Multicultural Australia Papers ♦ \ GREEK AUSTRALIANS: A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL IN MULTICULTURAL AUSTRALIA by J.J. S m o lic z This paper was delivered at the annual conference of the National Union of Greek Australian Students (NUGAS) held in Adelaide in January, 1983. These Occasional Papers on aspects of Australia’s multicultural society are published to stimulate discussion and dialogue. The 1 opinions expressed in these papers need not represent those of the publishers. o Z T Z n The Clearing House on Migration Issues, 133 Church Street, Richmond, 3121, welcomes contributions to this series from individuals or i g s c organisations. t MULTICULTURAL Clearing AUSTRALIA PAPERS House Already Published MAP 31 $2,50 MIGRANTS IN THEIR HOMELAND: A STUDY OF RE-IMMIGRATION on by Ersie Burke MAP 32 $3,00 THE AUSTRALIAN MIGRATION LAW: Migration A TIME FOR CHANGE? by S.A. 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MAP 37 $3.50 OFFERS an extensive collection of published and unpublished documents, Australian and overseas periodicals and reprints. DETERMINANTS OF ETHNIC GROUP VITALITY IN AUSTRALIA PUBLISHES by Alan Hodge • Migration Action, the only Australian periodical on ethnic relations; • CHOMI-DAS, a quarterly bulletin of documentation and abstracts; • Reprints of articles, papers and reports of interest to the MAP 38 $2„00 community and selected groups; • Kits for workshops, seminars, meetings; GREEK AUSTRALIANS: A QUESTION OF on selected topics. Bibliographies SURVIVAL IN MULTICULTURAL AUSTRALIA OPEN for consultation by the public during weekdays from by J.J. Smolicz 1.00 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Wednesdays; 1.00 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays; 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays. ISBN 909274 23 1 As space is limited, groups of 4 or more must book in advance. A photocopier is available. ISSN 0155-4409 Multicultural Australia Paper no. 38 is published by and available from: Clearing House on Migration Issues 133 Church Street, Richmond, Vic., 3121 Phone (03) 428-4948 133 CHURCH STREET i - JAN 1985 RICHMOND VIC AUSTRALIA 3121 TEL (03) 428 4948 GREEK AUSTRALIANS; A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL IK MULTICULTURAL AUSTRALIA Greek-Australians have been living in this country for a long time now, and although the majority came after the last war, certain families can trace their settlement to the early decades of this century. For many years Greek-Australians have been called "migrants", to distinguish them not so much from "older settlers", as from people of British origin, some of whom were more recent arrivals than the Greeks, but who have usually little difficulty (if they so desire) to acquire the un-hyphenated Australian label. The latter applies to virtually all children of British migrants. A good illustration of the ease with which people of English origin can become accepted as just "ordinary Australians" is illustrated by a recent newspaper report on the visit of Prince Charles to Australia. A reporter, T. Agars (1933, p. 3), investigated the response to what he called the Prime Minister's "proclamation that Australia is heading down the road to republicanism", by getting a "clear and accurate assessment of how the dinkum Aussie feels" on this issue. As the place of his "investigation" he chose the Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth which is well known for its high numbers of immigrants from England. His first "dinkum Aussie" respondent turned out to be a "Cockney" who reaffirmed that "Australia is a part of the Empire and that's the way it should stay". A second representative of the "dinkum Aussies" from Elizabeth was an "England-born" youth who felt that "It would be sad if we parted from England the King and Queen". His "dinkum Aussie" girlfriend concurred: "I am English, a royalist and a traditionalist...". It is not the reporter's monarchist conclusions, based on his interviews with the "loyal burghers of Elizabeth", that matter in this instance, but his equating of English migrants with "dinkum Aussies" and representatives of the Australian population as a whole. This differential treatment of minorities is particularly galling when one considers what Australians of Greek ancestry are often called, and the way even grand-children of immigrants from Greece are often labelled as "third generation migrants". This, of course, is a totally absurd notion, since people born here are not migrants of any kind but Australians who, by retaining aspects of Greek culture and identity, are Greek-Australians. Hence the appropriateness of the name: National Union of Greek-Australian Students (NUGAS) which unites Australian students of Greek ancestry in this country. This name signifies that we all belong equally to this country, and that our adherence to the culture of our ancestral home does not make us any less Australian than people who have arrived here from Yorkshire or Belfast. Overarching values But if some of us feel and act as Greek-Australians, while others do so as Polish-Australians, while still others view themselves as English-, German-, Dutch-, or Aboriginal-Australians, will this not fragmentalize the country and endanger its social and cultural cohesion? Well, that "cohesion" has never been as clear cut and absolute as has been idealized in the mateship and egalitarian myths about the Australian past. Nor is cohesion necessarily a virtue in itself since, as Michael Novak (1982) has argued, there is a revulsion against the uniformity of the modern world. Furthermore, as Mr. Justice Kirby (1982) Ins pointed out, excessive stress on nationalism and cohesion can carry with it dangers of conformity, and even some totalitarian overtones. It is not an accident that total­ itarian regimes almost invariably regard "cohesion" as their aim, while "pluralism" is looked upon as a dangerous deviation. It is also an acknow­ ledged part of Australian history that people of English ancestry have had a close identification with the language, culture, laws and customs of their native country, without this being questioned as un-Australian and divisive. If people of British ancestry cam take legitimate pride in British-derived institutions, such as the Westminster-style parliamentary democracy, it is also legitimate for Greek-Australians to remind their British counter­ parts of the Greek origins not only of our notion of democracy itself, but of our science, and of the Western ideal of the integrity, autonomy and freedom of the individual. This has often been taken for granted, but represents a vital aspect of our common European inheritance and the hallmark of our civilization. As the former President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Constantine Tsatsos, has argued, these qualities: stem from a concept of mam held in common by Europeans, a concept of the fundamental imperative of man's autonomy, outwardly expressed through the freely democratic organization of a society in general and inwardly through intellectual freedom; a concept which, by the route of free thought, free scientific knowledge and free artistic creation, arrives ultimately at a common attitude toward ... [the fundamentals of life]. If one recognizes the Greek origins of this common heritage, the English achievement would appear as its articulation within certain specific channels. From this perspective, the Australian type of parliamentary democracy is just a variant on the common European theme, with certain unique features of its own. The same can be said about ©ur legal system, including the principles of the rights of the individual and their protection against the encroachments of the state or any other monopolistic agencies. Such discussion of the origins of our values shew that, as Australians, we already have a great deal in common; it shows that there are many values that we share, and to which we can refer as the overarching values for all Australians (Smolicz, 1979). These extend not only to democracy and freedom of the individual, but also to our special kind of economic system (that is partly based on private enterprise and partly upon State initiatives), and to our legal institutions which, as Mr. Justice Kirby (1982) has pointed out, should be flexible and able to meet changing social and cultural needs. The English language is another such overarching value, as the common means of communication for all Australians. This is, however, never meant as a substitute for the native languages of non-British Australians but as an addition to Greek, Italian, Spanish, Gerfnan, Polish and Filipino, as well as to some fifty surviving Aboriginal languages that, in all, over a million Australians learn from their mother's lips and regard as their home or ethnic community language (Commonwealth Department of Education, 1981). Such bilingualism in English and another Australian community language, is, therefore, already a fact of life in this country. What is needed, however, is further public recognition of this social reality, as well as educational reinformcement of bilingualism in order to make it as acceptable, and as normal, a part of Australian life as the plurality of religions, educational systems and life styles that already form an accepted pattern in this society.