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
The Role of ‘Experts’
Final Thoughts
Further Information
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
“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.”
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
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.)
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
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
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?
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.
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
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?...)
Further Information
[email protected]
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/