Learning from the Australian racism story

BY Visa Ravindran| IN Media Practice | 27/07/2009

 News reports of recent events  in Australia involving assaults on Indian students point to serious lapses on the part of journalists, with the media being squarely blamed for fabricating  and misrepresenting evidence.

Coverage of any issue now seems to verge constantly on sensationalism; judgements passed by media pundits  are immediate, and the continuous visual and verbal repetition only helps to exaggerate the gravity of the situation leading to the spread of  negative feelings of fear, anxiety and terror. A couple of inane debates based on shaky premises add their nuisance value, and then, even while the repercussions continue, the subject is dropped entirely because the next news sensation  becomes the focus of attention.

We have heard Suhel Seth and Alyque Padamsee, and a couple of other staples of our media on national television making predictable pronouncements on these, and other subjects. The passion and vituperation that accompany these ‘discussions’ makes only for more confusion; whereas what is urgently needed in such a situation is clarity of thought and vision, or a real sifting of pros and cons to reach a possible conclusion. At the other extreme, in the context of the racist attacks in Australia, are recent articles pouring scorn on Indian as racist themselves, indicating that they have little right to protest against any other nation.

"By and large Australians are NOT racist. I have been here for over 11 years now and never had any racist abuse or discrimination. I faced more discrimination back home when I went to a neighbouring state to work than any discrimination here. I work in a multicultural office. I have colleagues who are Spanish, Italian, Macedonian, Vietnamese, British, Russian, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Dutch,  Pakistani,  Islanders,  Greek,  Serbian,  Bosnian,  Maltese, Chile,  Peruvian, American and any other you can think of and most of us never had any racism from any of them" says an e-mail message from an indignant Indian immigrant, now a prosperous Australian citizen.

"Indian media who have a notorious reputation for ¿dumping¿ down(sic)  news on their viewers have no interest in seeing[sic], do not display any sense of balanced reporting. It is absurd and rash that political parties have jumped on the band wagon and burn effigies of Kevin Rudd, Aussie Prime Minister, on this issue, instead of handling it subtly and with the sensitivity it requires!" the writer continues. He condemns  Indians for their ‘herd mentality’ and says Indians are very individualistic when cooperative effort is needed, " not very good team players…but when blaming someone and taking out our frustrations on them, we unite and resort to herd mentality. "Did the Aussie Media brand the whole of India as racist and  fanatical when a Christian missionary working with Leprosy patients in Orissa was burnt alive with his young sons in his vehicle?  No, but be assured that they will do it next time something happens like that in India." is the angry and anguished warning from the Australindian in a senior position in  Sydney.

In the current global financial crisis, with professionals in many foreign countries where Indians work, losing their jobs, frustrations are high. The visibility of Indians within their cities cause those frustrations to rise to the surface, bringing out the worst in people. In this situation it is necessary to find ways of reducing these tensions. Integrating with the community one lives in would go a long way towards this.

 Half the students arriving in Australia over the last year or so, after the global financial crisis, are not students  but  men and women who have 3 to 5 years of study/work experience.  Having  lost their jobs in IT, they got to Australian cities on a student’s  visa, but with the sole purpose of possible employment. Indians become soft targets because they often walk to or from work late at night, and, as a group, attract attention. For various reasons, including illegal immigrant/work status, they do not open bank accounts, and carry large amounts of cash.

 Aruna Chandrala, who heads an umbrella organization of 24 Indian associations in Australia, has lived in a predominantly white neighbourhood for 23 years. She continues to flaunt her identity by wearing  a sari, and  has raised 2 children without feeling any racist undertones at anytime. In an interview to the Deccan Herald (this paper deserves praise for highlighting such responsible, informed opinion),she says" The media should not show every violent incident as a deliberate attack, or portray the country as racist." She points to the unsung fact of a white Australian having bought tickets for the family of an injured Indian student to visit him in Melbourne as they could not afford the airfare. Neglect in reporting such positive actions emphasize both the media’s irresponsible labeling of stray incidents, and their repeated emphasis of skewed news reinforces both  the wrong emotions, and loses an opportunity to mitigate the resentment and anger caused by unfortunate events happening in foreign lands.

Initially the media exacerbates an incident, political parties then jump in and twist facts as they please, and passions are thus easily whipped up. Caution is the victim, and this points to a miserable failing of the Media as opinion makers/watchdogs. What every immigrant, comfortably settled outside his hoe country, emphasizes is that unprovoked attacks on immigrants are usually made by poor, unemployed social misfits, similar in every society, and that violence is a global phenomenon. Indians settled in Australia insist that it is a safe country with a committed police, responsive government and a highly disciplined society.

Chandrala further points to a change in opportunities abroad : " The earlier generations had access to both quality employment and quality life…We are asking the Australian government to provide opportunities for quality employment. Our students are highly exploited even by Indian employers who see them as cheap labour, and employees keep late hours, living in downtown neighbourhoods trying to save money any way they can…" The federation of  24 organisations also found that Indians were not specifically targeted—Chinese and Koreans were  facing similar attacks, but dealing with them differently. A positive step quietly being taken is in helping the government set up a helpline for Indian students in distress. Local governments are lighting up train stations, and the federal government has set up a Task Force to study the issue.               

The Indian media has rarely highlighted any of this. Accountability for verified information and responsible presentation with emphasis proportionate to the degree of importance of the news being disseminated, would help in improving matters greatly. Delivering news in a fevered frenzy of rash excitement goes ill with the duty of opinion-making. Catching eyeballs as fast as possible to feed the 24-hour news channel monster must not be the bottomline in information gathering or delivery.