Harmony Day, Australia
March 21st is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In Australia, it is celebrated as Harmony Day.
The most recent Scanlon Foundation Mapping Social Cohesion Survey found that 25% of Australians have negative attitudes towards Muslims and that a broader definition of intolerance and rejection of cultural diversity can reach 30%-40% of the population.
Osmond Chiu, a Sydney based writer says that Harmony Day should be an opportunity to not just recognize our successes but also focus on what Australia still needs to do to combat racism and racial discrimination in all its forms.
The building managers of the high-rise building where I work, organized terrific events for Harmony week, to take place in the foyer. On Tuesday 19th at lunch-time I was in raptures to listen to absolutely beautiful music played on an accordion, by a guy called Eddie.
Eddie was a bit shy as I tried to eke out more information from him, like a social media page perhaps, where I could follow him.
Anyway, I looked forward to Wednesday 20th when a didgeridoo was being played in the foyer, but alas I got busy and held up and never got there during the hours it was played.
Never mind, because for my birthday in 2015, talented musician Robert Dann played a didgeridoo piece just for me, and you can listen to it on my Youtube channel if you like:
I am Chinese, born in Malaya, but brought up in Australia by English parents. My friends are from Malta, Italy, England, Chile, Portugal, America and Africa.
To be honest, my earlier years in Australia were not harmonious. I have blogged about this before on Medium and have written a poem about it also, on my own website “Peace in Practice.”
My personal experiences, plus how I was brought up, and my innate sense of place for all and for our interconnection, has resulted in my being tolerant of different ways and doing the work it takes to understand other cultures and perspectives.
This includes not demonizing one racial group or any collective mindset or group of society but holding all to account for their actions and their prejudices.
This includes wanting all human beings to embrace harmony as a collective need because we are all interdependent upon each other.
I pray that this day is here ….. now. There is only the now, so let’s do our utmost to make the best of the present.
P.S. You may be interested in my blog about “revisioning Aboriginal sense of place.”
