My Mama Ala and My Tata Melon: The Australian Poles

My parents repeatedly tell me that they migrated from Poland because they wanted an adventure and an opportunity for a better life. We have often discussed their experiences and hardships they faced when beginning a new life however, I had never reflected on how much the language barrier left them isolated, that cultural difference made them feel different and as such, they had initial problems reconciling their Polish cultural identity with their identity as Australians.     

 MAMA

My Mama Alicja Plizga was born on the 25th September 1961 in Tomaszow Lubelski, Poland, but grew up in the small suburban city Lubin, Poland. She left Poland in 1982 at the age of 21 when she escaped to Germany while touring Europe with a traditional folk dance group. Alicja (or Ala) lived in Germany for a year until the Australian government granted her and her boyfriend (my Tata) refugee visas. The greatest challenge Ala faced with the Australian identity was the language barrier:  

‘I felt embarrassed when people would speak to me and I couldn’t understand. One day I went to the Safeway on Acland Street to do some shopping and as I was leaving the woman at the register said to me ‘can I check your bag?’ and I said ‘no thank-you’, frustrated she kept on repeating herself and I kept on replying ‘No, thank-you’ realising that we were not understanding each other.’

By not being able to converse or understand everyday language Ala felt closed off and limited, unable to express herself and her feelings. As a result she felt that she could not be herself freely in Australia. Ala then found stark differences between Australian and European culture which made acculturation difficult: 

‘I remember being shocked every time I would shop at Coles at Barkley Street. The supermarket was filled with homeless people, working girls, immigrants and I would always find half eaten food and wrappers on the ground that the customers had eaten without paying. To me it was incredible and out of this world. Firstly these types of people were unseen in Poland because everyone had a job in the communist system and we were a strict catholic country so we followed rules and not many people were different.’

Initially Ala felt that Europeans shared a high culture whereas Australian culture was distinctive. She viewed Australians as easy going and without social structure and ambition. To her Europeans had higher ambitions and so she thought that Europe was far superior. Later she discovered that acceptance and the lack of established conventions of behaviour and expression was freedom and that this was a positive non-judgmental approach to life. She then viewed Australia as reflecting virtues of egalitarianism, classlessness, ‘a fair go’ and stoicism’ 

 

TATA

My Tata, Andrzej Dariusz Marton (Melon) was born the 25th January, 1959 in Lublin Poland. He left Poland at the age of 21 and worked in Germany for two years. He was unable to return to Poland because the borders closed in 1981 when Martial law was announced in order to ‘defend socialism.’  He assisted Ala and three other Poles escape into Germany and would have been in danger if he returned. He then immigrated to Australia. The biggest obstacle he faced in merging his identity was the disparity in culture: 

‘If you went outside in the streets people would be wearing tracksuit pants and slippers, I even saw people wearing ripped t-shirts to the bank. In Poland people took pride in their appearance and presentation. You would never step out of the house in Poland without looking like Chapel Street.’

Because of this cultural trend, Melon had the feeling that Australia was backwards and Europe was in front. Initially he didn’t like it and could not come to terms with it. However he realised that Australians have a completely unique culture which is relaxed and indifferent. 

The different way of life amazed Melon. In Poland or any place in Europe, the individual lived in a city. When Melon moved to a suburban area he felt as though he was living in the countryside and as a result felt isolated from the wider community. Although he was with his girlfriend, he still found it difficult to come to terms with this experience of aloneness and distance. He also felt detached from the rest of the world:

‘Everything in Australia was isolated- the geography, even the news and politics. Living in Europe, especially in Germany everyday there was news and politics about the world. In Australia I felt shut off from the rest of the world. The first five years were the hardest because we didn’t have the money to return to Poland to visit family and friends.’

The physical distance of Australia to Europe and the lack of communication with the rest of the World left Melon feeling disconnected. This hindered his acceptance of his new identity. In addition the language was difficult to understand which made communication and connecting even more challenging.

