Looking at the bigger picture

By LARISSA DUBECKI

January 26, 2008

Looking at the bigger picture. That’s how one of these Victorians, James Murphy, describes how he views what he does.

It is a characteristic of all nine profiled that they see beyond the personal in what they do.

They look to the welfare of others, strangers in a common land. They take pride in what they do, and they take pride in being Australian.

It is the latter that is perhaps most acutely felt by those who have found haven in this country. A chance at creating a new home in a new country is no small thing. As Faris Shohani says, it is "like being born".

In a population of 21 million, Australia has more than 250 ancestries and almost 400 different languages. A fifth of us are born overseas. The nation, then, is a kaleidoscope of origins and histories, but there is a beauty in that diversity. Look at the big picture. It is there shining through: pride and faith in this country.

Today in parks across the country, the national flag will be raised and speeches will be uttered. Barbecues will sizzle with freshly thrown snags. The small ceremonies of a big occasion. Australia Day means as little as that. It means as much as that.

Nadia Mohamed, Somali youth worker

LOOKING back on her young life, Nadia Mohamed sees that she has drawn inspiration from the good times and the bad.

In the 13 years since she arrived in Australia from Somalia, she has felt the lows of discrimination and the highs of new friendship. All of it, she said, fed into her decision to work with young people.

"As a kid I met a couple of great youth workers who listened more than they talked, who gave options but didn’t persuade you to do things in a way that might be right for them," she said. "Obviously all adolescents have issues. Mine weren’t drug or alcohol related, they were more coming to terms with the fact that I live in a different place ... and I struggled with my place in Australian society."

Such struggles are a common theme for many young people from migrant or refugee backgrounds, she said. For them, balancing their cultural difference with their new life in Australia can be a confusing experience and for Ms Mohamed it meant a reassessment of her Muslim faith and her Somalian heritage.

"I had this sense of what has Somalia done for me? Australia has given me an education, I have Medicare ... Somalia has done nothing. But then I realised that people have different cultures and it’s fine. I don’t have to dress like an Arab to be a Muslim."

Although she is now revelling in new motherhood, Ms Mohamed remains passionate about working with young people. With other young Muslims she has launched a project, Noor Events, to keep young Australians, and Muslims in particular, connected with broader society.

Today she is proud of her combined Somali-Australian identity, happily admitting she dislikes Vegemite but loves the Australian landscape. For her, this love of the land and its inhabitants is what being Australian is all about.

"It’s beautiful. When I leave the city, the trees are just so beautiful and I understand why the indigenous people love the land," she said. "Being Australian is wanting to respect the people who live on this land with you, wanting to contribute to Australia, wanting to contribute to the lives of the people ... and just living in peace."

NADIA Hammoud expected she would have a different cultural background to most of her class at the Victorian Police Academy. She was, nonetheless, shocked when one classmate confessed he had never met a Muslim before.

"For him to meet me was good. I said to him, ‘I’m happy I’m the first one you meet’."

The 23-year-old graduates from the academy next week after a 20-week training course. Recruits are given the option of staying at the Glen Waverley campus or commuting each day; Ms Hammoud made the daily journey from the Coburg home of her parents, Lebanese immigrants who at first struggled with their daughter’s choice of profession but are now bursting with parental pride.

"I always wanted to join the police force," says Ms Hammoud, "but I always had people telling me, ‘no, I don’t think it’s for you. You’re female, you’re Lebanese, you’re Muslim.’ From a traditional point of view there were a few strikes against it."

It wasn’t enough to outweigh the attraction, however. Policing, to Ms Hammoud, is not only a community-minded job; her involvement will help the evolution of Australian society.

"I want to challenge stereotypes, not just about Muslims but about women in general. I don’t think it’s all Australians, but I think there is a perception that we’re a disadvantaged group. There are stereotypes from the Lebanese community as well about women being constrained to the home."

Another young Muslim woman of Lebanese background, Maha Sukkar, made Victoria Police history in 2004 by becoming the force’s first officer to wear the traditional headscarf. Ms Hammoud doesn’t wear the hijab but prays five times daily.

"In my first few days at the academy I told all my instructors I’m required to pray and they’re fine with it. I’m happy to work around it as well, so if I do need to be in a class then I’m happy to do it another time. The Victoria Police are becoming extremely aware that it’s important to have different groups in society seeing they have members in the force."

Today Ms Hammoud will join her family in celebrating, as they do every year, the dual occasions of Australia Day and her brother’s birthday.

"We have family over, have a barbecue. Australia Day is important day for me, because I am one."

Source: The Age