I read an article by Greg Sheridan on multiculturalism in the April 2 Weekend Australian and there are a few points that need to be said.
First of all, Sheridan says he sees no future to multiculturalism. He says it is a failure and that it doesn't work in Australia. Well, I believe that we live in a world where borders are less important than ever before.
People travel and migrate more than ever. I am a perfect example of this. I have lived in eight countries in Europe, and now live in Australia. I have travelled through 30 countries. I have a mother from eastern Europe and a Sicilian father.
Being exposed to so many cultures has made me the person I am today. It has made of me someone with an open approach to things that are different. I believe that it's when mixing with other cultures that we can understand other people's backgrounds.
And isn't “understanding” the main ingredient to acceptance?
When I travelled through north Africa I became curious about Islam and I started to read and learn about the beautiful religion that it is. When travelled in Asia I became fascinated with Buddhism, yet I am a non-believer.
I find it hard to understand how some people are ready to accept only what they like from other cultures.
How can we find it normal that Australia imports the latest “made in China” TV, computer or mp3 player because it is cheaper than the ones made in Australia, yet disregard the Asian people who live here?
Sheridan takes issue with multiculturalism but says he thinks Australia has had a successful immigration history. He forgets to mention that the history of modern Australia started with a near wipeout of the first inhabitants of the country.
I also disagree with Sherdian when he says of Islam “there is no equivalence in the size and strength of the extremist tendency in other religions”.
I also believe Sheridan is wrong when he says multiculturalism is a failure in Europe. Saying that French President Nicolas Sarkozy doesn't believe in it means nothing.
Sarkozy is a conservative right-winger. The same is true for other politicians hostile to multiculturalism that Sheridan mentions, such as conservative British PM David Cameron and former Spainish PM Jose Maria Aznar. Aznar started his political career as member of a student union linked to the Falange, the party of Spain’s fascist dictator Francisco Franco.
So yes, those three politicians and other conservatives don’t believe in multiculturalism, but so what?. I have seen and met thousands of people from different origins all living together in peace in Europe — all sharing and learning to understanding each other.
Only the corrupt politicians, conservatives and discriminators believe that multiculturalism doesn’t work. And, of course, the media corporations that walk hand in hand with those leaders.
By writing such absurdities in a national paper, Sheridan aims to demonise migrants to Australia — especially Muslims. But we should aim towards a society of many cultures.
I lived in the south of France, in a suburb of Marseille, in a small apartment building where I was the only resident not of North African descent and, believe me, I didn't lose my faith in multiculturalism after that.
On the contrary, I learnt from others. I learnt to respect and live in peace with other cultures. But people like Sheridan are not willing to learn, and they don’t want others to either.