WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELONG IN AUSTRALIA? Essay

Submitted By Fabella-Prayudya
Words: 1344
Pages: 6
Open Document
Belong in Australia and Citizenship

Introduction
The sense of belonging is fundamental issue in immigration experience, particularly in Australia as immigration is the main driver for the increase of population in Australia. It has been argued that despite efforts by the recent Labor and Coalition governments to undermine the excellent custom of granting citizenship, the main practical issue surrounding belonging is not about to have access of citizenship or not (Hage 2002, 2). This essay is aimed to stand that ‘belong’ is the idea of having feeling or belief of being part of something, to have relationship, to be ‘accepted and included within all elements, which also brought to the process of assimilation. Therefore, the following paragraphs in this paper seek to explore the understanding of ‘belonging’ in the context of Australia and to address the differences that immigrants themselves draw on having or not having citizenship in the experiences of belonging in Australia.

The Concept of Belonging

Belong tends to be seen as the consciousness to have the feeling of having relationship, and in case of Australia, is to have relationship with Australia. It is argued in here that relationship of people and their countries are drawn by their willingness to have the feeling of responsibility, possession, and the willing of contribution. The belonging and feeling of relationship are also perceived between the individual citizen and the nation, and loyalty as well as promotion of their duties (Yuval-Davis 2006, 206). In addition, relationship is also possible to be recognized from the way we attach our country. For instance, Eva Shubert migrated from Germany in 1958, a female wood carver, admits that she loves Australian flora very much, and as a result her clients started to accept her skills since 1970s (Shubert, 1996). Hence, from this perspective, although Shubert is not an origin from Australia, she had a feeling of love in Australia, thus made her being accepted by people from Australia, which also allows her the sense to belong in Australia. So, it could be argued that to have the sense of belonging, it is crucial to feel our relationship with something we belong.

Moreover, belonging is also about the feeling of being accepted in a society. It is because one of the central ways to belong is to be comfortable and fulfilled in where we are. For that reason, Hage (2002, 11) indicates that to belong in Australian is about to be honored, and to be recognized in our presence. It seems to mean that by being honored and recognized, we would feel accepted, as our presences are noticed by the societies, and by feeling the acceptance, it tends to make people feel that they are ‘included’ to that societies. “My utmost happiness is that I can still live my life, introducing and spreading the Japanese culture no matter how small my contribution maybe. I have been living my life in peace and with gratitude” (Jackson, 1985). As could be seen, Jackson was Japanese who has been living in Melbourne for 25 years. She had the feeling of being accepted, being ‘included’, which causes her to feel happy and comfortable. From this perspective, it could be seen, acceptance is felt by the feeling of being honored as well as included in society thus, people would be more likely to feel that they belong, as it allows them to have feeling of comfort, to have feeling of being part of where they are.

Besides that, this idea of belonging could also be understood by the process of assimilation. Assimilation is a process that assessed immigrants’ bonding with the host society, adoption of the culture and intermarriage with new society (Gordon 1964; Nagel 2002, 260). It could be seen when someone is trying to balance himself to that group, to not isolating himself from the society. “My Chinese style painting was not all that traditional, it has a modern feel because of the western influences I had absorbed.” (Xiang, 1997). It could be assumed that
Show More

Related Documents: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELONG IN AUSTRALIA? Essay

Essay about Belonging speech immigrant cronicles

No matter what the barriers are, it is human to seek out something to belong to Since the time of the first humans we have all felt the need in our society to belong, whether that is to someone, something or somewhere. If we don’t belong as a person, you will feel alone and alienated. I’m Joshua Horan and today i will be discussing with you the concept of belonging through the use of Peter Skrzynecki’s Poems Migrant Hostel and feliks Skrynecki and a related text of Little Miss Sunshine directed…

Words 1730 - Pages 7

Essay on Belonging: Pauline Hanson and Peter Skrzynecki

concept that can never accurately be expressed by a single definition because it is such an elusive concept. The Macquarie dictionary defines belonging as “to have one’s rightful place; to bear relation as member, adherent, inhabitant etc” but that does not fully cover this abstract term. Belonging involves negotiation, conformity and a struggle to define one’s self and one’s place in the world. Through analysing the concept in various forms of texts, from Peter Skrzynecki’s “Immigrant Chronicles”…

Words 1676 - Pages 7

Concept Of Human Rights

because they are human. Domestic Rights Domestic rights are rights people have within their own country. International Rights International rights are those rights that are recognised as being fundamental rights of all people, no matter what nation state they belong to, even if they are stateless. Differences Between Domestic and International Rights International Rights are More…

Words 1765 - Pages 8

Personal Life and Fight Club Essay

the concept of ‘belonging’ which are represented. Fight club is set in the era and the location of Wilmington, Delaware and explores the main protagonists search for a reason to belong in his world. Aspects of belonging that are explored in this movie include the countless purchases of furniture followed by the quote “What kind of dinning set defines me as a person? I had it all, a stereo that was very decent, and a wardrobe that was getting very respectable. I was close, to being complete.” From…

Words 792 - Pages 4

English Essay

1. Everyone desires to belong and we do, we all belong somewhere whether it be a sporting group, a family, culture or peer group. We all belong, however, as much as we all want to belong it can be fraught with difficulties. This is explored in the films Looking For Alibrandi & My Big…

Words 1086 - Pages 5

Belonging: Stan Lee and Red Tree Essay

school. We are doing belonging here. Belonging is how people feel accepted by others or have a connection to people, places or objects. It is a topic which is related to us and quite useful for people like us who have moved into a new environment. What do we need to do is to choose three related texts for Area of Study, belonging and we have to identify the techniques used by composer and explain how these techniques have reflected these aspects of Belonging. These three aspects are my point of view…

Words 1703 - Pages 7

I Am Alone Essay examples

SPEAKING TASK (BY MINH VU DANG) “I am alone” I’m sure that is what will come up in everyone’s head when they get a problem in their life that no one can help. Being in this situation you will feel like this place is not the place I meant to be and you would try to run away don’t you? Different from most of us Melanie J thinks in a different way. One of her poem “Where I am” reflects her idea of hoping and belonging in spite of what has happened to her life, she still believe in hoping. This opinion…

Words 857 - Pages 4

skryznecki poems Essay example

retained his polish background. Purpose- To inform and educate Summary Explores the relationship between the poet and his father, and their contrasting experiences of belonging in a new land. What ideas about belonging are presented?  The poem explores cultural belonging.  Felix culturally belongs to Poland; it has shaped him immensely, through his memories, language and his friendships. He is at peace with and content in his garden in his new country.  Migrant’s offspring often have more…

Words 4395 - Pages 18

In Class ISM 4220 2 Essay

indicates that it is located in Jacksonville and the tlh in the router indicates that it is located in Tallahassee, Florida. The router names also indicate the networks the routers belong to, so that the names of the organizations operating the routers can be easily checked on the web. For example, flr indicates that it belongs to the Florida Research and Educational Network, as can be checked by visiting the website www.flrnet.org. <Figure 2> Figure 2 shows another route trace, this time to the University…

Words 755 - Pages 4

Study Questions: Principles Of A Representative And Responsible Government

members and the Crown). • The roles played by both Houses of parliament and the Crown in law-making. • The role of the House of Representatives (house of government, people’s house). • The role of the Senate (states house, house of review). • To what extent the Senate is fulfilling its role (how effective it is as a states house and a house of review—strengths and weaknesses). • The reasons why laws need to change, including examples to support each reason. • The methods used by individuals and…

Words 2291 - Pages 10