‘This was difficult to learn the language, especially the accent because I was working 16 hours a day. But I had to do it. After studying I could work with Australian people because I could ask questions and understand the culture and way of life. Slowly I became more positive to Australian society and culture and I realised that if I wanted to be a part of this culture I had to be positive. So every opportunity I had to talk with Australian people I did and this helped me a lot.’

Both my parents had difficulties bringing together their Polish identity and going forward with their Australian identity. However today they comfortably and proudly call themselves Australian. The key, they say to reconciling identity as an immigrant is to remember your roots but have an open mind and support the country that you are living in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Geographical Distance resulted in a feeling of isolation and disconectedness and this made reconciliation difficult.

Martial Law is declared in Poland by the government in order to ‘defend Socialism.’ The Government felt threatened by the memebers of the first independent trade union – ‘Solidarnosc’  behind the Iron Curtain so it declared Martial Law or ‘Stan Wojenny’ in order to avoid a Soviet Invasion. 

This is a stereotypical dance pose in Traditional Polish Folk Dance groups. The dress is typical also. This is a great example of the type of group my parents Ala and Melon danced in.

 

The Empty Shelves during Martial Law. Circa 198

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immigration Museum

My experience of the Immigration Museum is a confronting one. Initially I was moved by the statistics and emotive images and sounds which claimed that more than 9 million people have immigrated to Australia since 1788 and that since 1945, around 6.5 million people have come to Australia as new settlers. However when I looked closer I began to discover Australia’s more sinister racist roots.  

The gallery is divided into four sections describing Australia’s immigration policy: 1840-1900 which was marked by racist colonial immigration restriction to control the influx of free settlers; 1901-1945 was a period of history where Australia’s Immigration Restriction Act, commonly known as the White Australia Policy was the cornerstone of immigration policy; 1946-1972 indicates an Immigration policy that doesn’t mention race but still prefers British immigrants and continental Europeans; and 1973-today denotes a broadening of immigration policy with the introduction of multi-culturalism, although overall immigration levels have been reduced. 

This was not a good start to my outing. So I decided to find out how the 4 million Australians who were not born on these shores manage to get in and stay in! This endeavour led me to the ‘Getting In’ Interactive exhibit where I was able to take part in a customs simulation. I was taken back to the 1950’s and introduced to Dimitris Arvanitis, his wife and daughter from Mythimna, Lesbos. Dimitris, who had a basic knowledge of English, was fleeing political instability and unemployment, willing to work hard and work for the government but had his application rejected because his daughter was deaf. Why? Because of a potential social service dissipation by his daughter. Even thought 1950’s immigration Policy focused on developing the population and increasing the workforce, Customs officers took into consideration language aptitude, moral values compatibility and health. I was angry! As a customs officer I accepted their application and I found it extremely discriminatory that the application was rejected. 

After completing and being irritated by the ‘Getting In’ activity I decided re-do the museum tour and discover how immigration policy had been exploited since our nation’s conception in an attempt to create an ‘idealised’ Australia.  

 I discovered that throughout the 20^th century any non-British subjects were referred to as ‘alien’ by law. The idea of the ‘alien’ developed the concept of the ‘other’ which fostered racism, exclusion and discrimination as acceptable practice in Australian society. As I walked on I read that by 1888 Chinese immigration was virtually banned and by 1901 the Immigration Restrictions Act aka The White Australia Policy was introduced to restrict non-white and non-British immigration (http://www.racismnoway.com.au/classroom/factsheets/59.html)

The Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 introduced the Dictation Test, which enabled anyone to be excluded on racial grounds. Up until the 1960’s customs officials power to control immigration by excluding all non-Europeans by making Immigrants pass a language test in any European language. I found it particularly offensive that Maltese applicants were given a test in Dutch and a political activist who spoke several European languages eventually failed when he was tested in Gaelic. Wall Moore, ex-Newcastle Customs Officer noted that ‘The heavens would open and fall on you if someone passed the Dictation Test. I could legally deputise a German to come in and give him Ethiopian. It was intended that no one passed. It was the ultimate weapon to keep people out of Australia’ – (http://museumvictoria.com.au/customshouse/stories/dictation_test.asp Stories of the dictation test)

