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|| Meeting Notes: August 2003

Consultations with NSW primary
school students (Years 5 and 6) at 3 Sydney public schools, August 2003

These notes summarise three separate consultations attended
by 31 primary school students in Years 5 and 6 from three government primary
schools in the Fairfield, Port Jackson and Bondi school districts in the
Sydney metropolitan area. The meetings were organised with the assistance
of the NSW Department of Education and Training and participating schools.
Most students who took part in the consultations were either Muslim or
from an Arabic-speaking background. Students were required to obtain permission
from their parents in order to take part in the meetings. One or two staff
members from each school attended consultations as observers. The meetings
were facilitated by Omeima Sukkarieh and attended by Meredith Wilkie or
Jane Leverington from HREOC.

1. Experiences of racism and
discrimination in school

Each of the consultations began with a role playing exercise
designed to encourage students to reflect on the meaning of racism and
discrimination. There was some confusion and debate amongst students about
the meaning of these terms and how they differ:

“Racism
is teasing people about being from a different background. Discrimination
covers all the racism so it’s not so obvious.”

“Racism
is when a person’s black and the other person is white and they
don’t like each other and they tease them about that.”

“It’s
not just black and white but also religion and all different kinds of
things.”

While few students said they had personally experienced
racism or discrimination, many reported that they knew someone who had
been a victim of racism, either a member of their own family or a school
friend. The students were much more likely to report personal experiences
of being ‘bullied’ and many shared examples of bullying behaviour
in schools that involved an element of racism. Students also discussed
how they were affected by racist incidents which occurred outside of the
classroom or schoolyard.

Teasing, jokes and name-calling

Teasing and name-calling by fellow students was the
most common form of bullying behaviour experienced by the students. Students
described how bullies often picked on their ethnic background, language,
religion or their parents’ nationality to put them down and make
themselves feel ‘cool’, ‘superior’ and ‘powerful’.

“Other
kids say things bad about you mostly at sport when they are mad at you.
At soccer when I missed the goal, someone said to me, ‘that Turkey
is a turkey!’ [That makes me feel] bad, angry, sad. They say ‘I’m
only joking’, but you know when they say it a lot they’re
not joking.”

“Other
kids call me ‘pyramid’ all the time, but I ignore them.
My parents are from Egypt and I was born in Australia. I told the teacher
once but the kids think I’m dobbing so they get even more angry
...”

“I
get told a lot ‘What! A Bangladeshi!’ It’s like they’re
putting your background in a bad spot[light] and that makes you feel
really bad…”

“A
[non-Lebanese] boy at the school who we used to be friends with always
swears in Lebanese at us and says things to us about our parents…
He always calls us ‘jahsh’ (which means donkey in Arabic)…He
swears in class in front of casual teachers who don’t know what
the words mean…We are scared that if we tell on him that he will
come after us. He never says anything about our culture. He just keeps
swearing at us and calling us ‘Leb c…’ I keep saying
to him, ‘Can’t you stop that? We’re not saying anything
racist to you’.”

“I
get called names too but I get called names because of my parents -
they’re Indonesians.”

“One
boy teased me and my friend about our country, Lebanon, and when the
teacher came it was us who got in trouble. He told us to go the Principal
and he listened to us but we still got in trouble and were told not
to do it again, because we teased him back. It wasn’t fair because
the boy should have gotten in trouble too.”

“There
are all kinds of Muslims so why do they always tease us? Like the kid
yesterday who said to us ‘All you Lebs suck!’. We told him
that there are different Lebanese and Muslims.”

“The
Year 6 class watch BTN (Behind the News) and when they reported on Iraq,
the kids in the class were laughing at Muslims because they showed the
Muslims had died after a bomb and I got angry and said ‘Stop laughing.
It’s not funny’.”

“It’s
normal for us to get into a lot of fights and it’s normal for
us to be teased every day. Everyone picks on us…”

Physical attacks

Teasing and name-calling sometimes escalated into physical
attacks. Two young girls of Lebanese background described how constant
teasing by a fellow (male) classmate about their ethnic background eventually
led to blows.

“The
bell rang and the boy hit us and then ran home straight away. When I
got home I told my brothers and sisters and they said that if he hits
us [again] I should tell the teachers. It’s not good for boys
to hit girls.”

“My
dad the other day asked, ‘Why do you have bruises?’ I told
him that I bumped into the wall but really, that boy hit me. Sometimes
he hits me as a joke, but it hurts me.”

“Some
people, if you talk about their language or religion,
they just bash you but it’s ok if they talk about your
language or religion.”

Issues with teachers

There were few reports from students about racist comments
from teachers. While most students felt supported by their teachers in
the classroom and in the playground, however, several students at one
school felt targeted by a particular teacher whom they believed is racist
and anti-Muslim.

