With partners:
Parent Snapshot 1
ARABIC-SPEAKING BACKGROUND PARENT 1: My son, he was, what they call, standing there, you know for the first war? [Remembrance Day] My son, I don’t know, he talked or something. They sent letter to me, say your son humiliate Australia and all Australian community at all… My son, he said something in Arabic, I don’t know if it was a bad word, but don’t worry, he’s in Year 7, he’s a kid…. I went to the coordinator and said, look, he’s a kid, 13 years old, what you talking about. And our grandfather, my grandfather, was killed in that war. My grandfather Ibrahim, he was killed in that war, he was gone, he never come back… Under the Ottoman Empire. The other side. But that time, they come, Ottoman, and collect everyone and take them and never come back…
INTERVIEWER: Do you think it’s important for your children to be taught about their own cultures and other cultures in the classroom?
ARABIC-SPEAKING BACKGROUND PARENT 2: Yeah… because we are a minority here, small ethnic background, this education will give also to the other people to know. It’s very good for all people to learn and to teach about other culture because it’s a very rich culture, you know? This is very important to be happening in Australia, because the new Australia, there are 100 nationality, they will have more respect for each other, more behaviour, you know? And also for English background, they will know other culture also, that it is a rich culture. I think it is very important here in Australian you know to be there in the school, to be educated ethnic or culture or something. Because Australia, we are people from everywhere. If we learn how to behave and how to respect other people and respect other culture, I think this will be very helpful for the new generation.