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NEWS & LETTERS, February-March 2006Our Life and Times by Kevin A. BarryAustralia riotsIn December, 5,000 white youth went on a rampage at a beach near Sydney against those who were or were thought to be Muslim or Arab. The white youth had gathered after internet text messages spread rumors about "Lebanese" attacks on peaceful white Australians. Those messages, which neo-Nazi and skinhead groups helped spread, also called for a gathering at the beach to attack the supposedly threatening "Lebanese." At the beach, some wore T-shirts saying "Ethnic Cleansing Unit" or "We Grew Here, You Flew Here." In fact, nearly a quarter of Australia’s population of 20 million is foreign born, and there are some 300,000 Muslims living in the country. Over the years, politicians like Prime Minister John Howard have stayed in power by appealing to racist, anti-immigrant sentiment. Howard began the policy of placing asylum seekers in remote detention camps in harsh climates. He also accused them of throwing their babies into the sea to gain sympathy. In addition, Howard has taken advantage of Islamist terrorism, especially the 2002 Bali attacks that killed nearly 200, many of them Australian tourists. |
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