“A
teacher at the school in front of the class said to a Greek boy last
year, ‘Stop acting like a black person’. And after September
11 she said out loud that ‘All Muslims were jerks’…”

“When
she thinks she hears kids say something she will put them on detention
and community service (picking up papers around the playground). The
teacher does it to everyone but more to Muslims because of what is happening
around the world…”

“I
heard her saying, ‘I think it was Muslims who did the Bali bombing…”

“She
says things in front of all of us and not just about Muslims…”

2. Responses to racism and
bullying in school

Some students responded to bullying by trying to ignore
it.

“I
ignore them and say ‘shoush up’.”

“I
don’t really pay attention to them because if you do they’ll
keep on doing it.”

A more common response was to tell someone about what
happened or what was happening, usually teachers and/or parents. Generally
the students said they would tell their teachers about bullying behaviour,
although not on each and every occasion.

“Once
I was speaking and another kid said something racist about Muslims and
the teacher heard them so she sent them to the principal and talked
to him also and I was happy with that.”

“Sometimes
if something happens, like we have a fight, we tell the principal and
sometimes we don’t do anything about it because we don’t
think he’s gonna do anything about it. We want him to talk to
the teacher or the kid who is being racist. We want the teachers to
do something about it straight away when kids have a problem with someone.”

“Sometimes
the teachers understand but a lot of times they don’t because
they’re not Muslims and they don’t know how Muslims feel.
Sometimes I think that they might even believe that Muslims are terrorists
or may feel afraid.”

Some students said that they would not tell a teacher
if something happened at all or at least “until it got really
bad”.

“We
don’t say anything because we are scared that they [the teachers]
will tell bad things about us if we complain.”

“I
am afraid to tell the teachers because they will blame it on us.”

Few students were aware that they could approach Anti-Racism
Contact Officers (ARCOs) about their specific problems. At one consultation,
only four of the eleven students knew what an ARCO did and could identify
the ARCO at the school. The consultation itself provided the school’s
ARCO with the opportunity to publicise her role and encourage students
to come and talk about any problems in future.

Students were most likely to tell their parents first
about any problems relating to racism or bullying in school.

“If
something happened I first tell mum because I feel more comfortable
telling her...”

“I
would go to mum and dad and they would tell the principal and then the
kids would go to detention for bullying.”

While the relationship between parents and schools is
generally good, some students explained that the language barrier sometimes
made it difficult for their parents to discuss any problems with their
teachers.

“Sometimes
our parents approach teachers but they don’t speak the language
good enough.”

3. Experiences of racism and
discrimination outside of school

What happens outside of school impacts on students’
behaviour and attitudes inside the classroom and schoolyard. For this
reason, it was important to ask broader questions about the impacts of
anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment on young people outside of school.
Many students reported feeling scared, sad or angry because of what they
heard on the news or what was happening to themselves or their families
on the street after September 11.

“After
Sept 11 and Bali, my mum is scared to go to the shopping centres…”

“My
mum wears a scarf …she gets worried to go out to the shops cause
she’s scared …It makes me feel scared because I am a Muslim
too…”

“My
mum’s relatives are in Iraq and my dad’s relatives are in
America so it was hard at home.”

“My
parents are really affected but they don’t really show it. They
just hide it but you can tell…”

“I
used to stay with our neighbours with my cousin because they were really
nice to us before September 11. But after September 11 they changed
and once when we were over at their house I heard them say ‘Muslims
are stupid’.”

“When
we (the whole family) go out to the beach or a park or something people
yell at us and say, ‘Wogs go back to your country’ and everybody
starts swearing and they all start having fights and the police come.”

“Yesterday,
a girl walks around my flat and she is American and kept calling me
names and yelling ‘You dirty Arab!’. Nearly half of the
street is filled with Arabic people. She does it all the time but yesterday
I tried to ignore it. But when she continued I just got sick of it and
hit her. We used to be friends but we weren’t after September
11 - after that the girl now calls me names. During the fight I hurt
my arm and when I showed my mum she took me to the doctor to get it
checked out. My mum told me to forget about her but I wanted her to
be happy for standing up for myself.”

Students were also deeply affected by what they saw and
heard in the media about terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq.

“I
also feel sorry for all the disabled and dead people they show on TV,
like that little Iraqi boy who had no legs or those people you can see
the blood coming out of them. I felt really sorry for that boy who was
in Palestine and he was shot while his dad was trying to protect him
from the bullets. That makes me really sad. There are people being killed
in our countries too.”

