A passage to country down under - my experience in AustraliaHaving lived in Australia for even a short period of time has given me already a picture of the country’s present situation in terms of relationships that exist amongst different cultures. One of the parishes where I worked for three years is a good example of multiculturalism.The image of Australia as a land of opportunity for immigrants, a cosmopolitan country and a staple of popular culture has helped shape my ideas, impressions and even what I believe Australia is. So, too, is its known reputation of prejudice and racism against other ethnic groups. For instance, despite the restrictions of the once-strict White Australia Policy which still surfaces in the national consciousness, in 1994-1995, 86% of Filipino settlers arrived under the family eligibility category. Of these, 76% arrived as preferential migrants (sponsored spouses, fiancés, parents, dependent children, etc.) and 24% were accepted as concessional migrants (sponsored non-dependent children, siblings, nieces, nephews, etc). I would say these are the two sides of the coin. It may depend on whether one sees the glass as half-empty or half-full.Our cultural diversity as a nation has helped us build a richer, more tolerant and more dynamic society. While cultural pluralism presents challenges to our social identity, its implication though has the bearing of commitment to grow humanly together in justice and charity while respecting and learning from the cultural differences of each other. On the strength of this idea, “heterogeneity is a necessary condition for activating effective fermentation.”I. Defining TermsOne of the difficult things to do in obtaining the right meaning of a certain word is to look for it in the context of history or origin. It is something that helps us understand its connection with our lived experience.The word ‘culture’ has crept into the dictionary as the state of civilization of a particular people at a certain time. It was S. Pufendorf who in 1686 first used the word ‘cultura’ in an absolute sense as the alternative to the natural state of an unformed and instinctive kind, thought to be no longer paradisiae but wretchedly chaotic.In the classicist’s definition, culture is a visible, comprehensible entity, the conscious creation of rational minds. It has something to do with our human life with its historical flavour in the social attitudes and upbringing of the person.Clifford Geertz defines culture as “an historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about the attitudes toward life. It is a pattern of shared life that a group has discovered, inherited, invented or ameliorated while coping with the internal coherence of adaptation. It is not one aspect of life along with, for example, religious, political, and economic activity. It embraces all human activity. It is the whole integration in our life. It is part of our body. It is not like a set of clothes that we put on. It is not our ‘set of clothes’ paradigm.In Tylor’s 19th century classic, often quoted anthropological definition of culture is: that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. This illustrates the different parts of culture that includes the cognitive, affective, normative, aesthetic, and behavioural domains.Tylor’s definition is more inclined to emerge as a social science where its shade of meaning embodies a whole and distinctive way of life. It recognizes the gift of empathy and openness to dialogue.Some theorists however, who are involved in the sociology of culture like Williams, define a composite viewpoint by stating that culture should be understood as the: “signifying system through which necessarily (though among other means) a social order is communicated, reproduced, experienced and explored.Integration – it is also synonymous with the blending of cultures, weaving together as a commitment to cultural tolerance and enrichment. It is also known as the “melting pot” theory where various groups, including both the majority and minority, contribute elements of their culture in order to form a completely new culture.Multiculturalism – it is often an emotive word, a buzzword with almost as many meanings as there are mouths to utter it. A spate of discussions on it is often led with dissatisfaction because it is a vague concept and has wide implications to deal with. Actually, the term multiculturalism could be traced from the Canadian experience of cultural diversity in the 1930s when the French-speaking Canadians wanted to gain the same rights and recognition from the government and other institutions for various reasons like employment, education, etc. However, it was only in the early 70s when the Canadian government implemented this policy of multiculturalism that this terminology was absorbed as a model towards cultural diversity in Australia. Many government organizations have popularized and promoted this term in various aspects of immigration and community relations.According to Mr Chandran Kukathas, multiculturalism is best understood as one aspect of pluralism, and what is most important is that in the defence of pluralism this one aspect not be allowed to dominate. What should be defended is pluralism rather than multiculturalism for cultural pluralism is only one of the kinds of pluralism worth preserving.However, it was used to describe a range of programmes aimed at giving Australians, whose first language was not English, an opportunity to participate equally in our society with other Australians. It was a policy of cohesion, not separatism.Multiculturalism in Australia recognizes that our society and our culture is built on the history and heritage of peoples from various backgrounds and origins. Each has contributed toward the enrichment of cultural life, economic dynamism, religious, social and political life. Its outcome explores the relationship between inclusiveness and participation in the society. This calls not simply for toleration of difference but for encouragement to develop the potential of differences.Assimilation – Perhaps one of the best known definitions to describe the concept of assimilation is that straight line of Gaus and Gordon. They say that it is where ethnic groups are systematically absorbed into the host society until all remnants of their distinctive identity are lost. It is a process of interpretation and fusion in which persons and groups acquire the memories, sentiments and attitudes of other persons or groups, and, by sharing their experience and history, are incorporated with them in a common culture.Some cultural groups would assimilate while others would stick to their own cultural heritage. It is an issue concerning the loss of one’s culture or mother tongue or perhaps erosion of individual rights and opportunities in this new world where cultural power structures emerge.