and destructive comments. We need more and louder champions of the notion of respect. And we need an acknowledgement that being an Australian is not exclusive to a particular cultural, ethnic, religious group.
It is in the absence of such leadership and statements of mutual respect and tolerance that the seeds of hate can take root and be nourished. And it would be in this environment that the Australian way of life would truly be under threat.
