Your Community Voice is a monthly column celebrating Greater Dandenong’s diverse cultures and lifestyles. This month, Afghan Australian Civil Society founder Reza Andesha compares media in his homeland and Australia.
I LIKE people working for justice and for the development of community in Australia.
I believe the media is the way for people to raise their voice against tyranny.
The local media is very effective in our community and the other communities – not just the Afghan community.
In the Afghan community, they’re not turning to electronic media for local news.
They’re happy to read magazines and newspapers such as The Dandenong Journal.
The TV channels cover the issue of asylum seekers, “boat people” and Christmas Island; I’m not sure if the local newspapers cover it that much.
The dominant issue in Australia is the asylum seeker issue that has become a game between the Labor Party and the Liberal Party.
There’s news, there’s argument between the two teams.
Opposition leader Tony Abbott says, “we should be able to stop the boats”. The government comes up with another idea.
The reality is if someone is fleeing their homeland; it’s like a compass of things, a logic of things.
Briefly, what I can say about the violence, war and insecurity in Afghanistan especially for Hazara people, they’re not safe in Afghanistan and especially in Pakistan, as the Sher Hazara people are targeted.
For example in Iran, they feel there is no need for police. Any person can arrest a Hazara in Iran. Afghan Hazara people don’t have a right to access a taxi or a bus in Iran. In a shopping centre, bakers are told not to give them bread.
In Afghanistan, Hazaras have no power. They report things on social media and Facebook. It’s the voice of the people, but is not reported in the state or mainstream media.
There are up to 300 newspapers in Afghanistan; there are two Hazara publications – Open Society and 8am.
There are also more than 35 TV channels – one is the national state TV channel, the other ones are run by different private enterprises and have different views.
I cannot compare the Afghan and Australian media. In Australia, everything reported is true. If something happens, no one can hide it. It gets dragged out into the open. The police are keen to get crime stories reported in the local news.
In Afghanistan, things get hidden. If there’s a bomb blast and 100 were killed, they say 20 were killed.
If an important event is happening between Afghanistan and another country, they don’t report what’s going on there.
If the quality of news is not good, people are starved of the truth.
They can’t think of their future factually, how they will be in the future and about the future government.
If the print and electronic media are of high quality, truth prevails, and the people can decide their future accurately.
