HREOC Website: Isma - Listen: National consultations on eliminating prejudice against Arab and Muslim Australias
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Notes: 12 June 2003
Consultation with Lebanese
Muslim children and young people organised by the Lebanese Muslim Association,
Sydney, 12 June 2003
The meeting was attended
by 8 people including 7 young people aged between 9 and 15 years and one
parent. Omeima Sukkarieh (notes) from HREOC attended and facilitated the
consultation.
1. What are your experiences
of discrimination and vilification?
Although most of
the discussion focused on discrimination in the school setting, it opened
with several more general points about discrimination and its causes.
"Basically what
all Muslims get is discrimination. There's just a basic idea and a stereotype
that they're all trouble makers and that they just don't like you just
because of your looks. A lot of people are like that and well you can't
straight away tell them that they should stop being racist. But there's
a difference about being racist and actually acting on your discrimination.
If you are discriminating against someone and you can't help it, keep
it to yourself. Stay away from that person. Don't give them dirty looks
or scream at them no matter what they do. Obviously that happens to
everybody because everyone gets discriminated against particularly about
their race and I'm sure everyone's been discriminated against because
they're a different race. I'm not going to talk about my personal experience
because I can't remember it but discrimination is everywhere. There
is nowhere you go that there is no discrimination.""People expect
a lot from us and they want everyone to be like them and everyone to
be the same. What they don't understand is that if everyone is to be
the same, there is no point in life. Everyone is influenced by their
leader. The student is influenced by the teacher, the teacher is influenced
by the principal, the principal is influenced by his boss, but you know
the biggest leader is probably the politicians and the media in general,
and what they say is one sided. They have their opinions and they get
people to say things who agree with them only. They don't get other
people's opinion and if they do, they twist it around, and they twist
around their words and make it sound like they have said something different.
And if someone is not like them or what they want them to be, then that's
where discrimination starts, when someone's not the same or what they
expect them to be.""Every single
discrimination is different. Like if you go for a football team and
someone else doesn't and then they abuse you for it. And sometimes it's
about who you are. Like when I first put on the hijab about seven years
ago, when I was five years old, I remember it was like new to my school
and in the first few years people in primary school found it really
weird so they made fun of it. Some of the kids, even in my brother's
grade they used to say stuff about ghosts and stuff because the hijab
was white. A friend of mine who's Aussie, her mother said to her 'Don't
hang around her because she wears a tea towel around her head'. The
girl felt ashamed to be seen with me near her mother."
The crucial role of the media
and of political leaders was identified.
"I reckon
that the media and the propaganda that the media has caused is a big
case of discrimination against Arabic and Muslim people, and it's all
double standards."It's not just
the media, it's the leaders especially the politicians which is like
really, really sad because you got the highest people with the most
power who are still discriminating and racist and that's just shameful.
It's disgusting and it's just wrong, completely wrong.""When you are
leading your country, you basically have taken the responsibility, the
responsibility is yours, you can't just become a leader and say 'I can't
be bothered doing this; it's way too much of a burden'. You become a
leader [and] that's your responsibility and you should know that."
Apparent discrimination
and bias on the part of their teachers most troubled the young people.
"Last year
I remember I was discriminated against. I did this assignment on Islam
and we had to study a website. I studied an Islamic website and she
gave me a 10 out of 20. I'm not one to brag or anything but it was a
very, very good assignment. We had to get an Islamic website and we
had to research it and we had to give it ratings and evaluate it. At
the end of it she said I was being very biased. She goes I was saying
it from a Muslim's point of view whereas I should have been saying it
from a normal person's point of view. As if a Muslim isn't a normal
person!! The teacher says to me, 'You let your loyalty to Islam get
in the way of your assignment. I'll give a student 10 just for doing
the assignment.' I had to print over 50 pages out so she could have
a look at the assignment and she just goes and gives me a 10. She didn't
even talk about the assignment, and how to do it. It's about Islam the
assignment not about whose point of view is it meant to be from.""Teachers are
influenced by the media as well. What they hear on the news is the one
sided story. If they hear something on the news then that's what they
will accept. I once had a teacher that forced us to all say stuff about
the New York attacks, to say sorry for what's happened and to accuse
that one person which was Osama. He said if anyone doesn't do it, then
he will put us on detention. If the media says it then everyone automatically
believes it. And why don't they say sorry to Palestinians or people
from Afghanistan or to the Iraqis. Who's gonna say sorry to them?""The media
is turning the community against each other and people are discriminating
against others in our community because they have experienced it. Leadership
is important, and leaders they can have a say but they shouldn't control
other people's opinions, they can have their own opinion but they shouldn't
convert other people's opinions, or change the way other people believe.
