This talk appeared in Canberra Historical Journal September 2003 : 37-39, under the Title: Maintaining Sri Lankan Traditions
MIGRATION AND CANBERRA: MULTICULTURAL MEMORIES AND IMPRESSIONS
First, let me acknowledge the land of
the Ngunnawal people where we stand.
The Sri Lankan community in Australia
seems comparatively older than what we believe.
The Veddahs of Sri Lanka and the Aborigines of Australia had originated
apparently from a common family when the continents of Asia, Africa and
Australia formed one land mass.
According to Al Grassby, there had been a Ceylonese among the first fleet
arrivals in Sydney. Nevertheless, the
first squadron of ‘Ceylonese’ immigrants landed in 1882 to work in Broome,
Western Australia, in Thursday Island, Bundaberg and Mackay and later in the
gold-mining regions of New South Wales.
Bruce Moore in the book ‘Lanyon Saga’ gives an interesting account of a
Sri Lankan, one David Simon Samara Singha, who had lived in Queanbeyan in the
early 20th century. One James Cunningham
had employed him on his Tuggeranong estate and moved him to the Lanyon estate
in 1915. John Cann in his book “Snakes
Alive” refers to an ‘Abdul Carim’ from Colombo who had brought with him five
cobras to Australia.
Tensions in
multi-ethnic Australia, after European settlement, were seen in violent
confrontations between Anti-Coolie Leaguers and ‘Cingalese’ labourers from
Ceylon when the Leaguers blockaded North Queensland wharves to prevent coolies
from landing. According to historical
records these coolies had ‘great fluency in English and a competent knowledge
of mental arithmetic and were considered a threat. This whole multiethnic story is deeply
interesting because it shows complex, contradictory, convoluted and conflictual
interactions between diverse social and ethnic groups locked in a shared
environment, represented by trade unionism of the Leaguers in an environment of
economic protectionism and racist attitudes prevalent at all social levels.
Sri
Lankan immigrants preferred to come to Australia due to its favourable climatic
conditions and the degree of freedom that prevails and still prevailing
compared to other countries. This was a
pull factor affecting immigration towards Australia. Many found that in the eighties, it was not
too hard to settle down because of the support of the community and the
Government offices designated to look after the interests of migrants. Many felt at ease after a while, calling
Australia their second home. My
impression is that diverse Australian people do share and blend their cultures,
exercise tolerance and respect for one another, try to understand each other
and work together in peace and harmony unless chauvinistic sentiments and fears
of insecurity are aroused within them.
The total
number of overseas born residents in Canberra is 66,732 (21.6%), of which 1400
are persons born in Sri Lanka. In
Canberra, Sinhalese and Tamils seem to be equal in numbers, about 250
families. There are about ten Sri Lankan
Muslim families; Burghers and others of Sri Lankan origin comprise the
rest. The second and third generations
of these families would easily number a couple of hundreds.
Sri Lankans
have been settling down in the ACT since mid 1950s and early 1960s, but it was
during the 1980s and 1990s that they arrived in larger numbers. The Burghers were dependents from mixed
marriages between the locals and the Portuguese, the Dutch or the English. To migrate to Australia under the White
Australia policy, they had to show that their blood had not less than 75%
European ancestry. Some still had
problems at immigration because their skin colour was not pure white. Because of their English language
proficiency, employability, middle class background and familiarity with
western culture, they would have been able to integrate easily into the
Australian society.
The relaxation
of racial barriers of Australian immigration policies in 1973 allowed
professionally qualified Asians to migrate.
Sinhalese and Tamils who had travelled overseas for higher studies in
the 60s and 70s, mostly who were in the UK, had the opportunity to migrate to
Australia because they were distinguished, highly qualified and/or sponsored by
their families. With family re-union
allowed in the early 1980s, many were able to sponsor their immediate relatives
to join them. In mid 1980s, the Tamils immigrated
to Australia in large numbers affected by the ensuing civil war. The First Muslims came to Australia under
Colombo Plan scholarships to study agriculture and nursing. Some students had stayed back after
completing their studies. Some Muslims also
have migrated because of family re-union.
Many of the
Sri Lankan migrants were attracted to Canberra because of the secure employment
opportunities offered by the Commonwealth Public Service, the CSIRO and the
tertiary educational institutions. Some
of them came from interstate due to a variety of reasons, at the end of 1980s and
early 1990s. Soon after independence of
Sri Lanka in 1948, the Sri Lankan High Commission was established in
Canberra. Many High Commissioners and
staff members of the High Commission opted to become Australian residents later
and also opted to stay on in Canberra.
After 1979,
when adoption of children by non-nationals was allowed in Sri Lanka,
Australians have adopted many hundreds of them. There are many adopted children
in Canberra.
The
unfortunate circumstances in 1983 led many Sri Lankans, in particular, Tamils
to flee Sri Lanka. Some of them needed
various forms of assistance. During that
period, the governments both Federal and ACT provided funding for assisting
those who were in need. The ACT
government has always been supportive of maintaining this friendly and
supportive environment. The Migrant
Resource Centre (MRC) of Canberra and Queanbeyan Inc. and the Queanbeyan
Multilingual Centre had always been of assistance with language classes, with
employment, with housing, with study assistance and with aged care. TRANSACT (now, the Companion House Assisting
Survivors of Torture and Trauma) helped those who came from countries at war,
from refugee camps and from situations where they have experienced trauma. The counsellors and doctors helped such
people on their first arrival with counselling, medical care and other
services. I held the position of chair
of TRANSACT for three years and was member of its executive for ten years since
1991.
