Writing a post while standing in a train going at 100k’s is a tough job; but I must admit that it is fairly stable and not wobbly like old carriages. I am approaching the Stirling station on Joondalup line going towards Perth. The video from this station went viral for very humane reasons last year, when bunch of people relieved a man’s foot stuck between the platform and train, by pushing the train collectively.
A topic that touched my attention before the weekend and still afresh in my head is a post by someone called “Andrew bolt” and his column published in press - “ The Foreign invasion”.
I am unsure of the newspaper it was published in, as I read it online . To be honest I am hardly into politics and political commentary, but this column surfacing on social media caught my eye for very negative reasons.
In a very nutshell, for those who have not read it , it is basically like a complete grudge against everyone who can be termed different than “Us”. The column talks about how the Indians, Chinese, Jews , Aboriginals etc. are degenerating “ Our Culture” and how mass of “Non-English speakers “ are in-fluxing the country that there is no more of “Us”.
Very absurd, Isn’t it? , Well that’s how I felt. The earliest known settlers known on this land are Indigenous people. They have been labeled and treated as ‘flora and fauna’ for years. The huge number went through unimaginable period and if government is trying to lift them up now and undo all the wrongs committed in the past, then please let it happen. To keep 2% of your already down-trodden population into dungeon, is the last thing I would imagine.
Coming to Non-English speaking mass , since the days of early European settlers, everybody apart from the dwellers of the Great Britain was considered Non-English. The Non-English speaking Dutch (mind you - Andrew’s parents were Dutch too , who settled in Australia in around mid 1900's) came here first, followed by the English speakers. Everyone lived in communities then; The Italians with Italians , The Greeks with Greeks and the English with English. This is obvious as people need help and comfort when they first arrive. There is no rational in complaining when everyone does this, and it happens now too. The Suburb of Butler in WA is full of new and old English arrivals, however it is no news at all as it looks “Australian” to the most. My “Australian” colleague mentioned the other day that he will never live in Butler as it is full of “POMS” :) .
The farmers working in fields close to far northern suburbs in Perth could easily pass for being “ Chinese” for the most people, however they are second/third or may be longer generation Australians from mostly “Vietnam”. I am probably eating their produce since I arrived here in this lovely land, and so are those who were born and raised here. I am grateful to them.
I buy my produce and groceries from a fierce looking Italian’s (actually Australian) store, and everyone knows him here in WA. I owe a lot of my IT and Transport needs to my Indian mates , who may be very new here, however one gets easily bamboozled to find the roots of early Indian settlers as deep as 1800s, most of them Sikhs ( Did you know : Indians formed a large part of allied forces and there were Sikh Anzacs too).
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| Lieutenant Amrinder Ghuman(Australian Defence Force) leads 2 Initial Employment Training Troop onto parade |
There is nothing to be taken away from the early settlers, though, especially the ones who not only went to create a lovely nation but also raised their voice against injustice towards the natives. There are always good and bad people. We must understand that people always find a way to differentiate into 2 distinct groups - “Us” and “them” ; “Them” being bad and “Us” being nice. Anyone(including myself) thinking this way should definitely read “Factfulness” by Hans Rosling . This is the book to get right and current information about this world - A book Bill Gates refers to as one of his favourites.”
I see all communities working and doing their best , So rather than abhorring the “ different looking and thinking people “ embrace them as much as you . This is the fastest way that they and you will be “Us”.
We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home.
– Australian Aboriginal Proverb
References
First Picture - https://undergroundscience.net/history/dna-study-finds-aboriginal-australians-worlds-oldest-civilization/
Second Picture - https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/article/2017/07/12/turbaned-troop-commander-australian-army-trains-combat-engineers
