We were fortunate this week to have Ms Hani Abdile – slam poet and RACS refugee and advice services case worker – as our guest at Assembly. Ms Abdile is a Somali woman who came to Australia some six years ago.
The occasion for her attending Queenwood was in recognition of Harmony Day – a day recognised since 1999 in Australia and promoted as a celebration of our cultural diversity – Harmony Day really falls on the 21 March and coincides with the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which was first declared in 1966. This is underpinned by the United Nations Principle of Equality which emphasises that '…all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…'
In keeping with our Social Justice intentions of ensuring a greater commitment and understanding of important issues that impact on society, on individuals, and on us as a community it is important that recognition and acknowledgement are informed, genuine and substantial. Having Ms Abdile here addressing our students gave substance to the occasion. Her powerful poetry together with her account of her journey to Australia, sojourn on Christmas Island, and her experience as a refugee served as a reminder to us all of our shared humanity. She reinforced an appreciation of the need of those who, for whatever reason, have to leave their own families and states to seek asylum in countries like Australia; countries that are fortunate enough to enjoy stable democracy, the rule of law and safety from fear, persecution and death. Her story was a timely reminder that the fortunate and privileged have a responsibility and a duty to extend welcome, succour and comfort to those whose need is great, and whose options are limited.
Harmony Week lasts from 15-21 March, with Harmony Day falling on the 21st. The theme is ‘Everyone Belongs’ which is intended to convey and promote the notion of inclusiveness. Harmony Day was originally introduced by the Howard government to celebrate multi-culturalism and the way in which migrants have been accepted into and contributed to Australia. The day itself is marked in schools and a variety of Local Council areas as well as by other governmental or quasi-governmental organisations, and while there is no doubt as to the sincerity of such celebrations, Harmony Day and its stated aims have been criticised as being tokenistic and somewhat unhelpful. Professor Andrew Jakubowicz, emeritus professor at UTS for instance has argued that an emphasis on ‘harmony’ has discouraged people from speaking out because raising uncomfortable matters about race may be seen as the antithesis of harmony. Like many such days of recognition there is often a gap between the reality and the rhetoric – the motherhood statements that accompany such occasions.
There is of course a longer story around the origins of Harmony Day. 21 March is the Anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960 in South Africa. The massacre in which 69 people were killed and 180 injured, is remembered in South Africa as Human Rights Day – a Public Holiday that has been recognised since 1994.
Sharpeville is a Township in the Province of Gauteng whose Provincial capital is Johannesburg. On 21 March 1960, a crowd of people had gathered to demonstrate against the pass laws. All Black South Africans over the age of 16 were required to carry a pass (known colloquially as a dompas – ‘dumb pass’) which was a little like a passport only with much more information about the carrier. This pass was a major plank in the system of apartheid and served to control movement around the country, to manage the Black population in urban areas, and to keep the movement of migrant workers in check.
While accounts vary – as they often do in situations such as these – the basic facts are that Police opened fire on what had been until then a peaceful protest of unarmed civilians, killing or injuring 249 people. The massacre has been seen as a critical event of the apartheid era, one that had far reaching consequences for the country and for the regime at a time that coincided with a time when many African nations were gaining independence from colonial powers. There is little doubt that the revulsion felt both in South Africa and around the world in reaction to this massacre was a nail in the coffin of apartheid.
Mr Christopher Daunt Watney
Deputy Principal