Immigration minister Kevin Andrews has apparently decided to cut the number of African refugees being allowed into Australia because of their failure to adequately integrate into Australian society. The main story is here, although here a spokeswoman for Andrews cites the sources that lead to the decision;
"It's more anecdotal (evidence)," she said, citing media reports of some serious crimes involving Sudanese.
News.com.au, being the trash heap of a website that it is, then goes on to mention the tragic case of Leip Gony, the Sudanese kid bashed to death the other day. Are they indicating that the Sudanese can’t take a head kicking like your average Australian? A crude form of phrenology perhaps?
Well if Andrews wants to use ‘they say’ as a basis for policy then I’m fighting back with my own anecdote, one that proves the Africans are integrating just fine.
I was at a party the other day sinking piss with a bunch of average Aussies when the conversation turned towards the problems of today, and specifically antisocial behaviour. It was then that I heard the statement "It’s those bloody African gangs."
It almost brought a tear to my eye. I felt like running up to the nearest African refugee, hugging him and saying "you’re arrived". Three or four years ago it would have been "those bloody Lebanese gangs". Africans have been promoted. How can Kevin Andrews say Africans are not integrating when they are already up to the ‘bloody gangs’ stage?
Of course this also means the Lebanese have been promoted to Cambodians, the Cambodians to Vietnamese and the Vietnamese to Greek/Italian.
This is perfectly summed up by Phong Nguyen, chairman of the Ethnic Communities Council in this article.
"When my community came here, everybody say shock and horror, no way the Vietnamese will settle well in this country and we did have plenty of problems not dissimilar to the Africans today," he said, "Yet now you look 30 years later, the Vietnamese are now proud citizens of this country."
I wish policy makers would have more faith in this great country of ours. Australia is an awesome place and surely anyone who comes here as a refugee will slowly warm to our way of life and, with help, seek to understand and integrate with our unique, migrant rich culture.
And if they don’t, then who cares? They’re Australians now and they can do what the fuck they want.
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5 comments:
I have always been mightily proud of how our Anglo-Irish ancestors integrated into the indigenous Australian way of life so quickly and seamlessly back in 1788. There's a lesson for the Sudanese and Lebanese of today!
Yeah, murderous colonisation's aside, I was thinking about that this afternoon. Where does Aboriginal Australia fit into this cycle of integration/addition that we've seen with the various waves of migrants?
Don’t really have a clear answer for why, since say 1960, the Aborigines have not raised themselves up in the same way that dirt poor Italian immigrants did or how I predict the Africans will. Much more extreme racism, Government oppression, strong attachment to the land, more primitive culture, lack of experience with alcohol?
Doesn’t fit at all into my little speech, but the facts about migrants remain.
PS: Is Aborigine un-PC now?
Tragi-comic post Coxy. It's interesting how Strayan class division (in a supposedly classless society) is based on some sort of racial demarcation as much as socio-economic factors.
On another note, did you receive your official booklet form the Commonwealth Gumnut: "NetAlert: Protecting Australian Families Online." Could you provide a considered response to that alarmist tract?
I don't know wot part of Oz u live in Coxy (not Pauline's part I bet) but I can't walk to the shops for my fags and booze without being shoved off the footpath by all these roaming African gangs and gay lesbians who want to get married. Talk about the bane of Australian life! Good to see the Libs are tackling the BIG issues!
I Personally fail to see how Sudanese (I hate to use the word, "black") refugees are going to integrate into the community.
I am myself a migrant. I can also recall other ethnic groups settling into Australia after me and all groups seem to integrate fine, even to the extent of enriching the community in some respects.
The Sudanese refugees in my opinion do not fit, and will never integrate with the Australian way of life.
A prime example is, their communities workforce (skilled - or unskilled) compared to their communities centerlink customers.
Another is their crime rate figures upon settlement in Australia compared to other refugees and migrants. Serious crimes such as, rape, assault even car-jacking. Another example is their respect (or lack off) in regards to authority and the community at large. Unappreciative maybe? You Decide!
I praise the minister for immigration or which ever minister it was for halting all Sudanese-Somali-African human imports.
We are a nation of thoughtful and tolerant people but even we must at some point in time draw the line in the sand to protect our way of life.
Even a migrant such as myself knows this. Do You?
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