Multiculturalism at Melbourne

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Multi-culturalism at Melbourne

By: Chingshang *

India is considered to be one of the most highly multicultural countries of the world. It possesses unique cultural, linguistic and genetically diverse geographical entities. Not less than 1600 dialects are spoken by the people and its constitution is premised on the idea of national pluralism.

India is also known for its multitude of religions. Today almost all the bigger cities of the Country like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore are becoming the multicultural hotspots.

There is no denying the fact that Imphal city will also change its fabric of co-existent culture on a later date in the future. The winds of change are blowing through different valleys of the state. Cultural and linguistic assimilation is taking place at a higher rate than before in recent times.

The trend will continue with increasing population and opening of the previously landlocked state through different transportation forms.

The aggressive interest on the part of the government of the India to expand its infrastructure in the state despite many hurdles and disturbances is going to bear its fruit one day or the other.

Basically, Imphal city, today, is almost a mini melting pot of different cultures. The recent activities on connecting the state through rail network and night time air service is going to bring a whole plethora of things which we can not predict at the moment.

But one thing is centum sure that the texture of the cultural fabric of the state will change forever. There will be many pros and cons for this resultant affair as we have been seeing. Hence we may need to formulate appropriate policies and programs for this increasingly diversified society.

Of course our society has been the centre of diversity since time immemorial in the form of different communities speaking different dialects. I am not the one who is capable of analyzing the effect of this increasing multiculturalism in the state and this article bears no intention to analyze the same.

There will be many opinions of the learned scholars on the subject and it is an area which we need to address from different perspectives. Multiculturalism has been defined by various scholars in different ways according to the characteristic features prevailing in a particular country or nation. But the ultimate essence of the subject,-cultural diversity,-remains the same.

Chronicling the multi-culturalism (multi-ethnicity) of Melbourne, Australia

In the Australian context, multiculturalism is commonly equaled as cultural and political policy framed by the government for the peaceful co-existence of its diverse ethnic communities.

The term multiculturalism was first introduced in the country in 1973 by the labor government under Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The backbone of the whole idea of multiculturalism is that all cultures are respected and no culture is superior or inferior to one another.

Basically, Australia does not possess a formal cultural policy as such for binding multiculturalism. But it has a very broad framework of general laws which continuously updated pertaining to its cultural objectives.

Equality, Responsibility and Benefits are the three core principles upholding its democratic ideals by its citizens. The value of multiculturalism is taught right from the primary schools through to greater emphasis on public education systems. Even Harmony Day is observed on March 21 every year to celebrate the benefits of living together harmoniously.

Melbourne proudly declares itself as one of the most culturally diverse multicultural cities in the southern hemisphere. Its inhabitants comes from not less than 233 countries who speak over 180 languages and dialects and believes in more than 116 religious faiths.

The city is a vibrant multicultural hub where all the communities of different countries coexist peacefully. The city is more proud of its impeccably low crime rate considering the fact of its highly multicultural layers.

Basically, if you open the historical background of this great city, you will find that Melbourne is a city of migrants. Immigration museum at Melbourne is one of the best places to find whole lots of information regarding immigration trends to this city since the beginning of settlements.

Four waves of migration have been identified in the annals of its historical legacy. The first wave of migration mainly comprises of British and Irish origin in the 1830s which they normally addressed as people of Anglo-Celtic origin.

The second wave refers to the Gold rush era of 1950s where many people from different corners of the world came to see their luck in gold prospecting in Victoria. This era is also notable for the large scale migration of Chinese in Victoria.

The third wave of migration is post second world war. Many people of European origin which was displaced during the war find their new home in Australia.

The fourth wave of migration is post Vietnam war. During this period large scale influx of migrants from Vietnam and Cambodia came to Melbourne. Today, Melbourne is home to almost all the ethnic communities of the world.

Chronicling the multi-culturalism (multi-ethnicity) of Melbourne, Australia

Probably you may be able to find any community of your choice in this city. Thirty eight per cent of the population of Melbourne city was born overseas and not less than 30 percent of the population speak a language other than English.

There are many suburbs or precincts where a particular cluster of a community is predominant. To name a few, Italians in Carlton, Chinese in Chinatown, Vietnamese in Richmond and Springville, Macedonians in Preston, Indians in Dandenong, Russians in Carnegie, Spanish in Fitzroy, Greeks in Oakleigh and so on.

For me finding new communities in this city is also a pleasure. Over the last few months I could manage to locate almost all the ethnic precincts in the city and feel the pulse of peaceful co-existence. Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Indian restaurants are ubiquitous.