‘The Age’ poll of 1977 found that 56 per cent of Anglo-Australians expected that immigrants should assimilate as soon as possible (Taft, 1978).Migrant – It is an interesting word replacing ‘emigrant’ and ‘immigrant’ almost as if Australian social scientists needed to deny that a person actually came from somewhere else with another culture, as if the process of assimilating to Anglo-Australian culture were a simple matter, and as if such people, once arrived, were most unlikely to leave ‘the lucky country.’II. Historical Situation in AustraliaAustralia is a huge country with an area of 7, 687,000 sq km with an estimated resident population of only 18, 289,000 million people. It is probably the most sparsely populated continent in the world where waves of immigration continue to take place. It has vast resources and is culturally diverse.The Aboriginals however who had had the place to themselves for some 25,000 years before the White people came were themselves survivors. They wandered a long way from Asia and moved from island to island. They were nomadic, hunters and food gatherers, who planted no crops and kept no herds.While the discovery of the last coast occurred in 1170 by Lieutenant James Cook, the First Fleet arrived under Captain Arthur Philip in 1787 when most of the immigrants were convicts and half of them from London and Birmingham. Eight ships – Sirius, the Supply, the Alexander, the Charlotte, the Scarborough, the Friendship, the Prince of Wales, and the Lady Penrhyn, together with three store ships, weighed anchor in Portsmouth harbour that sailed down the Channel for high seas.The English migrants were the largest group followed by the Irish. The Irish convicts transported to New South Wales brought their sense of history and Irish Catholicism. Around 2086 Irish were transported from Ireland between 1791 and 1803 and about 600 were convicted for riot and sedition. Many of the convicts were engaged either in the construction of public works or, in the early years of settlement, in farming.It was basically the gold which became the hope and basis for the growing number of immigrants from that time. Hence in the 1850s – the population trebled to 1,200,000 largely due to the huge influx of immigrants which would not be matched until the 1950s.Over three million people from more than one hundred countries and people from all around the world have come to Australia in the last quarter century. Amongst the non-English were Germans, Italians, Asians, and the biggest number of all, Chinese. The Filipinos for instance were present in Australia since the 19th century when Filipino communities helped pioneer the pearl shell and other maritime industries in Northern Australia. However, because of the Immigration Act (1901), the Filipino migration was curtailed. It was only in 1956 that the Australian national records show the first four Filipinos who joined the Australian national family as citizens.After World War II Australia experienced an extreme labour shortage. They needed a lot of reconstruction and development. There were migrants from Poland and Russia who came and even the smaller Baltic countries that were ruined by the Nazis.Huge numbers of Britons, Irish, Scottish, Dutch, Greeks, Italians, Germans, Maltese and Yugoslavs arrived in the 50s and 60s.Between 1901 and the late 1960s, the liberalization of Australia’s immigration policy was implemented. In 1965, the ‘White Australia’ policy which was based on colonial legislation with its racist overtones was deleted from the constitution of major offices especially the Australian Labour Party which lifted it in 1965. Soon afterwards it was followed by the Return Servicemen’s League.Turks and Lebanese, Mauritians and Africans arrived in smaller numbers and the Asians continued to come since the immigration restrictions were lifted in the late ‘60s.In the late 1970s, because of the Vietnam War, a new group of immigrants started to come in Australia – the boat people, the refugees. Many of them were of Chinese origin. They left their country after the communist government took over. Some of them fled to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Philippines, Indonesia, United States, and Australia.In 1995-1996 there were 99,100 settler arrivals and the largest group for the first time were those born in New Zealand (12% or 12,300), exceeding those born in the United Kingdom (11% or 11,300).III. Continuing dialogue, continuing challengeWe live in a time where we come to grips with the concerns and aspirations of Australia’s ethnic communities. It is a journey that allows minority groups to take part and exercise their rights in the broad processes of nation building.One particular approach that Australia has employed through the years has been like that of the Statue of Liberty described in the verse attached to its base as ‘Mother of Exiles’, that is, as offering a home for those whose roots are in numerous other communities. By the same token, it emphasizes inclusiveness that mainstreams diversity to develop a richer Australian multiculture in various disciplines. However, many critics of multiculturalism in Australia assault some migrants, especially Asian migrants, for being flexible in the sitz’im leben of the host society and for rejecting the distinctive identity of Australian people. At present, similar packages of abiding policies and programmes to that of Canada’s multiculturalism act have been brought to the fore. Australia’s fabric woven from numerous strands has generated fairness and openness to the implications of cultural pluralism.Seen here as a paradigm for Australia, Canada’s multiculturalism act has become in itself a background in running migration policies and programmes. As a matter of fact, Australia is nowadays recorded as one of the four ‘traditional’ countries of migration along with New Zealand, Canada and the