Are we deceived by multiculturalism?

Like a pressure cooker or bottle of soda water waiting to explode, the simmering racial war will reach its inevitable climax later, if not sooner. Strong police tactics have contained the situation for now; however, the bitterness and anger is pent up, ominously stored, waiting to flare up again.

That's why we need a long-term solution. Multiculturalism is simply not working. The multicultural melting pot has turned into a pressure cooker and it’s now a case of assimilate or implode Australia.

First we saw the streets of Paris on fire. Then it was Sydney’s turn. Churches went up in flames, races rose up against races and the city's authorities urged calm while text messages traversed the country like bush-fires - calling for more violence.

Welcome to the incendiary atmosphere sweeping across Australia over the Christmas and New Year holiday period of 2005-2006. The Sydney riots were not a recent phenomenon: they were a manifestation of a far deeper problem - multicultural deception.

Men from both the Anglo Saxon and Lebanese Muslim communities have perpetrated cowardly actions leading to this defining moment in Australia's history. However, is it really all about racism?

I find it hard to believe that Australians, the same demographic who watch TV shows like Big Brother and elected as their first Australian Idol, Guy Sebastian, whose parents come from South-East Asia, are really all that racist.

While visiting Sydney from Melbourne recently, I noticed that there were Tongan and Chinese immigrants on a Sydney beach who were not being attacked. So why didn’t the white Aussies attack the non-Lebanese looking people?

Many believe the recent attack on two surf lifesavers fuelled the violence. They had been assaulted, in what was believed to be an unprovoked attack, by a large group of men of Middle Eastern appearance. However, I believe the truth is much more profound and it strikes at the heart of multiculturalism.

As a dark-skinned immigrant, I have encountered large blocks of unassimilated Australians along with the continual use of the word “multicultural”. During my 31 years in Sri Lanka and two years in Saudi Arabia, multiculturalism was a word I never heard uttered - unusual considering both of these countries have people from many nations living there, especially Saudi Arabia.

Since moving to Australia in 1997 I have travelled to more than 20 countries across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Eastern and Western Europe and the US. What amazes me is that wherever there is a Western society, I hear the word "multiculturalism", but I never hear this word in other parts of the world.

“Multiculturalism” is a tool that can be used to destabilise a nation. Australia welcomes people from all over the world. All who choose to come to Australia should be willing to become Australian. It is unfair that some immigrants would push towards Australia becoming like their country of origin. The government cannot and should not bend over backwards to trade the Aussie way of life for other ways. The current zeitgeist across Sydney’s beaches of ethnic rivalry has made it unpleasant for many immigrants and Muslims in Australia who want to live peaceful lives.

I fail to understand how politicians can knowingly lower their standards in order to get votes and not look at what is best for their country’s future. Some have never even lived outside Australia and are simply naïve (travelling to a country for a few days or hearing about a country in the news or in a book does not present the full story). So why are politicians trying to appease the minority by sacrificing the freedom and values of the majority? I believe it is because of a lack of knowledge and understanding.