Photographic essay assignment - distinction PDF

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photographic essay- compulsory submission assignment based upon images of Cabramatta, received a distinction...

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People, Place and Social Difference- Photographic Essay

Cabramatta is a suburb located in the South West of Sydney, New South Wales; and falls within the Fairfield Local Government Area. Cabramatta is “home to Australia’s largest Vietnamese community” (F. Carbone,2017). Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2016 QuickStats data shows that in Cabramatta thirty-five percent of individuals reported they were born in Vietnam and twenty-nine percent reported they were born in Australia. Data also shows that of the population, twelve percent of individuals only spoke English at home, with fourty percent of people reporting that Vietnamese was their first language. This data reflects residential concentration of the Vietnamese community within Cabramatta, which can have both benefits and challenges. A positive of ethnic residential concentration in Cabramatta is the maintenance of Vietnamese culture. One example of this is the way in which both public places and private dwellings have been modified, or made to include ethnic icons, symbols and designs.

Figure 1, Community members celebrating at Cabramatta Moon Festival. 2013

In figure 1, it is clear that the ethnic precinct of Cabramatta has been largely influenced by Vietnamese culture. At first glance, if the individual had viewed the image without and prior context the area could easily be mistaken for a Vietnamese town. This statement can be justified due to the objects such as lanterns, Vietnamese inspired infrastructure and statures and Vietnamese signage, which all represent the way in which Vietnamese culture has been maintained among a western world. Celebrations and cultural rituals are also heavily prevalent in the Cabramatta area, further reiterating the maintenance of Vietnamese culture. These festivals are highly attended by the Cabramatta community and are often endorsed by the mayor Frank Carbone. The mayor’s endorsement ensures that the festivals are held with high

regards and are viewed in a positive light. Cabramatta moon festival is the largest Asian cultural celebration in Sydney (Fairfield City Council, 2018) Carbone encourages visitors from throughout Sydney to come and experience the culture Cabramatta has to offer and prides the community on its food, entertainment and friendly people. (C. Boulous ,2018). When participating in Cabramatta field work it was also quite clear that cultural norms as food and food stalls were in abundance in Cabramatta. Authentic Vietnamese restaurants and food vendors lined the streets, along with Asian grocers. The trading of these businesses assists in the plight to keep Vietnamese culture alive in the Cabramatta region.

Figure 2- CORE Service building in Cabramatta, November 2016

Secondly, the concentration of Vietnamese culture in Cabramatta creates easier access of services to individuals in the community. Dunn (1998) discusses how a high concentration of an ethnic group benefits both government and non government organisations by aiding in the creation of specific services for ethnic groups and making them financially feasible. Figure 2 shows CORE Community services, formerly known as Cabramatta community centre (NSW Settlement Partnership). CORE is a non for profit organisation which aims to support and assist individuals with challenges and assist them with the skills needed to connect with others within the community (CORE Community). Multi-cultural communities, an initiative by CORE, targets individuals from CALD backgrounds. The initiative specifically aims to assist immigrants and refugees. Due to a high migrant population in Cabramatta

(ABS 2016) the location of this organisation ensure it reaches as many individuals in the target group as possible, being both strategic and cost effective. Having a highly populated Vietnamese area in Cabramatta also ensures that Vietnamese speaking people have access to services they are familiar with, where people speak their language. One example of this idea is the newly opened, government funded nursing home in Cabramatta. The nursing home has “Vietnamese speaking nurses and doctors, Vietnamese daily meals and physiotherapist facilities” (Trinh, 2017). When planning this nursing home Doctor Tang Vin Minh (president of AVACS) had intentions to ensure elder residents had a place where they felt a sense of belonging and familiarity, as opposed to feeling excluded in a clinical English speaking setting.

Whilst there is a plethora of benefits associated with ethnic residential concentration, there are also negative effects on the Cabramatta community. Negative media portrayals and stereotyping are both existing issues for the concentration of indo Chinese individuals living in Cabramatta.