United States.Australia’s colonial history has left its distinctive contribution to the civic structures and imposed English as the official language. But certainly there are many influences that affected the Australian people other than the original British language.Drawn from the triumph of Australian democracy, one of the great sources of our cultural strengths is that we speak many languages and respect other cultures. We are one of the most polyglot and culturally diverse nations around the globe. The tolerance and richness which is properly understood as an affirmation of our freedom and democracy becomes our cultural strength.Prejudice that was often addressed against newly arrived migrants, particularly Asians, is not a simple question of response to their physical look or skin colour. It is intimately interwoven in the basic of the cultural mind-set which sees white Westerners as the universal and absolute ‘norm’ for everyone else in every possible aspect of life. True to form, it has been a constant struggle among individuals, families, religions and races that the manner of identifying the ‘I’ is in terms of comparisons and/or opposition. Basically, one of the socio-cultural viewpoints of the West is that to be human is to be better than, smarter than, prettier than, holier than, more cultured than, . . .Becoming aware of ourselves, observing and interacting with other cultures develops our sense of openness and appreciation. Regardless of their ethnic origin we allow different perspectives well beyond our immediate horizon. Each culture has its own value and significance and should be accepted and respected as such.As the playwright Robert Bold has observed – ‘all families are alike, while every unhappy family is unique in its misery.’ Our diversity is not inclined to narrowness, bigotry, and xenophobia. It is the value and integrity of different cultures. For some it is easier to stereotype a particular ethnic group with their behavioural patterns rather than experience it first themselves through interaction. It may be tempting to ask which culture is better than another. This reflects though the moral righteousness of a certain group, the patronizing attitude and superiority as an achieved status in society.It does not mean we have to agree with many of those fundamental values and ‘ethno-cultural’ expressions. It means to give equal treatment by acknowledging them and respecting those values whose roots lie in our society. We need to be compassionate and to be concerned for their sense of identity and purpose. It requires that difference in terms of cultural backgrounds, principles, traditions, etc is not rivalry, competition nor for affirming their difference but for encouraging the development of difference. Dr Louis Miller of the Ministry of health, Israel, wrote a paper for the World Mental Health Congress in 1973. He said: “The stress with which migration is associated affects personality – function universally in highly definable areas which are specifically linked to group life. These cluster essentially around self-perception in social life. They include, for the migrant, issues and problems of personal status, role, autonomy, self-esteem, the sense of being esteemed by others and the relations of non-significant others.It is a way of life which raises the issue of what kinds of institutions should govern these regions of cultural pluralism. The issue of indigenous people like the Koorie communities in this country still remains to be taken up. The values we share and work for are those which enrich us. It is essentially a commitment to cultural tolerance and the promotion of human rights.Today many people denounce the so-called ‘ethnic ghettoes’ which rightly points out the running sore of division in the Australian way of life and even in our various institutions. We establish equality of treatment and the opportunity to be involved in society. Exploring how men and women of many backgrounds can live and work together is necessary for the growth of our civilization. It may not be easy because it is not just a matter of weaving together the ethnic groups. It is something which links the Australian experience to that of other cultures. It needs dialogue and reflection as to what is going on in our country.IV. ConclusionAs a result of the migrant intake over nearly five decades, Australia has continued to explore its cultural diversity as a response to various needs and concerns within the country. This involves though not only the racial and cultural variety, but also linguistic diversity, religious and national differences. The impact it gives highlights the aspirations for social betterment and the need for compassionate and humanitarian responses to the movements of ethnic communities.While the dominant culture is anchored within the ideals and practices of national identity, its connection with cultural pluralism argues the issue of democracy to serve new and emerging social needs. This seeks social cohesion and stability of society.There have been changes in the forms of expression and content of Australian nationalism, and even in the approaches made to other ethnic groups. Influenced by the events that have occurred in the country, we became aware that without migration we would be a different people, xenophobic and having a very limited attachment in international relations. To ignore the growing movements of immigration is to deny our history, our heritage that for the last 200 years, we have all been migrants ourselves in this country.We need to develop further our awareness and appreciation of other cultures, for it identifies our inner history of struggling for justice and respect for human dignity. Our increasing familiarity with Asia in particular is like our Judeao-Christian source which is today the basis of our commitment to freedom and tolerance.While the French developed various theories about the fundamental inequality of the human races, the Australians need to develop also their own principle that directs and unifies their cultural diversity to being about a ‘new creation’ and ‘harmony’ in this country.The French philosopher Montaigne expressed it beautifully: “There never were, in the world, two opinions alike, no more than two hairs, or two grains. The most universal quality is diversity.”
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