HREOC Website: Isma - Listen: National consultations on eliminating prejudice against Arab and Muslim Australias
Consultations
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|| Meeting Notes: 4 June 2003
Consultation with Maronite
Youth Organisation at Our Lady of Lebanon Church (Harris Park, Sydney),
4 June 2003
The meeting was attended
by 12 invited participants from the Maronite Youth Organisation, the youth
group of Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Harris Park, Sydney.
The meeting was
facilitated by Omeima Sukkarieh and Susanna Iuliano (notes) from HREOC.
1. What are your experiences
of discrimination and vilification?
General
Experiences of discrimination
and vilification varied among participants. One participant
explained, “I’ve never experienced discrimination…”
and felt there had been no rise in discrimination or vilification
against people of Lebanese background. However, most participants reported
experiencing some form of discrimination or prejudice because of their
appearance or perceived ethnicity or religion. Many felt that this discrimination
stems from the broader public’s failure to distinguish between Lebanese
of Christian and Muslim background or between Arabic speaking groups of
different ethnic origins.
“At first
they discriminate against you because you look like a ‘wog’
– then since September 11, everyone discriminates against you
because you look like a Muslim.”“People
assume I’m Italian. When I say I’m Lebanese they ask, ‘Are
you Christian or Muslim?’”“Forget
for a minute Muslim and Arab – everyone sees Lebanese. They do
it to give us a bad image. Most Arabs call themselves Lebanese, giving
us a bad image.”“People
think Muslims or Catholics – we’re all the same…”
Some participants
felt that prejudice and discrimination against them increased after September
11 while others felt that reporting of the Lebanese gang rapes in Western
Sydney in late 2001 had more influence in shaping prejudice.
“After
September 11 it went to a new level – people think you’re
different.”“The
gang rapes were worse than September 11…”
At work
Only some participants
had experienced discrimination in their workplaces.
“I come
from a multicultural workplace of 300 people. They can distinguish between
religions. They can distinguish between an Arab, a Christian, a Phoenician,
a Muslim. The people I interact with know the difference between fundamentalist
and mainstream. Educated people know the difference – they read
the papers.”“Working
at Pizza Hut you get lots of discrimination between Lebanese and Aussies.”
More participants
felt that discrimination was more of an issue in seeking employment. Several
participants believed that advertising their Arabic language skills or
Lebanese origin to a potential employer could jeopardise their chances
of being hired.
“I’m
hesitant to say I’ve experienced discrimination, but when I was
looking for a job my resume said I spoke Arabic. I didn’t get
one interview. Then when I took this off my resume I got 4 interviews.
It might have been a coincidence…”“I’ve
actually said I was not Lebanese at one stage, just that ‘I am
Australian’…”“Sometimes
it’s too difficult to say you’re Lebanese because you can’t
be bothered backing it up explaining, ‘Well I’m Lebanese
Maronite’.”
At school
No participants reported
that discrimination at school was a problem.
“Our
parents’ intention was that we fit into mainstream Australia.
At school, when we got to a certain age, we hung out with everyone…”
Several of the male
participants explained that discrimination was more related to ‘place’
rather than ‘race’. Rivalries between groups grew out of differences
related to where parents originated from in Lebanon and where young people
were raised and educated in Australia.
“More
problems happen within groups – not between groups.”“It’s
about where you came from – Granville or Parramatta - not race…”
“Amongst
Lebanese there is discrimination according to what village you or your
parents come from…”
In shopping centres,
banks, government offices etc
Participants felt
that discrimination in Sydney was strongly related to the social structure
and physical layout of the city. This impacted on their sense of safety
and feeling of belonging in certain areas around the city, particularly
outside of the western suburbs.
“Sydney
is socially segregated by neighbourhoods – people don’t
go out further west.”“I work
in North Sydney and it [discrimination] is definitely there. If I walk
into a bank in a suit, I get weird looks. You do sense something different
because you look Arab.”
Another issue raised
by several participants was about access to services (such as banking
and government agencies) by non-English speaking people. One participant
explained the difficulties he faced interpreting for his parents and felt
that private companies should be more responsive to the needs of their
non-English speaking clientele by allowing nominated family members to
assist with transactions on their parents’ behalf.
“My parents
struggle with services because they can’t speak English. Banking
is difficult when English is not there – you have to solve their
problems all the time…Centrelink has interpreters – they
make an effort, but Telstra don’t cater for it. I don’t
think companies should necessarily provide interpreters but they should
allow a nominated person to translate on behalf of parents.”
