HREOC Website: Isma - Listen: National consultations on eliminating prejudice against Arab and Muslim Australias

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|| Meeting Notes: 26 June 2003

Consultation with Muslim women
in northern Sydney, 26 June 2003

The meeting was organised with the assistance of staff
from a non-government organisation and attended by 9 invited participants
who are members of a NESB women’s support group which meets regularly.
Most members are Australian Muslim women of Indonesian background. The
meeting was facilitated by Omeima Sukkarieh and Susanna Iuliano (notes)
from HREOC.

1. What are your experiences
of discrimination and vilification?

“Everyone
has experienced discrimination and prejudice in one way.”

Most women felt there had been an increase in discrimination
or vilification against them after September 11, 2001 and again after
the Bali bombing in October 2002. The women shared personal and second-hand
experiences of discrimination in a range of settings.

In the street or public transport

The women were most keen to discuss incidents of abuse
which took place on the street or in public places. One participant observed
that racist abuse took different forms depending on the age of the perpetrator.

“Younger
people say things to you from the car. Older people are more likely
to say something to your face.”

Participants reported numerous incidents of abuse from
fellow passengers on public transport or waiting for public transport.
While waiting at a bus-stop with her three year old daughter, a person
stamped on her daughter’s foot. Another woman reported that her
teenage daughter is routinely made fun of on the bus with taunts such
as, “Why do you wear that tablecloth on your head?”
Many women felt that other passengers were reluctant to give up their
seats to Muslims, even if they were pregnant or had small children. Another
believed, “people are too scared to sit beside me on the bus”.

Participants generally felt safer on familiar streets
in their own neighbourhoods. One participant explained that she also felt
quite comfortable travelling into the city but was not at ease in the
Western suburbs.

“In
this area, there were not too many problems after September 11…This
area is ok because there are more Indonesians in Dee Why – there
is more safety here than in the western suburbs.”

In shopping centres, banks,
government offices, etc

One woman recalled an incident in a toyshop with her
six year old son who was playing with a toy gun when another woman in
the store said to her, “You’re starting him early”.

Another participant reported an incident which took place
at the Warringah Mall shortly after September 11 2001, before the US invasion
of Afghanistan. The woman, who was eight months pregnant at the time,
accidentally brushed against a man in the shopping centre. “When
he noticed I was veiled he looked at me fiercely and said, ‘what
are you doing here Muslim? We don’t want you here. What you’ve
done to America is terrible and we will get rid of you all…’”
This man then followed her outside the mall all the while abusing her
and trying to touch her. Although she threatened to call the police, he
continued to follow her for five to ten minutes until she reached her
bus-stop. He continued taunting her at the bus-stop until a Filipino woman
came to her aid and stood with her until the bus arrived and she was able
to get away from the abusive man.

“Afterwards
I felt angry, very angry. My husband said, ‘You don’t deserve
to be treated like that’. But I blamed myself. I know I have to
be strong living in a different country ... If I go to the authorities,
what can they do? Can they catch this man?”

Following this incident, the woman bought a personal
alarm and avoided catching public transport by having her husband drop
her off and pick her up from the shopping centre. Even though she was
clearly still shaken by the incident almost two years later, she wanted
to point out that the majority of people she encounters are not abusive
and that only some are ignorant.

At work

“Most
Muslims have a good education and experience. Why aren’t they
working? How many Muslims work in Government? In some government departments
they don’t accept Muslims…”

There was a clear perception that Muslims face discrimination
in gaining employment, as well as in carrying out their jobs if they are
already employed. One participant’s husband is an engineer with
ten years work experience in Egypt. His qualifications are not accepted
in Australia and he opened his own business instead. Given her husband’s
experience, the woman was pessimistic about her son’s employment
future in Australia. “I know my son will have problems in finding
work too…”

Another woman described an incident which happened recently
to her teenage daughter, who had an after-school job distributing leaflets
in letterboxes. One day, a home-owner said to her daughter, “I
don’t want anything from you Muslim!” and threw the leaflets
back at her.

At school

One participant, whose daughter attends Manly High (a
selective school), felt her daughter was well supported by fellow students
and teachers at the school who had encouraged her to stand up for herself
and not take abuse from strangers outside the school. “My daughter
feels safe in school. The problems are not in school but outside the school.”

Another participant felt less trust in the public school
system. Her six year old son who attends the local state primary school
is being bullied at school, making him angry, withdrawn and wanting to
return to his country of birth and change his name. “It makes
me worry about his future. Last week he stayed home for three days. The
teachers don’t know what is happening…” According to
the mother, the problem is that “the public school is not a good
enough education – he needs more education…” She
is endeavouring to enrol her son and another child in a private Catholic
school. However, she has been on a waiting list for seven months and believes
that the principal of the Catholic school will not enrol her children
because they are Muslim.

