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Thanks for having shared this. I live in Italy, and in the last years we have get accustomed to news like "four hundred refugees reached Sicily last night", "50

• prawn 11y ago
  I agree. I think it's a shame that governments (ours in Australia especially) play on xenophobia for political point scoring rather than encouraging the population to welcome new arrivals. We focus on differences like clothing, language and religion more than we emphasise common ground such as support for our children, love of food, sport, etc. There's a food/cooking show in Australia called Food Safari in which each episode focuses on a different cuisine. It's a great insight into the food traditions each culture has brought with them. I often wish it was compulsory viewing or at least broadcast on a more mainstream channel as cooking and eating together is something we can all identify with. I think we only increase the chances of ghettoes and other issues when we react negatively rather than welcoming people. We push people to wall themselves in, harden their cultural lines, we make it harder for them to get jobs, etc.
  • bordercases 11y ago
    "Play on X for a political point" carries no information as anything can be construable as a political point. One is just as liable to hear pro-refugee stances be used as a "political-point" for the sake of votes as anti-refugee stances. All such policy decisions should be dissolved away from a political party's frame of reference, and what should remain are guesses as to what the consequences of a policy might be and whether or not it's good for the nation.