Other examples of racist policies I discovered include the 1903 Commonwealth Naturalisation Act which denied Asians and other non-European explicitly excluding ‘natives of Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific’ rights to apply for naturalisation/citizenship. The 1920 Enemy Aliens Act which prohibited Germans, Austrian-Germans, Bulgarians, Hungarians and Turks from entering Australia for five years. (http://www.naa.gov.au/naaresources/Publications/research_guides/guides/immig/pages/appendix2.htm Description of Acts)  

I was beginning to get worried, when would all this discrimination stop! But I read on. From the 1940s, restrictive policies were gradually dismantled, but it was not until the 1960’s that restrictions on non-Europeans were lifted extending immigration to skilled professionals and family migration. At last it was in the 1970s when all reference to race finally removed from the immigration laws. (http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/08abolition.htm Abolition of the white Australia policy) 

These historical facts and policies lead me to think about what sort of society did the government at the time want? What society do we the people want? What is our national identity? Is there a ‘typical’ Australian? Or does the idea of ‘typical’ deny the diversity of our society? I carefully walked on to learn about current policies and trends!  

Since the 1970’s, Australia’s immigration policy reflected international ideas about equality and fairness. (http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html Universal Declaration of Human Rights) However recent policies and reactions by governments to asylum seekers do not reflect this ideal. Although on average 13,000 people are granted visas under the Humanitarian Program, recent Australian policies have been created to discourage potential migrants.  

In August 2001, the government reacted shamefully to the Norwegian cargo ship MV Tampa which carried 433 mostly Afghan and Iraqi asylum seekers running from their war torn countries. The Howard Government refused the ship carrying the asylum seekers to land on Australian territory causing domestic and international outrage in response to government policies and detention centers in places such as Nauru. (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21577232-2,00.html Tampa refugees-Local news, http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/01/1062403450343.html Tampa refugees,  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3326677.stm BBC Story re: Nauru)  

 ‘How could this be legal?’ I thought and then I read on. Australia’s immigration detention policy was introduced in 1992 (based on Australia’s Migration Act – 1958) which required people who are not Australian citizens and who are unlawfully in Australia to be detained. I was outraged! How could Australia claim to uphold the principles of the declaration of human rights and reject legitimate refugees! Why? Because of our racist policies. Take a look at the Australian Citizenship test. 

Beginning on 1^st October 2007 the citizenship test marked a return to racial immigration control. Although the test was ‘designed to assist people who want to become Australian citizens gain an understanding of Australia’s values, traditions, history and national symbols,’ it is my belief that it’s a modified version of the 1901 Dictation Test which sought to discriminate applicants based on race without being explicit about it. (http://www.citizenship.gov.au/test/index.htm) Some examples of Questions can be found at http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/citizenship-test-unveiled/2007/08/26/1188066928766.html 

Contemporary Australian society from the outside appears multi-cultural, but how multi-cultural are we? How fair and open is our society? Unfortunately after my tour at the immigration museum and some deep thought I am led to believe that our racist past has caused us to turn our backs on humanity. Groups have tried to protest and fight for change whilst the government continued its hard line approach on asylum seeks and created harsher policies. Although many individuals, the wider community and even government opposition groups have identified that Australia continues to foster racist policies, it is not good enough, we as individuals need to change.  (http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/media-releases/2008/ce08023.htmSenator Chris Evans) (Ads for immigration policy Change:http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/TV-ads-to-protest-immigration-policy/2006/05/02/1146335713052.html) (http://www.aph.gov.au/Library/Pubs/rn/2003-04/04rn22.htm Government Immigration amendments (2001) to increase border security). 

At the end of my tour I looked toward the future. The new Government has identified that there needs to be change in our outlook to immigration, however I hope that sooner rather than later the Australian people realise we as individuals lack compassion and open-mindedness. Immigrants are not ‘alien’s or ‘terrorists,’ they are people. And let us not forget that every single Australian individual has a past that originated in another place far from the sandy beaches of Australia. (http://www.alp.org.au/media/0407/speimm270.php ALP Immigration policy)

Today I was late to uni… again!

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