Racism in Australia: Haven Hotel Alice Springs: Chinese and Aboriginals.
Haven Hotel Alice Springs: Australian Racism.
In an article entitled: Backpackers' hostel accused of racism, the Royal Life Saving Society Australia has accused The Haven Hostel in Alice Springs of racism after it kicked out a group of Aborigines who came from a remote community intent on taking lifesaving classes in the central Australian town.
ABC Television reported that the Aboriginal group were asked to leave after checking in because of complaints by other guests, however another report says that they were asked to leave because they had "scared" Asian tourists.
The group of mostly women were from Yuendumu, located about 300km northwest of Alice Springs.
The Haven Hostel statement read: "Haven Hostel is a backpackers' hostel catering for international backpacking tourists, which the group was not".
But the Royal Life Saving Society Australia has accused the hostel of "pure racism".
The exact circumstances of this case not withstanding, and without prejudice to this particular event, I find this report disturbing on several levels, because I have personally had to deal with this type of situation - as a Manager in a Hotel in Alice Springs.
When I went to Alice Springs, I was not allowed to stay in several hostels, because I could not produce a passport and / or I was not an international guest.
After living at another hostel/hotel for some time, I got a job there, and later was successful in my application to replace an outgoing manager.
What used to make me sick, was the racism of the international guests. Firstly, they were racist toward Australians, constantly carrying on about how the whole world knows that we are racist. But then the inevitable would happen, and those same 'Anti-Australian' racists, would 'demand' that we get rid of Aboriginal guests.
To use the words of one tourist website (although it referred to toilets in China): "Sanitary conditions are not as hygienic as we are accustomed to expecting".
Whenever there was inclement weather, all the Aboriginals who used to live and sleep in the Dry Todd River, would book into our 500 bed establishment. They were received without question. They did of course smell - sorry, I mean - their body scent was stronger than most others.
Whenever we had as guests, more than the occasional aboriginal, those same whining foreigners who accused Australians of being Racist, would complain that they don't trust the aborigines staying in the hotel. They would complain because the Aboriginals were wandering around the corridors at all hours of the night; that they stunk; and that they looked scary.
Of course we never threw anyone out because of such complaints, but that only made the foreign guests hostile. But hey - we are Australians - we look after our own.
What was interesting about the Aboriginals, was that they would all congregate in one or two rooms to drink and chat. Perhaps they did not feel comfortable in the bar. At any rate, being of a different culture, they were noisy. Guests would then complain.
Whenever I would get a call from the office telling me that there was a complaint about a noisy party in a particular room, I would ask: Black or White?
When the answer came back that they were Aboriginals, I would proceed to the room, knock once and then call out: "Boss man here! Open door!"
The door would be opened, and I would tell the guests of the complaints, and would suggest that they go next door to the park until their party was finished. They would thank me and comply. Not a Worry!
But if I was informed that there were white people in that noisy room, it was always necessary to take 'back-up'. Why? Because those same white foreigners tended to be obnoxious and arrogant. Aboriginals in Alice Springs are for the most part, gentle souls.
Perhaps the Haven Hotel did discriminate, and perhaps the Asian Tourists did complain. If you understand anything of Asian culture, you can easily imagine it. What does the Hostel do? Once word gets out on the international internet about the hostel, the Asians will not go there.
Perhaps the hostel just used their 'international guest' Status as their justification. Perhaps they might have been able to discuss the situation with the Aboriginal Group. Who knows the real story.
It is hard to imagine that the Hostel accepted the group and then used the 'international status' to throw them out. Why accept them in the first place? To throw them out would have lost the hostel a lot of money and of course, cause trouble. It is not logical. What seems to have been the problem, is that the hotel failed to reassure the 'foreign guests' that the Aboriginals are mere humans, and certainly not likely to take out their spears and 'nulla nullas' and start whacking away at the guests.
One may never know the full story, but this much I do know; I am sick to death of being, and hearing of others being called Racist, because we are White Australians. And that goes for the representative of the Surf Life Saving organisation.
Some American Movie star recently spoke out about his disgust at Australian Racism, and I thought: "Hey - get the mote out of your own eye!" How often do ordinary citizens, walking along the street minding their own business, get abused by 'social drop outs', simply because they are white.
I could provide lots of anecdotes, but I will only provide one. An aboriginal man approached my brother who was standing on the main street in Brisbane and asked for a cigarette. Without even seeing the man, my brother refused. It was only when the Aboriginal man began to accuse him of racism, that my brother realised that the man was Aboriginal.
After the initial tirade finished, brother said: "If you want to carry on about me being racist, then go complain to that aboriginal woman in the shop there."
When the man asked: "Who is she?"
Brother replied: "My mother-in-law!"
That only started off another round of abuse because "you white guys steal all our women!"
I have 3 Aboriginal family branches in my family, and my uncle's wife was somehow also related to Aboriginals. At my cousin's birthday party, there were at least 30 Aboriginals. They were all 'Family'. I could never forget that party because I ruined my White Jeans in the creek, and I got my first passionate kiss - from a full blooded Aboriginal Relative.
Xenophobia exists as an observable fact in Mother Nature, so it should not surprise us to find it in the human population. That does not mean that we can't be polite and civil to those with whom we do not feel comfortable. But the constant abuse of the "politically correct" only adds fuel to the fire. It accomplishes nothing but resentment over issues about which we do not know the full facts.
From my own experiences living in China, I know how racism and discrimination works, and it does make one angry at times; but it is something that you learn to live with and understand.
The aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory - just from my own personal experience - are polite, courteous, and affable, and I never saw any white person mistreat an aboriginal there - and nor did I see the converse.
In my time as manager I had so often to request police assistance with troublesome people, that I would only have to say my name and they would tell me that a car was on the way. But in that time, I never had reason to request police help with aboriginals.
It is a shame that this Aboriginal group got caught up in this type of situation, and it is unfortunate that the Hostel also got caught up in it. That the hotel failed to handle the situation correctly is obvious, but where did the trouble originate? With Racist Foreigners!
It seems taking photos of Aboriginals doing their native dances is fine - but to actually have one stay in your hotel is something quite different!
Abuse
All forms of abuse are serious, but the least recognised is Emotional Abuse. In the Article entitled: Emotional Abuse and Female Emotional Abusers this issue is examined. It touches upon Religious abuse, Political Activist abuse, Feminist Abuse, Child abuse, and Men who are abused by women.
R.P.BenDedek is from Brisbane Australia and is the author of 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran' at http://www.kingscalendar.com His academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
He writes photographic 'Stories from China' and social editorial commentaries, both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing newspaper columnist. He currently teaches Conversational English in China and in addition to his English Lessons at KingsCalendar, he has created specific sites for Students of English.
