Migration: ‘Learn from mistakes’

By Shaun Inguanzo
SPRNGVALE’S Vietnamese community has leapt to the defence of African refugees, slamming the Federal Government’s decision to stop the flow of migration and urging Noble Park residents to be more tolerant towards them.
Springvale Indo-Chinese Mutual Assistance Association (SICMAA) director Phong Nguyen said residents, traders, councillors and politicians should avoid a repeat of the racism that made the Vietnamese community’s settlement into Springvale harder than necessary.
Mr Nguyen said that like African refugees, nearly all Vietnamese migrants were the targets of racist remarks after a ‘handful’ of troublemakers dabbled in crime and drugs in the heart of Springvale.
“Being Asians, it was similar to the black Africans in that we were quite visible in large numbers,” Mr Nguyen said.
“There was a lot of concern in the community about us, and those who were anti-Asian criticised us for not speaking English, and called us the ‘yellow peril’ and saw us as a threat to the cohesion of Australian society.”
But Mr Nguyen said Springvale’s Asian population boom had produced terrific economical and cultural results for the City of Greater Dandenong, which is home to people from 151 different cultures and nationalities.
He said the second and later generations of children who were born and raised in Australia and educated locally had also helped to bridge the cultural divide – but that had taken at least 20 years.
Mr Nguyen said he was shocked and appalled at the Federal Government’s announcement that it would stop the flow of African refugees during a time when people were seeking leadership on the settlement issue.
“It is not an Australian value when you punish the entire community or discriminate against it based on the faults of a few,” he said.
“Even the police in Springvale have been saying that statistically the Africans are no worse than any other group in the community, and (their figures) are in fact pretty low.
“If we are rational people, we will listen to evidence and not just emotive statements from leaders.”
Mr Nguyen said he had heard people compare the settlement struggle in Noble Park to the divisive relationship between black and white people in America.
“But those people haven’t read history of black Africans in America,” he said.
“They came from slavery and then their own society treated them poorly, created an environment of segregation.
“Their history is one of racism and that’s why America is the way it is.”
Mr Nguyen said a tolerant and understanding community would ensure African refugees were able to settle comfortably into the City of Greater Dandenong.
“We will reap what we sow – that is an Asian philosophy,” he said.
“If we treat them with dignity, with care, with acceptance, then we will see results similar to how Italians, Greeks, Vietnamese and others have settled into Australia.”