The cause of last week’s riot is too complex to be papered over, writes Russell Skelton. It was meant to be a reassuring display of reconciliation on a sparkling Sydney day with a lazy Maroubra surf providing a calming backdrop. Leaders of the Lebanese Muslim community were standing side by side with two members of the "Bra Boys" surf gang pledging non-violence, peaceful coexistence and rejecting all things racist.
In terms of content, it went a good deal further than anything Prime Minister John Howard had said about last Sunday’s race riot along the Cronulla beach front and the subsequent raids of retribution taken by "Leb gangs".Said Kanawatti, from the Lakemba Mosque, condemned the race violence and the "vigilantes" behind it. He reminded Muslims that the Prophet and Jesus both taught that hatred for others should not lead to injustice being done to the innocent. "We have to show at a national level that all people should come to the beach and feel safe," he said.
The Bra Boys made equally firm declarations and at the close of the media event the men exchanged hugs and shook hands. It was the first in a series of orchestrated displays of unity last week in Sydney.
But there was something decidedly unsettling about this event. Kanawatti, a compelling force for good sense, was talking to an audience of two, not 200. It was also apparent that neither side actually represented any of the participants in the Sunday riot and Monday’s retaliation.
On Friday "voices of hate" were still circulating in the form of text messages urging Aussies to teach "these dirty dog lebs" about Aussie pride by returning to Cronulla today for a rematch.
While another full-blown race riot is unlikely, given the presence of some 1500 police armed with riot gear and tough new powers, further clashes cannot be ruled out because those perpetuating the violence – on both sides – are conspicuously absent from the dialogue. And the causes of last week’s riot are too complex to be papered over.
Some causes are obvious and have been noted. Bruce Baird, the federal Liberal member for Cook, said ethnic clashes had been going on for three decades at Sutherland Shire beaches, and that ethnic tensions had worsened with 9/11, the Bali bombings, Lebanese pack rapes in Sydney and the changing security environment. Others have blamed the influence of talkback radio shock jocks and the sinister hand of extreme right groups such as Australia First and the Patriotic Youth League.
Last week The Sunday Age interviewed a number of activists and social workers who work with young Lebanese men. They say many of these men are not only alienated from aspects of Middle Eastern society, but disconnected from mainstream Australia.
An activist, who declined to be named, said significant numbers of Lebanese youth found it difficult to identify as Australian even though most were born here. "They are being constantly reminded by the advertising industry and the terrorism debate they are different, they are people to be viewed with suspicion, they feel rejected. This group is not big on Islam or alcohol and is deeply conflicted about sex because cultural values prevent them from freely dating Lebanese girls."
A social worker said the group takes its inspiration from US rap culture, carry weapons and is quick to resort to violence. "Bashing up a lifeguard on a beach gives them a sense of fighting back. They are caught between two cultures, prevented from being Australian. Unable to read and write Arabic, they are constantly searching for ways to assert their identity through conflict."
Dr Ghassan Hage, an anthropologist at the University of Sydney, a Lebanese who studied Lebanese kids, said in a recent commentary: "What we see among these Lebanese kids is . . . a cliquish mentality that ‘we’d better stick to each other – we are surrounded by enemies’ and ‘we are out to get the others’ . . . they have a tribal mentality."
And the problem is exacerbated, the social worker says, because the Lebanese community regards them as a problem but is not willing to declare them a problem, so the kids never get the message. "When these kids run slap-bang into white bread Aussie kids fed a diet of Australia First propaganda, the result is toxic and that is the essence of the problem," she said.
