Archive for the ‘Media Pieces’ Category
Refugees help Australia as Australia helps refugees
Thursday, October 4th, 2007Last week I found myself sitting in an auditorium in Shepparton, surrounded by academics, community service-providers, theologians, policy-makers, immigrants and refugees. We were all there to learn about the Goulburn Valley experience of settling people from backgrounds as diverse as Sikhs from India, Muslims from Albania and Christians from Sudan. In fact, Shepparton likes to pride itself on providing welcome to immigrants and refugees, a great many of whom who go on to become citizens.
Perhaps the most touching moment was when a Sudanese man quietly told us he would remain grateful to Australia for as long as he lived. He and his family were given the chance to settle here last year, after spending ten years in a refugee camp. Unfortunately, he still has three older children stuck in refugee camps overseas.
As I sat listening to his story, thinking of my own precious family, I could not imagine that but for the pure accident of geography I might have to flee from my home in the middle of the night, with nothing more than the clothes on my back, to avoid being tortured or killed.
It is true that refugees fleeing persecution, violence and intimidation require special measures to assist them, particularly for those that have been victims of torture and trauma. The ability to learn English, get a job, become self-sustaining, as well as heal from the mental and physical wounds requires time, assistance and resources. (more…)
A glaring double standard on women
Sunday, May 6th, 2007When it was reported last October that an older male public figure made comments insulting to women, Prime Minister John Howard was quick to condemn. “They are appalling and reprehensible comments,” he said, “out of touch with contemporary values in Australia.”
Fast forward to last week: when another older male public figure made sexist comments , Howard did not seem to mind.
“People say funny things all the time and the question of whether they apologise for them is a matter for them,” he said. It was only later, after howls of protest around the country, that he forced an apology.
The first public figure was the controversial cleric Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali, who had described women without hijab as “cat’s meat”, while the second was Howard’s close friend and fellow Liberal, Senator Bill Heffernan, who inferred childless women were unfit for leadership.
Why the double-standard on insulting sexist comments?
Of course, this is not the first time public protest has forced Howard to reign in Heffernan. Heffernan had to resign from his position as cabinet secretary in 2002 after making spurious allegations against High Court Justice Michael Kirby under parliamentary privilege. Both the openly gay Justice Kirby and Heffernan’s current target, deputy Opposition leader Julia Gillard, challenge the socially conservative mores to which Heffernan and Howard subscribe. The Prime Minister and his friend were raised in an era in which “family” meant a man, his wife and a brood of kids. The father was the breadwinner the mother stayed at home dealing with Heffernan’s “buckets of nappies”. (more…)
Scanty clothing never justifies rape
Sunday, October 29th, 2006Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali has demonstrated he is unfit and unable to act as a leader in the Muslim community and should resign from his position or be stood down by his Lakemba congregants.
From his statements made during a Ramadan speech, in which he compared women to uncovered meat, Hilali fails the most basic test of a community leader, let alone of someone supposed to be learned in Islam.
Hilali should be removed from his position on three counts: first, he promotes the damaging myth that rape is about sexual temptation; second, he obviously does not understand basic Islamic morality and ethics; third, he does not appreciate the context of the society in which he is supposed to provide guidance.
For anyone to believe and state publicly that women are responsible for the crimes of sexual abuse and rape committed against them because of what they do or do not wear is unacceptable. Rape is a crime that involves the violent abuse of power, where a person is forced to undergo sexual acts against their will. That rape is commonly used as a weapon of war, or can occur within marriages or even to children, tells us that rape is not about sexual temptation.
Contrary to Hilali’s theory that a woman would not fall prey to rape or sexual assault if she was cloistered at home, the Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault tells us that sexual assault is “most commonly committed by a man known to the victim” and that it usually occurs in a home. (more…)
What about the other language barrier?
Wednesday, September 6th, 2006When Prime Minister John Howard and senior ministers recently called for migrants to fully integrate and learn English quickly, they were not saying anything new.
Multicultural Australia: United in Diversity (a statement elaborating our official policy of Australian multiculturalism) notes that while one of our greatest strengths is that we are, and will remain, a culturally and linguistically diverse nation, all Australians are called to respect the fundamental principles of our democratic society, and acknowledge English as our national language.
With federal and state governments encouraging migrants to settle in regional towns to fill jobs, it would be natural to presume funding is being pumped into local areas to assist integration and the speedy acquisition of English.
In other words, has Mr Howard put money where his mouth is?
Earlier this year, Monash University was given funds to research Muslim settlement in regional Victoria, and Cobram was chosen as a town with a long-standing multicultural history.
Nestled on the Murray River and part of the “fruit-bowl” of Victoria, Cobram has a strong demand for seasonal labour: it is a fair bet the tomatoes in your can of soup came from around Cobram. (more…)