This posting by the blogger first appeared in Koori Mail – Australia’s leading Aboriginal newspaper on 16 June 2010.
The weekend Australian (June 5-6 2010) reported on its front page the resettlement in the next few weeks of Sri Lankan and Afghan refugee families in Leonora, Koara country Western Australia.
Local Aboriginal leader Richard Evans whilst welcoming the new refugees expressed his displeasure that his community hasn’t been consulted and he will like to initiate a scheme to teach the new arrivals the culture and life of his peoples. The government department dealing with the refugees had told that his proposals shall be seriously considered. He further pointed out the inadequacy of housing and employment in the local Aboriginal population in the mining town.
I migrated to Australia seven months ago to join my sister who arrived as a skilled migrant over ten years ago and my parents as refugees in the last few years. I left Sri Lanka as an unaccompanied minor aged 15 and claimed asylum in the UK twenty years ago.
Since arriving in Australia, I have been trying to grapple and dissect my own past and my recent migration in relation to the traditional custodians of Australian lands. Though I am looking at these issues through the prism of my own experience, I hope it shall generally act as a catalyst to open some questions and create dialogue on matters of refugees, multiculturalism, new migration and the continuing historical wrongs and its repercussions on the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.
The Tamils traditional homelands were merged with the majority Sinhalese nations during the British colonial era to form a single entity. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1948, Tamils campaigned peacefully for equality and without any meaning-full solution decided to take up arms.
Whilst acknowledging some excesses of the Tamil armed struggle, over a year to date since the brutal crushing of the militants, the grievances of the Tamils haven’t still been addressed and the colonisation of Tamil lands has gained new momentum. This conflict lead many Tamils to flee and live world over.
With this history and acute awareness of injustices inflicted on my peoples I am beginning to wonder if any meaning full dialogue can be established regarding land rights and Aboriginal inequality whilst the places are being ‘colonised’ by new immigrants like my self. Temporary, permanent and citizens of Australia are continuing to benefit and profit from the racist agendas of nation building employed by the early migrants. The institutional and structural racism of Australia has and continues to directly and indirectly benefit us all when seeking opportunity and life in this land. What should the response be from refugees from all over the world who now claim Australia to be their home when some indigenous people themselves have applied for refugee status from the UN for being forcefully evicted from their lands?
Any mutual understanding between the new migrants, indigenous Australians and the rest might benefit from sharing the plight and conditions of inequality, marginalisation and suppression we left behind. Furthermore we should confront our own dark secrets on the plight of indigenous people of the lands where we have come from - whether fleeing persecution or seeking economic and life style betterment. For example, in Sri Lanka indigenous people have also been marginalised and often assimilated into the Sinhalese and Tamil communities without ever acknowledging the contributions these people have made in many aspects of Sri Lankan life.
Sinhala and Tamil politicians squabble over who came to the island ‘first’ two thousand years ago without considering the traditional custodians of the lands – Veddahs.
Gradients of colour based prejudices inherent in our societies ‘back home’ further accentuated by various European colonisations is further validated by white Australia and then played out on indigenous people.
Whilst many schemes have been adopted to bridge the gap between Australians and Aboriginal people, often in this matter, Australian has always been a code word for White/Anglo Australians. Whilst this being an important aspect of reconciliation how can multi cultural and refugee Australia create a partner ship with native people of the many lands within Australia? Often new migrants are over-whelmed by an alien culture and are busy trying to adjust to new ways of life and settle themselves as effortlessly as possible. They are concerned about raising families, supporting kith and kin from their home countries whilst dealing with the day-to-day concerns of life in general. But it is important that we find the necessary tools to let us new migrants to reflect and act with social conscience during our early formative periods in Australia, so that ingrained prejudices in society at large does dot seep in to our new lives which will cloud our view in later years.
Therefore I congratulate Richard Evans attempts and hope he finds the necessary support to fulfil his ambitions. We need more dialogue and action on an inter personal, community, governmental and organisational levels to address continuing migration to Australia and its relationship with Aboriginal Australia. I am still wondering how I can be part of this process.
Any ideas?