In the street or on public
transport
Only one participant
reported an incident on public transport:
“My sister
and I were returning from the city on the train and a man was pointing
at us calling us ‘wogs’ and saying to his little kids ‘wogs
bring trouble!’.”
Another participant,
a Maronite Sister, mentioned how she often receives negative comments
from fellow motorists and passers-by because of her religious attire.
She felt that wearing the Maronite Sister’s habit makes her a conspicuous
target for discrimination, especially on the road.
In the media
Participants were
keen to comment on media misrepresentations of Lebanese in Sydney. Both
ethnic and mainstream media were seen to be perpetuating stereotypes and
fostering prejudice towards and amongst Lebanese Australians.
“All
ethnic and mainstream papers have their own agenda. The media is corrupt
– you can’t do anything about it full stop. What can we
do? We cop it all the time? We just keep taking it and the kids do the
best they can. We just need to grin and bear it.”“My dad
listens to Lebanese radio. Misconceptions are out there everywhere.
Ethnic people do the same kinds of discrimination to other ethnic groups
– they dish it out too.”
Participants also
felt that the media was reluctant to publish positive stories about people
of Lebanese background and cited this as an example of discrimination.
For example, the Maronite Youth Organisation found it extremely difficult
to get media coverage of a fund-raising exercise in which they raised
$180,000 for the Millennium Foundation (a charity for leukemia research).
The group found it so difficult to attract media attention that in the
end a private sponsor paid for an article about the fund-raising drive
to be published in the Daily Telegraph.
“The
media are so quick to say anything negative about the Lebanese community,
but are so reluctant in putting up their tremendous efforts in bettering
the whole community.”
Police
Several of the young
male participants felt they are scrutinised by police in their cars or
in public spaces.
“I’ve
seen people walk into the football and be searched for knives...”
“They
definitely target Arabic looking youth – and tarnish everyone
with the same brush…”
However, another
participant argued that police target all youth, not just Arabic speaking
young people.
“Police
just struggle generally with young people anyway – kids are rebellious.”
2. What is being done to fight
anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?
Maronite Youth Organisation
Participants described
how in 2002 they had raised $180,000 for the Millennium Foundation, a
charity that funds treatment of leukaemia. The group raised money through
social functions such as harbour cruises, cabarets, dance parties, golf
days and charity collections at the youth mass held every Sunday at Our
Lady of Lebanon. The group felt that efforts like these helped to counter
stereotypes perpetuated by media reporting of the Sydney gang rapes. However,
they found it extremely difficult to gain any public recognition for their
fund-raising efforts from the media.
NSW Police IMPACT Project
Participants described
their involvement in the NSW Police Service’s IMPACT (Innovative
Models of Police and Community Training) program (formerly known until
September 2002 as the Police and Community Training Program.) The aim
of IMPACT is to raise awareness among police and youth service providers
of the unique issues faced by young people from culturally and linguistically
diverse backgrounds and ensure the provision of appropriate services.
One participant explained how the Maronite Youth Organisation took part
in a training package based in Parramatta with the police which aimed
to break down cultural barriers and inform young people about their rights
and responsibilities. The project is now being adopted in other police
Local Area Commands in Sydney.
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 six objectives identified
by the Isma project.
Promoting positive public
awareness
While participants
felt it was important to increase cross-cultural understanding about other
religions, they felt this was best done socially rather than in a formal
educational setting.
“Forcing
kids to learn about other religions will not work. It will only work
if it’s not force fed and done socially.”“When
we studied religion [at school], we hated it. We wanted to know about
our Maronite religion but not others.”
Challenging stereotypes
Participants felt
a strong need for more positive media representation of Lebanese Australians.
The need for more positive commentary from politicians was seen as key
to challenging stereotypes effectively.
“We need
more positive stories about what the community contributes – you
don’t hear it…”“Bob
Carr’s comments don’t help – he shouldn’t paint
everyone with the same brush.”
Providing community support
Participants felt
that practical support for the community has improved in recent times
with the provision of a state government funded youth worker.
Strengthening relationships
between communities
Networking with other
agencies representing young people was seen as vital. More generally,
the group also felt it was important for representatives of the Maronite
Church in Australia to engage with people outside the Lebanese community.
Participants provided an example of how this was done during the 25th
anniversary of the parish when Bishop Ad Abikaram invited members from
the broader community to the celebrations.
