When we migrated to Australia in 2007 as a 17 year old, I was asked to go back to high school to finalise my final year high school education. Because I had finished high school in Nigeria nearly 2 years prior I was not keen. Instead I chose to complete a 1 year College degree that was a bridging course to uni. This turned out to be a good decision. I met friends who I will hold in my heart forever and learned so much about my new home. However one word that kept getting thrown about with every lecturer i had was how tolerating Australia was. I was almost always uncomfortable with the word tolerance until I realised why.
Some definitions:
To tolerate according to the Oxford dictionary is to “allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one dislikes or disagrees with) without interference.” And: to “be capable of continued subjection to (a drug, toxin, or environmental condition) without adverse reaction.
In order words to put up with or to endure someone or something inspite of one's feelings. Like tolerating a crying child on an airplane or tolerating your parents nagging you about being single while all your friends are married.
It's always seemed so finite. That things could bubble over one day and there'll be a Cronulla riot or a similar event. That even though I was here I wasn't quiet accepted and I was well... simply being tolerated.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics "the 2016 Census shows that two thirds (67 per cent) of the Australian population were born in Australia. Nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians had either been born overseas or one or both parents had been born overseas. A large proportion of these people are white, from English speaking countries but that also includes people like me from Africa and Asia. This is a large proportion of people to simply tolerate.
Rather than tolerate I'm suggesting inclusion or inclusivity depending on how you wish to use it in a sentence...acceptance or my favourite...RESPECT.
RESPECT because...
RESPECT according to the dictionary means
1. a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.
2. due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others.
There's no duplicity or hypocrisy about it, it's genuine.
RESPECT because migrants and refugees offer.