They can show you the similarities and differences but they can't do
it just by talking to you, asking you to change your mind about things.
They can tell you the good points, but they shouldn't go around picking
on the bad points of other people. They should just inform you and then
let you make your own decision.""During the
time after September 11, my teacher was awful, and whenever teachers
used to refer to Lebs or Muslims, they used to refer to them in a bad
way, like some teachers, used to say to us 'Typical dumb Leb attitude'.
Whenever they tried to complain, the teachers would get them in more
trouble. At first I thought this teacher was alright, but after he started
saying stuff about my religion, about my culture, it was just like very
rude on his part and I cannot look at him the same way anymore. I just
think that it's very rude and un-appreciating of other cultures.""Some high
school teachers I think need more experience in dealing with children
with special needs. My son after September 11 and Bali was treated in
a less friendly manner by the teachers who treated him nicely before."
"I don't like
some ethnic teachers because they discriminate against others the most.
Like the Arab teachers they discriminate against the Arab kids because
they don't want people to think that they are being nice to them because
they are Arab.""Basically
it's the Arab students who are discriminating, too, and Arab teachers
who are discriminating. Just because they are Arab, it's all still discrimination."
The failure of some
teachers to check comments by other students was also an issue.
"Some students
write things about what happened in September 11 that's not nice and
the teacher doesn't say anything about that."
The point was made,
though, that not all teachers cause concern.
"At PE, they
try to be more sympathetic to us when we are fasting. So it's not all
teachers, just some of them. After what they have seen of what's happening
in the world, they just change their opinion and react to you differently,
and they think it's Muslims' fault and it's not."
Comments by other
students were described but generally treated with more tolerance.
"I'm worried
about this person who told me that I had a tea towel on my head. He
was joking around basically, and he goes to me 'You got a tea towel
on your head'. Then this Muslim girl heard and took it personally and
went and punched him and broke his teeth. Basically he didn't mean to
discriminate when he did it. You know a lot of people don't understand
our religion. They don't understand the hijab and they just go and say
stuff like 'Is it a tea towel?'.""I haven't
really experienced much but my friends have. Like last year there was
this Iraqi kid who was in my class. Everybody used to pick on him because
he used to say stupid things and he never knew what they meant because
he didn't speak English like everyone else. And he wouldn't pronounce
words properly and people took offence and they started doing stuff
to him, like bashing him up. I don't think he was picked on because
he was Iraqi but I think he was discriminated against because of his
accent."
Discrimination between
Muslim students themselves was also mentioned.
"They don't
just discriminate against Muslims, but some Muslims discriminate against
girls who do wear the hijab, if they aren't. Like a few Muslims at my
school. E.g. they treat them with no respect and pull their hijab at
school; even the girls try and pull them off.""If people
who do wear the hijab discriminate against people who don't wear the
hijab I think it would be because they get discriminated against. They
are discriminated against by a lot of other people. If they do it's
because they suffer that themselves and they feel that the other person
is a bully to them. But they wouldn't do it without a cause."
We asked how discrimination
impacts on the students and their parents and how they react to it. We
also asked whether they talk about these experiences with anyone.