“I
just wanted to say that I don’t like it when Muslims are dying
and are killed and people don’t make a big deal out of it and
when soldiers die they make a big deal out of it. We are all human beings.
Why can’t they see that?”

“Everything
to do with Muslims is seen as a bad thing. Whenever something bad happens
the first thing that comes out of their mouths is ‘Muslim’
[referring to John Howard and George Bush].”

“They
[George Bush and John Howard] give them a bad name and then Muslims
feel that they have a bad name and that’s not true. It makes people
feel like they have a right to say bad things about Muslims. Like kids
at school say, especially when we’re playing, they say ‘Get
away from them, they’re Muslim’.”

“Muslims
are not safe and they are always criticised. Why can’t they just
stop showing the war on TV?”

4. Impacts of racism and discrimination
on young people

The most common reaction to racism by young people was
anger or fear.

“It
makes me feel angry when I get teased and sometimes I can’t handle
it…”

“When
September 11 happened I thought someone was going to attack Australia.
I thought they were going to bomb the Harbour Bridge or the Opera House
or something.”

“Sometimes
news can scare you and they give you exact dates and they predict when
things are going to happen, for example there’s a pattern…11/9,
12/10 so then they say it will be 13/11.”

“Everyone
at school was scared to go to an excursion to the city.”

“I just
want to live in the countryside because it will be safe there, away
from the city.”

5. Strategies to fight anti-Arab
and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination in schools

In the immediate
aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, a number of schools
arranged assemblies or organised condolence books as a way of expressing
sympathy with the victims of the attack and to help resolve feelings generated
by the extensive media reporting of the event. Such activities were at
the discretion of individual school principals. The Deputy Director-General
of School Education in New South Wales issued a memorandum to all school
principals in NSW on 13 September 2001 asking them to “exercise
discretion and care in relation to the constant broadcast and availability
of these disturbing images” and reminding them to provide counselling
to students if they show signs of distress.

Students who took
part in consultations said that their teachers had discussed the terrorist
attacks in class and at school assemblies. At one school, students also
sent letters to the families of people who had lost relatives and drew
pictures in charcoal to represent how they felt about the attacks.

“We talked
about what happened on September 11 in class but I wasn’t that
comfortable. I felt sad ...”

Most students were
glad to have had the opportunity to talk about the terrorist attacks.
However, some felt that discussion did not go on for long enough and they
wanted to continue talking about the war and terrorism in more depth.

“Once
we had to do a project on an issue on current affairs and then talk
about it in class and we had to give news about anything but we were
not allowed to talk about the war, only happy stuff ... War, Bali, Palestine
war, Iraqi war, and every single channel is invaded by war. And teachers
on our assignments say ‘Don’t do it on war’.”

Aside from engaging
students in the classroom on issues like terrorism and war, schools also
offered counselling and conciliation to students when problems arise.

“About
a month ago, me and my friends had a big fight with [two other girls]
and we started teasing each other and being really racist. One of the
teachers saw us and then we all had to meet together in the staffroom
and the principal was there too and we talked about what happened. Each
of us had a go at talking and we started being friends again ...”

Other school initiatives
with broader anti-racist objectives include holding multi-cultural celebrations
such as ‘Harmony Day’, encouraging speakers from different
community groups to visit the school and speak with students and encouraging
students to explore different religions in study of ‘People and
Beliefs’.

“We have
Harmony Day when we wear orange to represent that we are all one colour.”

“On multicultural
day we are given a passport and go around to classes and do different
activities from specific countries. For example you learn about other
countries and you get your passport stamped.”

“Learning
about food, music and dancing in other cultures. It’s a fun way
to learn about other cultures.”

“Last
year the school had a fair and they have it every year at a park and
everyone’s invited to it and it’s fun. Everyone learns about
everyone’s culture.”

“We also
have a LOTE [Languages Other Than English] Day which is one day in the
year where the kids can wear the traditional dress of their country
if they want to and they can do a traditional dance too.”

“I wouldn’t
wear the traditional dress because it looks funny and that’s not
what we wear…”

“I think
the dancing is important because even if people laugh at them they learn
about other cultures.”

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

When questioned about
what they thought should be done to tackle racism and discrimination against
Muslims or Arab-Australians, students argued that education, cross-cultural
awareness training for teachers and positive political leadership were
the key.

“It is
important to learn about other religions so that people understand each
others’ religions and treat them nicely.”

“You
could learn languages like we learn Italian, English and Chinese. It’s
interesting because you get to see how they talk and what they believe
in and get to know about their culture and it makes you feel good.”

“[They
should] teach them [teachers] more about our religion and culture so
it could help them understand more about us and help us better too.”

“Politicians
should stop saying that Muslims do this and Muslims do this.”