Scotch College

Welcome the stranger

Bhanuwat Jittivuthikarn's award winning painting Tampa featured in the September issue of Great Scot. In the Art Department I viewed the whole series of paintings. Bhanuwat was there and took time to share with me the things that moved him to create his works; so I was rewarded not only by the visual feast but also by the artist's explanation.

Bhanuwat is from Thailand and is known as 'Joe' to his fellow boarders. Quietly he related the complex range of emotions that he sought to communicate in these paintings as, over the weeks, the internment of asylum seekers gave rise to the children overboard issue which became the Tampa crisis then the Pacific solution before the repatriation of Afghani refugees to that ravaged country by the UNHCR. Of those asylum seekers who would like to be here, how many can Australia take?

I viewed part of a Four Corners program, Quest for a Super Model, which explored models of population growth for Australia.

It raised some vital questions. How rapidly or how slowly do we want the population of Australia to develop? What will be the effects of population change on the economy and the environment? Furthermore, what makes a multicultural society hold together?

Our own school motto, 'for God, country and learning' suggests a sequence of priorities for a school, but to what should our nation aspire? Despite wanting the deity in the constitutional preamble, the Prime Minister recently said that 'country' should come first. Perhaps he was inspired by that unofficial anthem 'We are one, but we are many'. He was clearly avoiding God as the premier allegiance, since killing in the name of 'God' has become globally endemic. Is he endorsing patriotism as the primal virtue?

Mr Howard went on to affirm that killing in the name of any god dishonored that god. In the mind of the Australian community this is surely the truth. However, it is clearly not so for some who invoke god as the reason for killing. This may veil a complex of socio-political agendas, but clearly the deity concerned is believed to approve such action. Perhaps a multicultural society is a postmodern phenomenon, and simply is, without visible means of coherence?

Today I received an emailed invitation to a concert at Collins Street Baptist Church in support of asylum seekers and cultural diversity. The proceeds will go to benefit the work of 'Brunswick Baptist, The Baptist Refugee Network and CSBC' providing 'material aid, advocacy and support to asylum seekers'. What informs the minds of the concert's Christian organisers?

There are numerous biblical passages:

'Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves… defend the rights of the poor and needy'. (Proverbs 31:8). There is also the ancient biblical injunction to 'welcome the stranger' which goes back deep into the Pentateuch. That 72 kg gold nugget found at Moliagul, the 'Welcome Stranger', gives the term a uniquely Australian twist!

While migrants have not always been welcomed to Australian shores most people would appreciate that cultural diversity has enriched this nation. In his gospel, Matthew, writing for Jewish readers, makes this an issue. He tells of the holy family's flight into Egypt after the birth of Jesus, to escape the wrath of King Herod. So it was that the Saviour became a refugee.

Refugee Island	Detainee	Bodyscape

The guidelines for immigration policy are difficult, and today health and security screening are an essential part of the process. Detention centres may be necessary - countries without them have at least as many difficulties managing their migrant situation as Australia. Perhaps, however, the time has come for us to assess whether we are willing to accept a reduction in our lifestyle, as suggested by Quest for a Super Model, so that we can welcome many more of the world's needy refugees, especially those seeking political and religious freedom rather than merely economic advantage.

A knock on my door made me look up from my reverie. It was Bhanuwat, smiling, his first VCE exam, English, now behind him. He was holding a plastic wallet which he held up to me. 'I've brought these for you sir. I thought you might like them.' It was a set of photographs of his paintings with comments as required for his VCE art folio. As I looked through the photographs and read the script narrating the feelings of this young artist I felt both honored and deeply moved.

Welcome the stranger this Christmas. In doing so we welcome Christ. (Matthew 25:40)

I've decided if I can't get to the concert I'll send the cost of two tickets anyway. You can find things to do to help refugees at TEAR (www.tear.org.au). Talking of works of art and refugees, the TEAR site includes links to another Old Scotch Collegian's work on the same theme, Peter Nicholson's cartoons. Also well worth a look.

Graham Bradbeer
Chaplain