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Peacebuilding for Ethnic Conflicts in Australia: The Cronulla Riots Cassandra Devine

Peacebuilding for Ethnic Conflicts in Australia: The Cronulla Riots Cassandra Devine Research Masters Candidate, UniSA. Outline. Background Timeline It Can’t Happen Here…(So Why Did It?) Peacebuilding Strategies Normative Frameworks Peace Education and Training Community Development

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Peacebuilding for Ethnic Conflicts in Australia: The Cronulla Riots Cassandra Devine

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  1. Peacebuilding for Ethnic Conflicts in Australia: The Cronulla Riots Cassandra Devine Research Masters Candidate, UniSA

  2. Outline • Background • Timeline • It Can’t Happen Here…(So Why Did It?) • Peacebuilding Strategies • Normative Frameworks • Peace Education and Training • Community Development • The Role of ‘Experts’ • Final Thoughts • Further Information

  3. Background What factors contributed to the construction of ethnic differences in Australian society? • 9/11 • Children overboard • The ‘Pacific Solution’ • Iraq War • Department of Immigration and Citizenship

  4. “This Sunday every F#$%ing Aussie in the shire, get down to North Cronulla to help support Leb and wog bashing day... Bring your mates down and let’s show them this is our beach and they’re never welcome back.”

  5. Timeline 4 December: Lifesaver incident 5 December: Text message sent out 5-9 December: Alan Jones promotes ‘Leb bashing day’ 11 December: 5000 people converge on Cronulla beach 12 December: Reprisals 14 December: Text messages spread to other states 16 December: Anti-racism rally

  6. It Can’t Happen Here...(So Why Did It?) • The social construction of ethnic identity and ethnic difference for political purposes • The existence of political, socioeconomic, and cultural policies that privilege certain groups over others • The existence of ‘cultural status inequalities’: “differences in recognition and de facto hierarchical status of different groups’ cultural norms, customs and practices” (Langer and Brown forthcoming) • Other factors (youth, gangs, public space issues, alcohol etc.)

  7. Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation Rather than viewing conflict as a ‘problem’ to be ‘fixed’ by an outsider, conflict transformation prioritises the long-term goal of transforming conflicts and peacebuilding through institutions, values and people (Lederach 1995) • Normative Frameworks • Peace Education and Training • Community Development

  8. Normative Frameworks A basic conceptual structure that governs social ‘norms’, or rules, which is agreed on by the majority of people, actively understood and encouraged through programs, institutions and public education. e.g. United Nations Declaration on Human Rights

  9. Peace Education and Training “An understanding of others and shared values will overcome hostilities that lead to conflict” (Harris 2004: 8) Who needs to be educated, and why?

  10. Community Development • Cronulla Lifesavers Project (the ‘burqini’) • Harmony Day Funded Community Projects “The Living in Harmony programme assists incorporated, not for profit organisations with funding for projects that aim to promote Australian values and mutual obligation, engage the whole community and address understanding and intolerance at the community level.” (http://www.harmony.gov.au/grants/) What are Australian values? There is no explanation of this on the website.

  11. The Role of ‘Experts’ • The ‘Experts’ actively constructed negative images of ethnic difference through the media • The ‘Experts’ incited violence and contributed to racial vilification • The ‘Experts’ ‘fixed’ the problem by installing security cameras in Cronulla • The ‘Experts’ called in the police to patrol the beaches • The ‘Experts’ decide what Australian values are and are able to fund projects that conform to these

  12. Final Thoughts Media and Governments often display lack of understanding of cultural status inequalities and the importance of cross-cultural sensitivity Ethnic differences are often negatively constructed for political purposes Cultural status inequalities lead to ethnic tensions within commuities Cross-cultural sensitivity not just an issue for other countries: it is also a vital component of mediation and peacebuilding practices here in Australia Peacebuilding is an effective long-term strategy for healing divisions Greater need for training ‘experts’ in cultural fluency (or perhaps finding new experts?...)

  13. Further Information Cassandra.devine@postgrads.unisa.edu.au Photo acknowledgements: The Daily Telegraph Citizen Peacebuilding Program Sunday, ninemsn The Age Harris, I.M. (2004). “Peace Education Theory.” Journal of Peace Education. 1(1) Langer and Brown (forthcoming) Lederach, J.P. (1995). Preparing for Peace: Conflict transformation across cultures. New York, Syracuse University Press www.harmony.gov.au/grants/

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