'Xenophobia' is a word that Australians will perpetually associate with politician, Pauline Hanson, when famously asked a 60 minutes reporter 'please explain?' in response to a question which used the word. The world laughed but it was no laughing matter. Had this woman gained power, Australia would have been sent back to the boring 1950s when the only Chinese food was anglicized and required you to bring your own saucepan to the store to pick up your 'special fried rice' sans exciting Asian ingredients, deemed too spicy for the Aussie palate. Fortunately, the island has become a stopping point for more than 150 nationalities. In many ways, it is far more cosmo than Mexico where I am at the moment. There the population looks largely the same. The vibrant Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane mix is missing. I was in Mexico when I wrote 'Calandra's Spring' and it does reflect my dismay at the absence of my cultural melting pot. Especially in the food area! Mind you, the food in 'Calandra's Spring' reflects more of my trip to Eastern Europe. (Would you like cabbage with that?).
The Gypsy groups and the Japanese woman are all subjected to discrimination.
Buy the book, read it and review it. See if you pick up these themes!
No comments:
Post a Comment