Thanks so much for this post @Astra-RO !!
I think everything you've mentioned is so, so important. My background is Chinese, but I was born and raised here in Australia. I'm so grateful that the environment I grew up in was accepting of my differences, so that standing here today, I can say I'm proud of, and deeply connected to, my cultural background. For me, Harmony Week means calling attention to both the good and the bad in the experiences of culturally diverse Australians- celebrating all the wonderful opportunities we've had to grow whilst maintaining our roots, and also opening our eyes to the systemic issues that are still faced by many to this day.
Today, I was actually attending training for a volunteering role with community mental health and disability facilities, and learning alongside me were a few much older Australian men and women with backgrounds in social work and disability services. When we were going through communication, it warmed my heart to see how serious they were about being respectful of how they interact with people of different cultures. I could really feel that they just see them as people, people with different customs and beliefs and traditions, but nonetheless people just like them. It really heightened my faith in the world in general, seeing these lovely people from a whole different generation being so open-minded and willing to learn. I want to hope that the world is improving little by little, and I'm eager to do my little part in that😊 Happy harmony week!!!
