Recent protests by Indian students in Australia have drawn global attention to a resurgence of racist violence in Australian cities. An Indian student lies in a Melbourne hospital recovering from serious stab wounds to his abdomen, while others live in terror.
Meanwhile, a deliberate campaign of racist incitement is being conducted through the internet. Last week, my father forwarded me an email with the heading "Aussie Welfare". The body was a poisonous ditty called the "Illegal Immigrant's Poem". Here is an excerpt:
I cross ocean, poor and broke,
Take bus, see employment folk.
Nice man treat me good in there,
Say I need to see welfare.
Welfare say, 'You come no more,
We send cash right to your door'
Welfare cheques, they make you wealthy,
Medicare it keep you healthy!
By and by, I got plenty money,
Thanks to you, Australian Dummy
Write to friends in motherland,
Tell them 'come fast as you can.'
They come in turbans and Ford trucks,
I buy big house with welfare bucks
They come here, we live together,
More welfare cheques, it gets better!…
We think Australia is a darn good place!
Too darn good for the white man race.
If they no like us, they can scram,
Got lots of room in Pakistan …
At the bottom of the email is the request: "Send this to every Australian taxpayer you know."
This is a familiar signature. I've seen half a dozen emails like this that are forwarded from inbox to inbox across Australia.
Each of these emails paints non-white immigrants as aliens sponging off the "Australian taxpayer". Each tries to pass off outrageous lies as facts. Some of these emails target Asians and others target Muslims.
Anti-immigrant racism is on the rise in Australia, especially as the global capitalist recession begins to bite. On June 11, ABC Online said an anti-immigrant Facebook group in Australia had attracted 64,500 members.
Green Left Weekly does not support internet censorship. We fight such racist propaganda with the truth.
The fact is that hundreds of millions of people have been made refugees by a system that thrives on exploitation and permanent war. We make the case for a response based on human solidarity.
The capitalist rulers want to force the world's exploited majority to carry the burden of the trillions in bad debt they themselves have caused. And to get away with this scam they need to use the old tactic of divide and rule.
This is why racism is making a dangerous resurgence today.
Help GLW fight back against racism. Please make a donation to our fighting fund at: Greenleft, Commonwealth Bank, BSB 062-006, Account No. 00901992. Otherwise, you can send a cheque or money order to PO Box 515, Broadway NSW 2007 or phone in a donation through on the toll-free line at 1800 634 206 (within Australia).