Where are you from?
A question
simple in words but
layered in meaning.
Don’t take it so serious you say, don’t
take it the wrong way you say. But
how would you know what it
means to us.
You probably grew up
in the upper suburbs of North Shore, went to
a private school filled with others
of your kind, played
Sunday sport with families of similar
backgrounds, and only ever spoke with
people of the same colour. How would you know what it
means to us.
I grew up
in the outcast town of Western Sydney, went to
a public school filled with people
looking to pick on my kind, played
violin everyday with teachers who favoured kids
of your kind, and have never befriended anyone
of your skin colour without being looked
down upon. We are
not the same.
You were born into the skin
of royalty, a family of mainstreamed cultures and a life
of the privileged. I was thrust into the race
of colour, a household struggling for acceptance and a world
of discrimination. We are
not the same.
You have never had to explain
how to pronounce your last name
to the obnoxious PE teacher, never been
told you were not good
enough because of your skin colour, never had people make
fun of your Mum’s
cooking. You do not know what it
means to us.
I can recite every word to Advance Australia
Fair, identify every player
of the Wallabies squad, sing each verse
of Waltzing Matilda. But
I will still be told to “go back to
your own country”. You do not know what it
means to us.
You will never know what it
means to us.
We acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which Woroni, Woroni Radio and Woroni TV are created, edited, published, printed and distributed. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. We acknowledge that the name Woroni was taken from the Wadi Wadi Nation without permission, and we are striving to do better for future reconciliation.