I will now provide an overview of the associations and
community formations that have been in place to support socio-cultural
interaction among Sri Lankans and between the Sri Lankans and the wider
Australian community. Before the
formation of associations in Canberra, all persons of Sri Lankan origin used to
meet at the Sri Lankan High Commission or at private residences. In 1968, Sri Lankan post-graduate students at
the ANU and several residents in Canberra took the initiative of forming the
Brotherhood Association, at the Graduate House of the ANU. Professor A L Basham was its first
patron. This was the pre-cursor
organisation to the Australia Sri Lanka Association, the oldest Sri Lankan
Association in Canberra. I was President
and member of the management committee of this association for several years.
The second
largest association is the Canberra Tamil Association (CTA), which had been
formed originally with about fifteen families in August 1983, a reflection of
the unfortunate developments of the conflict back at home. The CTA conducts many events, inviting famous
musicians and dancing troupes from India and interstate. The Australian Tamil Foundation and Sinhala
Cultural Association reflect the fragmentation of the community along diverse
perspectives. All these associations
hold social get-togethers to celebrate Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Christmas,
Deepavali and Thaipongal. The Muslims
celebrate Ramadan, Hajj and Prophet Mohamed’s Birthday. The Friends for Peace in Sri Lanka is the
first association in Australia and seemingly in the world that was initiated in
1994, by concerned Sinhalese and Tamils in Canberra, for promoting dialogue and
negotiation as a means of achieving tolerance and harmony within the fragmented
community. I was a founding president of
this association. It conducts public
forums, workshops, meetings where people of all Sri Lankan ethnic origins have
taken part. The Tamil Senior Citizens
and The Fellowship Group of Senior Sri Lankans care for the aged people within
the community.
Currently
there are many Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim religious organizations in
Canberra. The Sri Lankan Buddhists in
Canberra, together with Buddhists from other backgrounds formed the ACT
Buddhist Society in the 1980s. The
Australia Sri Lanka Buddhist Association (ASLBA) came into being in the early
1990s, in a process of differentiation between Buddhists of diverse
backgrounds. With the assistance of many
Canberrans and the ACT government, the Sri Lankan Buddhist Vihara in Kambah,
catering mainly to the Sinhala Buddhists in the ACT, was completed in
1996. Many Sinhala Buddhists in Canberra
also contribute to the plethora of Buddhist associationa and temples in Canerra
numbering more than a dozen including Vietnam, Thai, Japanese, Tibetan, Burmese
and Lao traditions. The first Satya Sai
religious event in Canberra, involving many Sri Lankan born Hindus had occurred
in mid 1980s with Sri Satya Sai Bajans.
In a similar manner, The Canberra Saiva Samaya Murugan Bajan commenced
in 1987 and the Hindu Murugan Temple commenced building in 1995 in Torrens with
the assistance of the ACT Government, mainly to cater to the Hindus of Sri
Lankan Tamil origin in the ACT. The
Hindus of Sri Lankan origin also contribute to the Vishnu Siva Mandir Temple in
Mawson, which commenced in 1996 and to the Florey Hindu Temple in Florey, which
was the first Hindu worship Hall built in Canberra and was predominated by
North and Fiji Indians. Muslims in
Canberra are associated with associations like ASLA and with Muslim
associations. All Christians associate
and identify themselves with the existing Australian churches.
In order to
familiarise those interested in Sri Lankan traditions of linguistics and
performing arts, the Sri Lankan community maintains its own educational,
dancing and music schools. Languages
Sinhala and Tamil are retained within the community through people continuing
to speak them within families, passing them on to the next generation and
conducting language classes with the assistance of the ACT Ethnic School’s
Association.
The Rebels,
The Lions Cricket Club and The Tamil Cricket Club provided opportunities to
practise and to play cricket matches among Sri Lankans and others in
Canberra. Of course, cricketing
relationship between Australia and Sri Lanka runs back to 1884 when Australian
teams played in Colombo, one off games on their way to England.
In 1991 when I
arrived in Canberra, it was a friendly, quiet and supportive place with almost
no traffic except at the beginning and the end of the working day. In spite of feelings of loneliness, being
away from family, friends and people back at home, there was a sense of freedom
from curtailment of freedom. With time,
Canberra has grown to be a busier place with more traffic, more drivers in a
mad rush. The Crime rate has grown and
also racial vilification. Within the Sri
Lankan expatriate community, tensions have increased due to the ongoing
conflict at home.
Sri Lankan
born people in Canberra, had higher educational or occupational qualifications
and higher employment rates on a comparative basis. They have made valuable contributions in many
spheres of activity in Canberra. There
are many academics, medical specialists and practitioners, dental surgeons, lawyers,
engineers, architects, public servants, entrepreneurs, performing artistes both
in dancing and music, writers, creative artists sculptors, painters and poets
and community and social workers in the Sri Lankan community in Canberra.
Personally,
Canberra has provided me a better place to bring up family, with children
having opportunities for a better education.
Death threats on my life made me leave Sri Lanka in 1989, as a result of
advocating social justice for every Sri Lankan, irrespective of their
socio-economic, national, linguistic, religious or political backgrounds. I was working in Tokyo expecting to go back to
Sri Lanka when tensions subsided, instead matters grew worse and my family
members too were threatened. When my
visa in Japan expired I left to Seoul in South Korea. The future was so uncertain. To cut a long story short, I was on my way to
Switzerland via Singapore when I was allowed to come to Australia. I first arrived in Brisbane and within three
days I was able to gain employment as a management consultant with MIDAS
Consulting Services in Brisbane. Later I
was selected to work for the Commonwealth Public Service and here I am.
I am grateful
to all those who contributed to develop the accommodating, caring and sharing
multi-cultural Australia. I believe the
fundamental democratic and human rights we enjoy here need to be a goodwill
symbol for those who are suffering back at home.
Thank you.
