Is Australia the lucky country?

Hi Peeps,

I love Australia. I am proud to call myself an Aussie but lately there have been a few instances in my life where I am embarrassed to be associated with Australia.

I am blessed to have friends from many different ethnicities - Pacifica, Indian, Pakistan, Bosnian, Russian, Cambodian, Italian to name a few. That is what I love about Australia, our diversity. I love that people can come here and have a go. By having a go I mean try and build a better future for themselves and their future families.

However, I am disgusted in how we treat immigrants. I am not going to touch on racism today as that deserves a whole post but themes of racism will come into this post.

Last night I went to a dance performance by my Bollywood dance teacher. OMG - inspiring and powerful. The performance told the story of the dance troupe - they were all immigrants. The group self funded the performance. I have attached a snippet of the performance. It was very emotional and heart felt, expressing the struggles of immigration. It was a one night only event but should be sold out night after night. You can see the video at https://www.instagram.com/one.ro.many.roads?igsh=MXd1azltejlicHdveg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

But back to my personal connection with immigration.

I have a close family friend who is an Aussie citizen, as is his brother. They immigrated from Punjab over 20 years ago. They both have well paying jobs and contribute to our society (see I am already justifying them being good Aussies and I should not have to). Their Mum is currently visiting from Punjab and they have been trying for 3 years to get a holiday visa for their sister to visit. Please re read what I wrote - a holiday visa. They wanted the entire family to be together in Australia for her nephew's 18 birthday. I am going to refer to her as ⛰️

⛰️ is self employed, she is single and lives in India with her mum. She has had her holiday visa rejected twice because the Australian government believe she is a risk. They believe once she gets here she will stay and not return to India. She does not want to stay. She visited in 2010 and returned to India. ⛰️ wants to be with her family for her nephew's 18th birthday. She deserves to be in Australia with her nephew and her entire family on his 18th birthday.

Being the person I am, I rang an immigration lawyer as I thought there was something we could do. She advised me not to. She said the appeals process will take 2 years, cost a lot of money and you will lose. Lose!!!

Please just think. As an Aussie, I book a flight to anywhere in the world and don't give a visa a second thought. I know because I am Aussie (read privileged white person), I can go anywhere I like.

I could not imagine not being able to visit my family if they lived in another country. These are the occasions I am disgusted to be an Aussie.

They can try writing to their local member of parliament but really are members of parliament going to risk their reputation for someone they don't know. However, it is worth a try.

Next time you see an immigrant. Please smile at them in the street. You will never understand the hardships they have faced to live in "The Lucky Country."

To my friend and his family, I apologise from the bottom of my heart and hope the universe will find a way to bring you together🙏.

Love,

Ro.

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