When will we move beyond the notion of fixed identity
​and catch-all phrases like
“Culturally and Linguistically Diverse”?
See beyond the categories
​and into the heart and soul of a person.
​
​So why dear State Government
​does where I was born matter
​for a job application?
​Shouldn’t my qualifications and experience speak
​to my suitability for a job?
​
​Why does the date I arrived in this country matter,
​if I’ve jumped through the hoops
​to become a citizen?
​Or are there gradients of acceptability
​to my citizenship.
​
​Like those old white Australians who will
​oh so graciously concede
​that 30 years in this country
​makes me an Aussie.
​Like I need them to define who I am;
​and being Australian is some marvellous thing,
​some golden inner circle to aspire to.
​Which, if you ignore that this country is built on
​theft, genocide and ecological devastation,
​then perhaps it is.
​
​But back to the tick box and its dilemma
​“Culturally and Linguistically Diverse”
​Is that me?
​My parents are Christian
​same as this country’s Prime Minister
​Although my parents wouldn’t proudly claim to
have stopped the boats
​or justify the ongoing incarceration and torture (intentional or not)
​of those seeking a life free from persecution.
​How could they,
after all that is why we are here.
​So yes perhaps we are culturally different
​Growing up in a house that watched cricket and footy
can’t cover up that we eat rice and curry with out hands.
​
But how about linguistically diverse?
​Does three generations of speaking English as a first language
​negate this second criteria?
​Does my high school French and German make me
​linguistically diverse?
​Or is it that I remember a childhood where
English was sprinkled with Tamil and Sinhalese
​older brother was Annah
pumpkins were watakkas
​and wardrobes were almarahs…
​
​Hell, why bother with all this angst
​when one look at my name and
​those people assessing my application
will put me in a neat little box anyway.
​There’s no hiding with a name that’s never failed to
​make those ‘true Aussies’ pause and then
​haltingly stumble over its many syllables.
​
So why dear State Government
​bother with your page of identity ensnaring boxes
​It will never reveal the
gloriously complex being that is me –
​or anyone else in this globalised era
​and a country founded and grown on immigration.