Titles Suck, Vol. 1

All the thanks go to Bgirl for suggesting a fantastic title for my previously untitled post ideas! Also, the kids are better. Katriana did end up going back to the doctor with a chest infection on top of her other stuff, but she is now doing much better. Now, on to the post!

Before we made our international move, I frequently talked about how great it would be to live an area that was multicultural. In my mind, a multicultural area equaled a greater understanding and acceptance of other cultures and races. I am married to a man from Sri Lanka and we have two children, so this has always been important to us. Melbourne is a very multicultural area with a large Sri Lankan community. There is a much greater understanding and acceptance of other cultures than you would find in Oklahoma. However, there is still racism. The racism is of a different type than you find in Oklahoma or other parts of the American south. The first place I witnessed racism or racial intolerance was at my school. The school I attend has been marketed towards international students, which would make one think that they would be more tolerant of other cultures than the general population. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that the population of the school is comprised of 99% internationals. One of the first incidents of racial intolerance that I witnessed happened at the student services desk. I asked for a certain form and the person was very polite and tells me that I have to wait for them to make more copies. I say okay and wait at a nearby table. At this table, I am still near enough to hear other people that go up after me. Less than five minutes later, another girl, who I know to be from India, goes to the window to request the same form. The polite tone that I heard five minutes before has been replaced by an annoyed and frustrated tone. In that five minutes nothing had happened that would have obviously explained this change of attitude. Nothing has changed except the appearance of the person making the request. After this happened, I started paying attention. Every single time I go to reception or student services, everyone has been very polite to me. If I hang around for a couple of minutes, I can usually witness them being rude to the next person in line.

I don’t want to be too hard on the staff at my school. They do have a job that can be very trying at times. The level of English varies from one student to the next, so sometimes just figuring out what someone is asking for can be a challenge. The student population has more than doubled in size during the last year, naturally making the number of students they have to assist every single day much higher. The students themselves are not always easy to deal with. I know. I go to class with some of them at least three days a week. These things have combined and contribute to the racially intolerant attitudes and the plethora of stereotypes that deal with international students.

I think that Australia’s immigration policy is a significant part of the problem. I don’t have any fantastic solution for the policy, but I believe the policy needs some work. What policy doesn’t need work? Most of the students doing my program are not doing it because they want to be chefs and work in the hospitality industry. They are doing the program so they can get PR. (That’s the same reason I’m doing the program.) Permanent Residency will put them one step closer to having citizenship in a western nation. My classmates come from countries with unstable economies, countries that are war torn, poor, or just countries that are not easy to build a secure future in. They view Australia and other western countries as their ticket to a better life. If they have to put up with racism to get that better life, most of them are willing to do it. They feel like the racism is worth it. It makes me sad. I’m sad that people have the need to put up with attitudes that are unfair and wrong so they can have a better life. At the same time, it reminds me of how blessed I am to have been born in a western nation. As Americans, I think we take it for granted that we were born in a great nation and millions of people worldwide would love to have an American green card. Even a family that the parents are unemployed and is forced to feed their children with government assistance and doesn’t have enough money to buy the kids new shoes is doing much better than a family in the same situation in other parts of the world. The American family has food stamps.