Matters of Public Importance
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields) (15:52): I am delighted to bring to the attention of the House International Mother Language Day and recognise it as a matter of public importance. It is correctly described because it an important day, particularly for our friends and community members in the Bangladeshi group. What started as a university protest to protect their language turned into a nationalist movement for independence. While language is functionally a form of communication and conversation, it is also a connection to culture, identity, history and heritage. The great Nelson Mandela once said:
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
There is no denying the importance of languages in shaping our identity as a multicultural community. Mother languages allow people from all backgrounds and all walks of life to keep a close, personal connection to their culture and ancestry. In a successfully diverse and inclusive community as ours, the promotion and preservation of mother languages is in our nation's socio-economic interests.
That is why I today recognise International Mother Language Day, which was celebrated on 21 February. International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by UNESCO in November 1999 and has been observed every year since 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity as well as multilingualism.
Celebrating our mother languages celebrates us as a people. New South Wales is a diverse State, with people from different backgrounds coming together to form a melting pot of cultures and inclusiveness. In fact, the latest census reveals that a quarter of our State's population speaks a language other than English at home. Nearly 40 per cent of my constituents in the electorate of Macquarie Fields speak a language other than English at home. Mother languages include Arabic, Bengali, Samoan, Spanish as well as Chinese and Indo-Aryan languages. It is through conversations in their mother language that young people learn about their heritage, traditions and culture and older generations maintain a vital link to their family history.
Every weekend across the Sydney metropolitan area and south-west Sydney, in particular, local volunteers run a number of Saturday language schools to help the next generation of young Australians to learn their mother language or give others a chance to learn a second language. In my electorate and in other parts of south-west Sydney there are a number of language schools. Mal Fruean and the Pacific community run a Maori language school at Minto, Hindi language classes are taught at Sarah Redfern School, and the Campbelltown Bangla School at the Grange Public School has been in operation since 2001. Just a little further north at Liverpool, more than 600 students are enrolled in either Arabic, Bengali, Croatian, Khmer, Polish, Serbian, Spanish or Vietnamese classes. Across other parts of Sydney, thousands of students are enrolled in secondary school classes either as part of their chosen educational curriculum or their desire to learn a second language.
In addition to language classes, the Campbelltown Bangla school also encourages students to participate in cultural programs and performances to showcase what they have learnt to the community. I have attended many of those cultural performances and can attest to the high standard of talent among the students. I thank Masood Chowdury, Abdul Jalil, Nazmul Khan, Selima Begum, Tariq Abu and the Bangla School management committee in addition to the parents and volunteers for their efforts to promote multiculturalism and multilingualism.
Another organisation in my electorate that promotes the awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity is the Sydney Bengali Community Incorporated. I am delighted that, after many years of hard work, it has received funding for the erection of a monument to celebrate International Mother Language Day. I know the committee is hard at work trying to secure a suitable site in the area for such an important tribute to multiculturalism. I recognise the efforts of Selima Begum and her management committee, which has been working hard for many years to bring the project to fruition.
Recently, I gave notice of a motion in this Parliament to formally recognise and commemorate International Mother Language Day in New South Wales. The United Nations noted that it is communication that makes change and development possible in human society. The United Nations rightly points out that using—or not using—certain languages today can open a door, or close it, for large segments of society in many parts of the world. I once again reflect on the words of Nelson Mandela, who aptly captured the importance of mother languages to a person's identity and existence within this world. I know from experience that speaking in your mother language reinforces your connection to your culture and history. After all, the mark of a truly inclusive and diverse community is surely the ability for people to converse in their mother tongue as they contribute to the rich tapestry of our society.
