Go Back To Where You Came From And Neighbours Summary

The text chosen for this unit id the book Refuge by prominent Australian writer Jackie French (2013). Refuge follows the story of Faris, a young refugee feeling from his homeland with his grandmother to Australia. On the dangerous boat journey from Indonesia to Australia, they encounter a terrible storm where Faris falls unconscious and wakes up living his dream life in Australia. However, he has no recollection of how he got there. Whilst on the beach, he meets a strange group of children all from different times and places. Faris soon discovers that each child is like him, a migrant who travelled to Australia searching for a better place. Each child is living in their own ‘dream’ Australia and the beach provides a sort of ‘refuge’ from reality for them. Eventually, Faris has to make the decision to either continue living in this dream land or face his reality. This book is interesting as unlike other refugee texts, this novel serves to tell the multicultural history of Australian immigration. French relays the more than 60 000 year old history of people travelling to Australia by boat and makes the statement that all immigrants and refugees need to be treated with empathy and understanding.

Culture is always changing. Beliefs, behaviours and presentation, religion and language all form part of what is an individual’s or community’s culture. (Bowes, Grace, & Hodge, 2012, p.75 & 77). Due to its intrinsic nature, when people migrate to Australia, they bring their culture with them. As migrants come from all over the world, and not the one place, their

Many writers explore the notion that cultural differences may inflict feelings of disconnection for their central characters. This is shown in the two texts ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Migrant Woman on a Melbourne Tram’, as both protagonists struggle to cope with their newly exposed environment. Despite this, we learn that it can be resolved through the acceptance of one another, yet others may remain to dissociate themselves from society.

The film begins with loud voices of a foreign language, images of a crowded refugee camp in Hong Kong, and a caged young girl. A man struggles to articulate his age in English. A woman rejects his application. The camera lingers on his disappointment. The voice of the documentary begins its commentary on the number of displaced people in the world and asks “What does it take to come to Canada?” The voice is not critical but puts the question and the information to the viewer for their own criticisms to be drawn.

Discovery is a paradoxical process which allows individuals to explore concealed and indefinite ideas, enabling a broader understanding of their world and its surroundings. This dichotomous process often occurs at the intersection of exploration and introspection, catalysing a social awakening that enlightens and positions individuals to consider new conceptions. The Logie Award-winning television show “Go Back to Where You Came From” directed by Ivan O’Mahony documents an intimidating refugee journey that was undertaken by six uniquely-characterised individuals representing the myriad perspectives of Australians, consequently challenging the antipathy and intolerance that has become the major characteristic of the wider refugee debate. Resonating with the historical Moreover, Shaun Tan’s post-colonialist picture book “The Rabbits” explores the devastating and demoralizing consequences of the discovery, depicting the obliteration of spiritual, emotional and cultural bonds underpinned by the hegemony imposed by British imperialism.

This essay is about the universal refugee experience and the hardships that they have to go through on their journey. Ha from Inside Out and Back Again and other refugees from the article “Children of War” all struggle with the unsettling feeling of being inside out because they no longer own the things that mean the most to them. Ha and the other refugees all encounter similar curiosities of overcoming the finding of that back again peaceful consciousness in the “new world” that they are living in .

However, that is not the case for everyone. Integrating cultures without losing individual traditions and beliefs are problematic and compounded further for refugees who are forced to leave their homes, rather than leaving by choice. For refugees, their arrivals are cast as illegal fugitives that put society in fear and suspicion like drifters and aliens. Instead of treating them as casualties seeking for safety, they are faced with racism, loss of freedom and isolation from the society which are the issues and questions raised in this

New experiences prompt individuals to reconsider their upheld values in the social context in which they’re placed. Tim Wintons short story, “Neighbours” questions Australia's social discourse by exploring the transition of individuals into a new phase of life. Winton challenges society’s ignorance and cultural stereotypes by displaying a provocative new experience which has the ability to manipulate and change individuals perspectives. Society’s ignorance can be

On the refugee council website, there are many truly stories by migrants and refugees about their experience of contact with Australian culture. They need to be classified and made the subject of academic research. Nevertheless, the area of interest to the present research project because of their testimony to the input of migrants’ culture into Australian

This view shows the shift from a fairly negative to positive attitude that migrant in the 21st century experiences and the changing relationships that the present migrant in Australia holds compared to a past migrant. The chance to express individuality is another form of the changing attitudes of the migrant experience in Australia. Fatima shows that here she is able to freely express herself and her opinions and is glad that she has left “Hell”; her country of origin (Pakistan) and a metaphor for a place that is torturous and evil. Referring back to “Migrant Woman on a Melbourne Tram”, the migrant revealed that her culture is different by wearing clothing that is unusual to the typical Australian woman. This established alienation and distance between her and the Australian people.

Joyful Strains is a collaboration of short memoirs written by a group of expatriates about their experiences moving to Australia, and the struggles they faced that shaped them into the people they are today. Deborah Carlyon moved to Australia from her birth country of Papua New Guinea when she was 12-years-old, and has written the story ‘Hidden by the Dream’. Paolo Totaro moved from Italy to Australia when she was only a child and has contributed to the book with her short story ‘Pointing North’. Joyful Strains follows the authors as they explain how they navigated the process of finding a sense of belonging in Australia and establishing their own identities.

The resettlement of refugees in Australia is a controversial topic; many people believe that they come here to commit crime, change our culture and steal our jobs. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ has enhanced my belief that refugees should be allowed to live in Australia. I believe that refugees are here to escape war and persecution; they are not criminals, nor do they want to change our culture or steal our jobs. Refugees are generally grateful for their new lives in Australia and they embrace our culture. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ is a source of evidence that supports this.

There are many different views about refugees in Australian society, where illegal boat people and over flowing detention centres are a controversial problem today. Go Back To Where You Came From is a documentary directed by Ivan O’Mahoney about a social experiment that challenges the dominant views of six Australians about refugees and asylum seekers. These six Australians are taken on a 25 day journey where they are placed into the troubled “worlds” of refugees. For a few of the Australians it is their first time overseas but, for all of them it is the most challenging and confronting experience of their lives. This essay will discuss

It is through the confronting and provocative challenges that trigger individuals to reassess their past and present beliefs and attitudes leading to meaningful and transformative discoveries. Jane Harrison’s play ‘Rainbow’s end’, explores Gladys and Nan Dear’s transformative discoveries after they face racial segregations in the western community. This ultimately evokes them to reassess their negative and positive present attitudes towards the white Australians. Similarly, Sean penn’s film ‘into the wild’, exhibits Christopher’s discovery of humanity and basic human interaction to be truly free and happy after experiencing hardships whilst surviving in the wilderness.

Go Back To Where You Came From is an Australian documentary/reality show in which participants are given the opportunity to experience what the life of refugee and asylum seeker can be like, albeit edited and packaged for an audience. During the course of the three hour long series, the six individuals not only have the chance to get under the skin of a refugee in terms of achieving a greater degree of insight into what being a refugee really means, but also to get on the viewing audiences nerves in perhaps all or any of the of the first three senses described above. Moreover the refugees participating in the series may ‘get under the skin’ of the programme participants and the