Oz Oz Oz.. Oye Oye Oye

The most common question posed by my friends every time I meet them online is "Is Australia safe? Is it racist?" I have got tired of answering them and hence I decided to post my opinion on my blog. Any queries from any one about Australia will be directed to this post from now onwards. I'm expecting a surge in hits to this post after the next attack on an Indian in Melbourne :-)

So is Australia really Racist? The answer is an emphatic NO!! I have never come across any racism in the work place or in normal public places. In fact the Australians have been very warm and friendly. I have built some excellent relationships out here and have never once felt out of place or uncomfortable. So what about the spate of attacks on Indians? Can there be smoke without fire? Surely there must be elements of racism right?

My take on the attacks is that it is a law and order problem rather than racism. These attacks are perpetuated by skin head disgruntled teens who resent and fear the influx of smart successful Indians into Australia. They see their jobs being taken over, they probably are school drop outs and dont stand a chance against the highly educated and hard working Indians in the white collar market place. Since they very obviously do target Indians, it can be argued that it racism, but I would rather look at it as the reaction of a disgruntled loser.

So have I faced any racism in Australia? Yes in the pubs. For some reason me and my Indian friends find it extremely hard to get into pubs. We get stopped by the bouncer and asked to display our passport!! We obviously wont be carrying passports and hence we get denied entry. Sometimes we are told there is a private party on. I cant help but believe that this is an act of racism to keep Indians outta pubs :-) But it surely is not the vicious type of racism as is being made out by the Indian media. Who cares if I am not allowed into pubs. Its good for my wallet and my liver :-)

Have I been attacked? No, but have had a couple of scary moments. There was a time when I was under heavy load in office and I used to work till midnight everyday. Its a 30 min walk back home from office and I live in the heart of Melbournes Central Business District. A couple of times I've had groups of drunken teens jeering at me or showing their middle finger as I pass them. On new years eve, a group of teens approached me and my friends menacingly with clenched fists and shouting "f@#k them".

The above were isolated incidents and more of a law and order problem. But yes, the reaction of the cops to each of the attacks was disgusting. Rather than admitting to a law and order problem, they advised us not to display iphones and gadgets, not to go out late, not to live in the suburbs!! Unless the cops admit there is a problem, it wont be solved.