Struggling to keep the faith

Although Australia is making serious attempts at bridging the multicultural gap, isolated incidents undo a lot of the good work being done, writes Preeti Jabbal  

A recent incident where a Sikh student in Melbourne was allegedly forced to shave his beard by a teacher caused considerable concern within the community. According to reports, the young Sikh boy who does not wish to be identified, is a student at Marymede Catholic College in south Morang near Epping in Melbourne’s north.  He had recently started growing facial hair and his teacher asked him to shave it off in adherence to school rules. The boy refused and was forcibly taken to the bathroom by the teacher and another student, where his beard was shaved off against his will.

An incident of ignorance?

The Principal of the school has since issued an apology; however it is unclear at this stage whether any action has been taken against the teacher involved. Speaking to John Faine on ABC Radio recently, the Principal Paul A. Fumei said the teacher involved did not know that the school had earlier agreed not to make the boy shave. “Our process has brought us to the conclusion that facial hair will be permitted by Sikh boys at the school,” he said. “I apologise for any harm that (the boy) might have felt or any hurt that he might have felt. That’s not our intention, to cause harm to anybody” he added.

The parents and the boy do not wish to pursue the matter further, however the incident has shocked the Sikh community and a debate has raged yet again on how secular Australia really is. The kerfuffle about violence against Indian students has barely subsided when this incident sparked another controversy.  “It was very disturbing to hear about the Sikh boy being shaved forcibly,” said Manpreet Singh from SBS Radio Punjabi. “There are many schools in Australia that are willing to accommodate everybody’s belief; however I feel that the good work done by hundreds of people comes to naught by the action of one misguided individual. It’s like taking two steps forward and one step back,” she added.

It’s your decision

Young Aman Dhingra from Glen Waverley said, “I think it’s really quite sad that we live in such a multicultural and accepting society, and yet incidents like this still occur. I made the decision myself and with my family about 18 months ago to cut my hair, and I am happy with it. However that was my decision and I don’t put pressure on anyone for or against keeping long hair, nor does it change the way I think or feel about anyone.” He added, “I think it’s really important that people have the right to choose and the boy in this incident had this right taken away from him. It’s a sad fact but those who are different are more likely to be targeted.”

An individual identity

“I feel that Australians in general are quite accepting and willing to embrace cultural diversity. I have never once felt that I don’t belong,” said Avtej Singh from Rowville. Avtej or Avi as he is called affectionately is a 13-year-old youth whom many Melbournians would recognize. Avi is the face of a new exhibition in the Immigration Museum, and his image can be seen in press advertisements, banners that hang outside the Museum, posters and cards.

Promoting the changing face of Australia this exhibition titled, Identity yours, mine ours is about Australian identity and challenging its stereotypes. Launched on May 9, it is expected to be a permanent exhibit at the Immigration Museum for many years to come. The exhibition focuses on how our cultural heritage, languages, beliefs and family connections influence our self-perceptions and our perceptions of other people – ones that can lead to discovery, confusion, prejudice and understanding. Personal stories, objects, images and interactive multimedia experiences invite visitors to find connections with others, as well as challenge the assumptions we make about each other every day.

Unlike the pensive Avi seen in the ad, the real Avi is a cheerful student and a keen sportsman. He is known for the colourful patkas (traditional Sikh headgear) that he dons to show allegiance to his favourite footy or cricket team. He recently led his cricket team of under 13’s to a grand final victory at Eildon Park and was also selected to play at district level in cricket last year. Avi said he was very excited to be part of the exhibition, which features a short video of him playing cricket. The exhibit also displays a patka and other Sikh objects of faith.

Seeing beyond race

In another part of Melbourne the Whittlesea Council has recently launched a campaign the first of its kind in Australia to be delivered as part of a council-wide programme to reduce race-based discrimination.  Whittlesea is one of Melbourne’s most diverse areas. The See Beyond Race campaign features five locals including a Sikh man Rashminder Singh, and invites the community to identify blatant forms of prejudice as well as subtle, indirect versions. According to the Council, the residents from culturally and religiously diverse backgrounds have shared their stories and photos to counter race-based discrimination in Whittlesea. Their stories will be seen in newspapers, on buses and bus shelters and at shopping centres until August. A similar campaign was also launched in Shepparton, Victoria this month.

Speaking at the official launch of the See Beyond Race campaign on May 17, Whittlesea Mayor Rex Griffin said negative stereotypes and prejudice were key factors contributing to race-based discrimination. “Many negative attitudes towards diversity are subtle, and people may not even be aware that they are holding them,” he said. “People may discriminate without the intent to do so,” he added. Rashminder Singh is a nurse by profession and has called Australia home for the past 11 years. He can be seen on all the promotional material of the campaign at various locations in Whittlesea. “This is a very good initiative taken by the Council and it reiterates that we should see beyond race and embrace differences,” said Rashminder. He migrated to Australia from Chandigarh in India just after the 9/11 disaster. “It was a scary time to be here as people mistook me to be Muslim and they did not want to know me.  When I returned from work some people at the station would make offensive comments about me, and I have even had things like beer bottles thrown at me during that time. My early days in Australia were marred by these negative experiences,” disclosed Rashminder.

Long way to go

“Things have improved a lot since then; however on a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate Australia around 5 or 6 in terms of embracing cultural diversity. There is a lot more acceptability than a decade ago, but we are only halfway through our journey towards secularity,” said Rashminder. “Australia will rate on top only when my family and my daughters will not be considered as ‘Indians’, but first as Australians. At the moment despite being born and brought up here, even second generation migrants are still classed as ‘Indians’ by the mainstream community. This could stem from people’s ignorance of other cultures, but can also be due to a lack of communication from us. We haven’t expressed our identity or shared our beliefs. It is up to us as individuals to educate the community and make them aware that even though we may look different, we still belong and are no less Australian than anyone else,” added Rashminder vehemently.

Multiculturalism in Australia is a work in progress. The main principles underlying Australian multiculturalism are evident in the quotation from the following report created by the Migrant Services Commonwealth of Australia (MSCA), which states: “We are convinced that migrants have the right to maintain their cultural and racial identity and that it is clearly in the best interests of our nation that they should be encouraged and assisted to do so if they wish. Provided that ethnic identity is not stressed at the expense of society at large, but is interwoven into the fabric of our nationhood by the process of multicultural interaction, then the community as a whole will benefit substantially and its democratic nature will be reinforced. …We reject the argument that cultural diversity necessarily creates divisiveness. Rather we believe that hostility and bitterness between groups are often the result of cultural repression.”

Efforts are in place to ensure that differences between individuals and groups are considered to be a potential source of strength and renewal, rather than of strife. However, every now and then incidents like the Sikh boy’s forced shaving create impediments in the path of embracing cultural acceptability.