Cabramatta has been negatively portrayed by most main stream media, academics and government parties (Dunn, 1998). Racism and jaded views of different cultures are still prevalent in modern Australia, with intolerance to individuals of Asian decent still being reported. (Dunn, 2004). When researching Cabramatta, radical statements and articles appear such as Pauline Hanson’s 1996 speech, where she states

Figure 3- Cabramatta's Friendship Arch, located in the CBD of Cabramatta

“we are in danger of being swamped by Asians” and that [they] “do not assimilate” (Martino, 2016). In a country where individuals rely heavily on regulated mass media news source, often scare tactics are used to create negative stigma and stereotypes (Lee, 2017) The reporting of events in Cabramatta and the reactions of governing bodies are often subject to sensationalised and stereotyped media portrayals, portraying Cabramatta as a place which only has crime and poverty (Dunn, 1993).

Figure 3 assists in breaking the stereotype created by mass media and reflects a place that holds values of sharing and respect, not a place in which a ‘Vietnamese ghetto’ (Carruthers, 2008) is located.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016. 2016 Census QuickStats Cabramatta, viewed 17 November 2018, http://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quicks tat/SSC10740 Boulous, C. 16 July 2018, Thousands attend Cabramatta Moon Festival, Fairfield City Champion, viewed 18 November 2018, https://www.fairfieldchampion.com.au/story/5527180/date-announced-for-moonfestival/#slide=27 Cabramatta Moon Festival!, 11 September 2013, image, UNSW, viewed 19 November 2018, http://www.unswphoto.com/2013/09/11/week-7-cabramatta-moonfestival/ Carruthers. A, 1 December 2008, ‘The Vietnamese in Sydney’, Sydney Journal, 1 December, viewed 20 November 2018, file:///Users/lilysingleton/Downloads/942Article%20Text-3880-1-10-20081215.pdf Core Community Services, About Us, CORECS, viewed 19 November 2018, https://corecs.org.au/about-corecs/ Core Community Services Building, Nov 2016, image, Google Maps, viewed 20 November 2018, https://www.google.com.au/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=! 1s0x6b12960e2d29c379%3A0xd2fadca3e6c80ca3!2m19!8m1!8b1!16m16!1b1!2m2! 1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e6!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e5!3m1!7e115! 4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp %2FAF1QipNAFX3RQXHfjGzGZmDGOOai6QnbH1P954PqtdfP%3Dw240-h160-kno!5score%20community%20services%20cabramatta%20-%20Google %20Search&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipMtfFvSl61q83R9xxofgjY5P2wuD1vRQybiNI_&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjrgfvC4uLeAhUCVH0KHTkWDHIQ oiowDXoECAYQBg&activetab=owners Dunn, K. M March 1, 1998, ‘Rethinking Ethnic Concentration: The Case of Cabramatta, Sydney’ Sage Journals, 1998, viewed 20 November 2018, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/0042098984880 Dunn. K.M, 1993, ‘The Vietnamese Concentration in Cabramatta: site of avoidance and deprivation or island of adjustment and participation?’, Australian Geographical Studies, pp. 220-246 Dunn, K. M, Forrest. J, Burnley. I, McDonald. A, November 2004, ‘Constructing Racism in Australia’, Informit unknown, viewed 19 November 2018,

https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=937672105564037;res=IELHS S Fairfield City Council. Cabramatta Moon Festival, Fairfirld City Council, viewed 18 November 2018, http://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/moonfestival Marino, M. 14 September 2016, Pauline Hanson’s maiden speech:Has Australia been ‘swamped by Asians’?, ABC News, viewed 19 November 2018, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-14/pauline-hanson-maiden-speech-asianimmigration/7645578 The Friendship Arch in Cabramatta, 8 November 2017, Smith, D. M. for The New York Times, viewed 18 November 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/world/australia/cabramatta-crimevietnamese.html Trinh, D. 22 June 2017, After years of planning and construction, the very first Vietnamese nursing home in Sydney is expected to open its door to elderly people in January 2018, SBS News, viewed 20 November 2018, https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/vietnamese/en/article/2017/06/21/nsws-firstvietnamese-nursing-home-open-early-2018? fbclid=IwAR19x7mG6cwBdK32p71G4x7cJIVU4GZGZLunrsfRs6ymEDnjax6NlQip HyM Unkown, 2017, Core Multicultural Communities, NSW Settlement Partnership, viewed 20 November 2018, https://nsp.ssi.org.au/core-multicultural-communities Williamson, B. Lee, N. 15 February 2017, Media coverage creating unnecessary fear, ABC News, Viewed 20 November 2018, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-15/drug-professor-nicole-lee-says-ice-epidemicnot-true/8272742...