"I just act
normal even though sometimes it makes me feel bad, well all the time
it makes me feel bad. It makes me feel bad because I know that they
are discriminating against me. I don't like getting the teachers involved
in this. It's just between us [when it's between Muslims]. I just ignore
them anyway. Sometimes when it gets really serious, like once I did
something I regret ...she discriminated against me so bad, I used violence
against her and I regret that.""My mum knows
everything and I tell my dad sometimes, and if it's really severe he
will tell me to complain about it or he will do it, but if it's not
he tells me to deal with it my own way. Like in a way that I won't hurt
anybody or be rude.""Sometimes
I feel like I want to cry but I try to speak back but it is hard sometimes
with your English. After things happen you try to get things back to
normal but that's hard because it keeps happening."
2. What is being done to fight
anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?
One participant mentioned
that she had participated in a leader support group, the Leading the Way
Forum, done by the Premier's Department. One of the topics covered there
was anti-discrimination. The Leading the Way - Canterbury-Bankstown Youth
Leadership Forum was held in April 2003 with a number of aims, including
encouraging an active role for young people as community builders, giving
young people a voice on issues in Canterbury-Bankstown and providing young
people with positive leadership training. It featured a series of practical
workshops that develop young people's leadership skills, and encourage
positive leadership by young people. These workshops included using the
media to promote positive images of young people, presentation skills
and creative ways communicate with young people, building community harmony,
mentoring other young people, using arts for community building, 'Racism
No Way', and 'Anti-discrimination'.
3. What more could be done
to fight anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?
In education
"It's very
important [for people to learn more about what Islam is] because we
do live in a society of multiculturalism. What we don't know about other
people's culture and their religion is going to cause problems. Kids,
they don't know what they're saying and say 'Is that a towel on your
head?' That is discrimination, because it obviously isn't a towel. It
doesn't look anything like a towel, alright. The thing is it isn't right;
I don't want little kids going around thinking is that a towel on your
head. Not because I'm Muslim or because I took offence ... but it's not
nice.""The teachers
should think of everyone as human beings, not just as these people are
Muslim, these people Christians, these people are Jews, these people
are Hindus or whatever. They should think that we are all students and
we are all here to learn. And what are we here to learn about? We are
here to learn about maths, science, physics, history, everything. But
we are not here to learn about what these people are doing wrong, or
these people are doing right, that kind of thing. We are here to learn
what we need to get us a job in life. We are not here to learn that
Muslims are bad, that Christians are bad, that Jews are bad; we don't
go to school to learn that. They should think of us as students learning
their subjects, not students that they want to teach that these people
are bad. Principals should go on the assembly and tell us things. Like
if they want to say that there's a war going on or something, they should
just tell it and not take sides and say that it's going on because these
people have done bad things and it is because of these people; it's
their fault. Just say that there's war going on and that's it. Just
say it without blame.""I think they
should educate people more about other people's culture and religions
and what they believe in, including teachers. I think people when they
are young should be educated about other people and that people believe
in different things and they should just appreciate the different cultures
and respect them as human beings."
We asked whether
it would be helpful to learn about other religions at school, for example
during scripture classes.
"Scripture
is a waste of time. We don't learn about other religions. I want to
learn about other religions. Kids don't want to learn about other religions,
especially about Islam. I want to learn a little bit only about other
religions, [but] not that much. I want to learn about my religion more
and what's the difference between the religions.""We don't have
scripture in our year but I would like to learn about other religions.
I want to learn more than about their differences, like I want to learn
about all their beliefs and everything and I will respect their beliefs
too. And I want them to learn more about Islam so they can respect my
beliefs also."
In the media
"The media could
have done a lot; they still can do a lot. For one thing they can talk
about us as humans not as bad Muslims, but the worst thing the media
does when they want youth to talk about Islam they get dumb people to
go speak on TV. They talk to someone who says 'oh, I don't care, I might
be born in Australia but I'm Lebanese 100%'. They don't get somebody
who knows, they get someone who doesn't know what he's talking about;
people who take it as a joke, and that is completely unfair. They should
go and seek people who are educated and know what they are talking about."
