{"id":701,"date":"2015-07-21T01:06:07","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T01:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?p=701"},"modified":"2015-07-25T10:50:29","modified_gmt":"2015-07-25T10:50:29","slug":"indian-and-lebanese-community-meet-to-break-down-barriers-in-sydneys-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?p=701","title":{"rendered":"Indian and Lebanese community meet to break down barriers in Sydney\u2019s west"},"content":{"rendered":"

IN a suburban backyard in Sydney\u2019s west, two communities with a fraught history came together. <\/strong> <\/p>\n

\"indian<\/a>It was the Lebanese equivalent of a backyard barbie, only instead of snags and beer, they served falafel, tabouli, flatbreads and dips.<\/p>\n

The guests came from the Indian community, which just six years earlier had rioted in Harris Park because they felt they were being targeted by Lebanese youths.<\/p>\n

Lebanese organiser Lara Taouk Sleiman said despite the diversity in Sydney\u2019s west, different ethnic communities often remained suspicious of each other.<\/p>\n

She met Indian organiser Arunesh Seth during the state election in Granville.<\/p>\n

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She was campaigning for the Christian Democrats and he was Labor, but they found common ground while sharing food and dancing to Bollywood music.<\/p>\n

They became friends, but there was one sticking point.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t be Lebanese, that\u2019s not possible,\u201d Mr Seth told her.<\/p>\n

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\"Lara<\/div>\n

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Lara Taouk Sleiman shares a meal with Meena Chugh and Jatinder Saini in Woodpark. Picture: Adam Taylor<\/span> Source:<\/em> News Corp Australia<\/span><\/p>\n

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Over coffee they discussed why each ethnic group had such negative stereotypes about the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe thought I could change the perceptions of people,\u201d Ms Taouk Sleiman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we met after the election and he said we really should take this further.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really should get a group of Lebanese and Indian people to sit together and enjoy each other\u2019s culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

SPANISH FESTIVAL ON BILL FOR SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2016<\/a><\/p>\n

TRAGIC MISTAKE CLAIMS BROTHER\u2019S LIFE<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Falafels<\/div>\n

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Falafels were on the menu at the Lebanese night in Woodpark. Picture: Adam Taylor<\/span> Source:<\/em> News Corp Australia<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ms Taouk Sleiman invited members of the Indian community to come along for dinner at her parents\u2019 Woodpark home last weekend.<\/p>\n

For many of the Indian participants, it was the first time they had stepped inside a Lebanese home.<\/p>\n

Naresh Aggarwal from West Pennant Hills has been in Australia for 25 years, but his contact with Lebanese people was limited.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was apprehensive.\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n

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\"Indian<\/div>\n

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Indian guests got a Lebanese cooking lesson. Picture: Adam Taylor<\/span> Source:<\/em> News Corp Australia<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI knew Lebanese people, but I had never had a conversation at a social occasion. I had thought Lebanese people are very aggressive and stayed away from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the end of the night, Mr Aggarwal realised the two groups had more in common than he thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fantastic,\u201d he said. \u201cI loved it. We\u2019re two cultures that love to eat and dance. We would also invite them to our place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Taouk Sleiman\u2019s sister-in-law Ana Taouk said the Lebanese community often battled negative stereotypes, but the silent majority were just going about their daily lives away from the spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stereotypes make us look like we are idiots or thugs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice just to put it out there that we are just like anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/div>\n

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The Indian community took to the streets after racial tensions with the Lebanese community escalated in 2009.<\/span> Source:<\/em> News Limited<\/span><\/p>\n

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The event, named Culture Swap, started with games as everyone learnt each others\u2019 names and was followed by a cooking workshop.<\/p>\n

The visitors learnt to stuff vine leaves, grind chickpeas and lemon juice together to make hummus and pinch the edges of dough to make Lebanese spinach pies.<\/p>\n

At dinner, people were encouraged to sit next to someone they didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

Dancing followed on the backyard patio, with guests mixing Lebanese steps with Bollywood moves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t live separately,\u201d Mr Seth said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some stage they have to come together \u2014 that\u2019s the spirit of Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s on the same level. They\u2019re just enjoying themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Jatinder<\/div>\n

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Jatinder Saini on the dancefloor at the Woodpark event. Picture: Adam Taylor<\/span> Source:<\/em> News Corp Australia<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mr Seth said while the world faced global threats such as terrorism, the majority of people just wanted to live their own lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want peace, they want a secure future for their families, so that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying \u2014 to spread the message of peace, love, harmony and prosperity, living together,\u201d Mr Seth said.<\/p>\n

Ms Taouk Sleiman agreed and said she loved her adopted homeland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in war and have witnessed most of the war in Lebanon, and I think that\u2019s what gives you this insight when you migrate to Australia,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou come from a country where your utmost ambition was to survive and then you come to a land of opportunities that gives enough oxygen to every culture.<\/p>\n

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The Harris Park riots in June 2009.<\/span> Source:<\/em> News Limited<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cAustralians that come from different cultural backgrounds, they should look at this nation with a lot of gratitude. You would lay down your life so that ISIS can\u2019t get access to this land.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get that passionate because you don\u2019t want the Middle East to cross boundaries \u2014 because we came here and this is home.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Saturday, Culture Swap will continue with an Indian night in Baulkham Hills.<\/p>\n

Lebanese guests will get a taste of Indian culture with a traditional dress session and henna, followed by dinner and Bollywood dancing.<\/p>\n

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\"Indian<\/div>\n

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Indian consul-general Amit Dasgupta, talks with police at Harris Park following the riots in 2009.<\/span> Source:<\/em> News Limited<\/span><\/p>\n

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Indian community riots in Harris Park<\/h3>\n

WESTERN Sydney is a melting pot of different cultures, but six years ago tensions between Lebanese and Indian communities reached boiling point in Harris Park.<\/p>\n

On June 9, 2009, about 150 Indian protesters took to the streets claiming they had endured years of racial slurs and attacks.<\/p>\n

It came after a clash with Middle Eastern men in the same area the night before.<\/p>\n

The local consensus was that it started with a petty crime when a group of reportedly Lebanese youths threw eggs and soft drink at a group of Indian students.<\/p>\n

The students, who were already feeling nervous after a spate of attacks on their compatriots in Melbourne, thought they were being targeted because of their race and staged a retaliation against another group of Lebanese youth.<\/p>\n

Police were forced to close an entire block around Marion and Wigram streets.<\/p>\n

At the time, protesters told The Daily Telegraph that they didn\u2019t feel safe.<\/p>\n

Harris Park local Kush Ghai, 22, said the local Indian community needed more police protection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want peace, justice and protection,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Sarabjot Singh, 25, said Indians living in Harris Park had been victimised for years and accused police of doing nothing about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis (the attacks) is the story every day, but now we cant take it anymore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

 
\nSource: Daily Telegraph <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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