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OT: Human Rights Framework 2-May-2010 At 10:18:06 PM ambyeok

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I have some very close friends of non english speaking background and asian descent. They generally associate and live with only their own race. It used to annoy me, I used to think "You want to learn better english, why don't you share a flat with european australians?". What I learned is that it is not as easy as it sounds. If you have never tried to learn a foreign language or live in a foreign culture then you you are naturally prone to assuming that things will be as easy as it is for you. For some cultures, leaning english and accepting foreign customs is extremely difficult. Integrating into a foreign society and overcoming language and other cultural barriers is a fiercely dauting task. Its not a lack of willingness, a vast majority see australian life and culture as a better altenative to their own, thats why they came. We should try and see it from the other side, unfortunately we can't; we just dont know what we dont know. One thing my life has taught me is that if you have not lived through it then you will never truly understand it, period. My point is that we should not expect our immigrants to instantly integrate and accept our culture and way of life, we need to understand that it takes time. We also need to accept that the process may not always be pleasant and that at times we will feel threatened. Bearing all that in mind, and accepting some hardship, most importantly we should see that a culturally diverese society is far more preferable to the alternative.