So are the Italians, Turkish, French, Japanese, Malaysians, and so on. You will find them in almost all the localities of Melbourne. I found quite a number of Nepalese restaurants too.

The particular interest for me in the present article is the huge amount of information that the government of Victoria collected very precisely for a better service to the communities and understanding of the multifarious diversity. Suburb and city profiles are prepared taking different parameters into consideration.

They maintained community profiles categorizing into workforce, migration, visitor, student, socio-economic profiles etc. These profiles were intended to provide an informed data for decision making and service development.

The government of Victoria strongly endorsed Melbourne as the city of opportunity. They have already prepared a strategy to redefine the future of this increasingly diversified society. Diversity is a reality and to best understand the diversity is a real task.

The government seems to take it very seriously as the future of Melbourne is intertwined with its diversity. There are also economic and demographic profiles of the 11 cities of Melbourne suburbs and city overall.

The statistics covers major subdivisions like age, sex, country of birth, occupations, language spoken at home, family type, industry of employment and land uses etc. City planning is done for every three years.

Multiculturalism is reflected in many ways in the city and one of the best ways to taste its diversity is to enjoy many of the festivals held throughout the year. Actually, Victorian calendar is full of festivals for its diverse ethnic communities.

The other day I had the opportunity to see Greek cultural expo at Melbourne’s famed Federation square. It was unique in all its characteristic features and felt immersed yourself as if you are in Greece. Indeed, the largest Greek settlement outside Greece is found to be located in Melbourne.

Frankly speaking, my notion for the city before coming here was really different. I thought Melbourne as a city of predominantly white population. It’s still true. But the feeling I have today is no longer true. Wherever I go, I could feel and smell diversity in all walks of life in this city.

Another way to sample diversity here is to taste the exotic foods and flavors from different corners of the world. You name any cuisine; probably you’ll get the best here. Food is one area where maximum diversity is reflected. Authentic cuisines from different parts of the world can be sampled at the drop of your hat.

If you happen to come around at Chinatown in the heart of city, you will never feel that you are in Melbourne as per your previously assumed notion. Australia’s second and world’s oldest Chinatown is found to be located in Melbourne. Same is the case, if you are in Footscray and Richmond, you’ll feel as if you are in Vietnam.

Physical locations of the two Vietnams or Chinas may be world apart but the inherent food habits and linguistic etiquettes are very much with them and the same is reflected in many of the restaurants here. Many of the Asian specialty stores are stacked with every conceivable food items found in Asia.

From the dress and fashion statements, you may find it difficult to identify the different communities as Melbourne is more cosmopolitan in nature. Off course, you can differentiate by their physical features and linguistic tones. But I am not very confident that you will be 100 percent right.

At the most you may be able to identify between a White and an Asian or between an African and a Chinese. But in cultural festivals and restaurants, you are sure that you will come to know the true colour of each ethnicity.

The concept of multiculturalism may also be strongly influenced by the increasing intermarriage between the different communities on the basis of its democratic ideals. It’s not a new scene to witness many people of varying backgrounds found their love and life in different communities. This can be seen and felt easily if you happen to live in the city for some time.

Well, the few paragraphs above reflect multiculturalism at Melbourne in bits if not whole. But there are few things which people seldom discuss or rather feel not necessary to discuss. You are born and bought up in Australia and a natural Australian citizen.

But you are confused when someone asked you in the city where you come from and which is your mother tongue even though you are proud Australian. If the same question is put on your face on different occasions in different situations, one can understand your position.

But you can not presume that such situations will never occur. Where do you stand as Australian Chinese, Vietnamese or Indian? This may be a wrong question or there should not a question as such. But your original tag and identity will remain the same, may be with an increasingly Australian outlook.

It’s ones personal life to decide the multitude of factors involving the whole concept of multiculturalism. The topic of multiculturalism remains a tricky one as the whole concept is based on diversity.

But the most interesting part of the whole story of multiculturalism in Melbourne is the strength and ability of the government to promote the city as multicultural hub using all the possible colors of diversity making the life of citizens better and meaningful.

Melbourne multicultural hub will be operational from 2008. This is going to be one stop shop for the city’s culturally diverse communities to meet and access services. The identity of Melbourne will remain synonymous with its cultural diversity.

The following links provides good information about multiculturalism at Melbourne.

See you all in the next article.

www.multicultural.vic.gov.au
www.immi.gov.au

Check out the gallery on "multi-culturalism at Melbourne" here.

* Chingshang, a Graduate student at University of Melbourne, contributes regularly to e-pao.net . The writer can be contacted at rockm(at)rediffmail(dot)com . This article was webcasted on December 06th 2007.

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