At home

There were mixed reports about relations between neighbours.
Generally, participants noted that initial hostility or indifference between
Muslim and non-Muslim neighbours eventually gave way to grudging acceptance
and in some cases friendship if people were willing to go out of their
way to initiate contact.

“I
used to have a particular neighbour who never smiled at me but she smiled
at everyone else. One day I brought her flowers and cookies and things
improved. You have to extend the hand of friendship – they don’t
know any better.”

Another woman persisted in her attempts to make peace
with her neighbour, despite being told, ‘don’t bother us’
the first time she invited them around to a family barbeque.

Her persistence paid off and eventually relations improved.

One participant felt that neighbourhood relations deteriorated
after release of the federal government’s national security campaign
booklet ‘Let’s Look Out for Australia’ which
was delivered to all household mailboxes in Australia in February 2003.
The woman described the pamphlet as a “book of fire” after
being reported to her real estate agent by a neighbour for washing her
balcony with soapy water. “My neighbour called the agent and
said, ‘She is putting chemicals on the property!’ The agent
came immediately – it was the first time he had ever come.”
Other participants also alluded to problems with real estate agents
but were reluctant to discuss specific instances of discrimination.

In the media

“Muslims
are seen as terrorists. They think we hide bombs.”

All participants strongly agreed that the media portray
Muslims in a negative light as ‘terrorists’ or potential terrorists.
Participants noticed they were more likely to get “weird stares”
from passers-by or people on public transport after stories about
Muslims appeared in the media. For example, participants reported feeling
more targeted after the ABC’s 4 Corners program broadcast
a report alleging connections between members of Dee Why Mosque and Jemaah
Islamiah, the Indonesian organisation linked to the Bali bombing of October
2002.

Impacts

Aside from describing specific instances of discrimination
and vilification, participants were keen to discuss how these incidents
had impacted on their day to day lives. The women’s reactions to
discrimination varied significantly. Some were angry: “How can
you stop feeling angry? You always walk around feeling guilty…”
Others were more circumspect: “Maybe it’s not prejudice –
but when everyone is looking at you it’s hard not to think of it.”

The urge to retreat was another common reaction. One
woman was contemplating leaving Australia altogether while another simply
retreated into her home after any incident of abuse on the street.

“My
experience is if something happens to me on the street, I stay in for
one week.”

Despite having experienced discrimination, many women
were hopeful that things would get better in the future and that most
Australians were not racist.

“We
all understand that it’s not all Australians.
There are some good people – it’s not all bad…”

“People
that already know you face to face are nice – it’s the others
who are ignorant.”

Impact of ASIO Raids

The investigations by the Australian Security Intelligence
Organisation (ASIO) into the Indonesian community affiliated with the
Dee Why Mosque was a source of anxiety for many participants, one which
they preferred not to discuss. However, one participant, whose husband
was picked up by immigration officials and detained in Villawood Immigration
Detention Centre following ASIO investigations, was facing significant
hardship. Without access to health or community services, she was having
difficulties supporting herself and her son while her husband was detained
awaiting the outcome of a class action suit against the Department of
Immigration.

2. What is being done to fight
anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?

Community organisation strategies
and projects

Participants were aware of Mosque open days and interfaith
gatherings between members of the Dee Why Mosque and the local Uniting
Church Ministry. While fostering such ties was seen as a positive initiative,
one participant argued that one small positive step is shadowed by the
broader negative media portrayal of Muslims.

“Personal
ties are one thing, but it’s hard to counter what the media says
about Muslims.”

Government strategies and
projects

While participants expressed a general reluctance to
go to the police with their problems, the women were familiar with the
local ethnic community liaison officer (ECLO) who made herself available
to the women encouraging them to meet in a group and discuss their problems
with her. In New South Wales, ECLO’s are civilians who work for
the NSW Police to facilitate better police/community relations. The meetings
with the ECLO had stopped temporarily but the women expected them to resume
when they felt more secure and less under scrutiny by the media and federal
police.

3. What more could be done
to fight anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?

The meeting proposed the following strategies for achieving
some of the objectives identified by the Isma project.

Promoting positive public
awareness

Education was of prime importance to participants for
future change.

“We
need to talk to children when they are young – before their heads
are filled with bad stuff (about Muslims). They need better education.”

Challenging stereotypes

Participants felt it is important for community representatives
to counter negative media stereotypes about Muslims and play more of a
role in educating people more broadly about Islam. Although they acknowledged
that this will be no easy task, many women felt that this was done effectively
during the protests against war in Iraq.

Improving public safety

One participant argued that cross-cultural training should
be compulsory for bus drivers and that there should be signs on buses
encouraging people not to be abusive (and also to give up their seats
for women with children).