Listening To The Young
A conversation with young Chinese Australians
Steven was only nine when he came to Australia from China. Since he was not fluent in English, he often found himself isolated at school and had a difficult time there. Lost and downhearted, he could not understand why his parents had brought the whole family to this land where communication was difficult and everything seemed strange.
As Steven grew up, however, he began to understand why his parents had made such great sacrifices to come here. He could see that they had given up their friends and familiar environment to start a new life in Australia. But they found it hard to get jobs of comparable status to their Chinese ones, and they missed the support of friends and relatives. They became stressed. But they soldiered on. They had made their choice for their son’s sake.
By the time he was 20, Steven was helping out at CASS Disability Services, in the Group Home. He showed loving care to the clients, and enthusiasm and passion for the work of CASS. His voluntary work was undertaken over and above his day job.
A group of young Chinese Australians with similar backgrounds offer their thoughts about their parents’ migration. They all understand their mothers and fathers had overcome difficulties and made many sacrifices to settle in the new country. They knew that their parents’ dream was that their children would grow up in a stable environment and go on to have secure and affluent lives.
These young Chinese would rather speak English than their mother tongue. But it is touching to find that they have not forgotten the teachings passed on by their parents. Nor have they forgotten traditional Chinese values. They are proud of their Chinese roots. They work hard and have already achieved educational success.
This is undoubtedly the result of the two generations supporting one another. One of them commented, “We are proud to be the descendants of Chinese migrants because they have made such a great contribution to Australia – right back to the old days. They quietly took up jobs no locals were willing to do. The early Chinese migrants should take a lot of credit for what Australia has become today.”
It must certainly be gratifying to their parents to know that their sons and daughters understand and appreciate the sacrifices of their forebears.
However, because they have grown up in Australia, the younger generation may not always share the same views as their parents. Many want their children to choose professions that lead to a secure future, such as accounting, medicine or finance. They also often hope to share a home with their grown-up children. But young Australians value personal freedom and choice as well as wanting to choose careers which they enjoy and give them opportunities to develop their talents. They also want to move out of the family home and be independent. Such views are often not welcomed or understood by their parents.
They need to realise that the world has changed, and that there are cultural differences between China and Australia. The two generations have grown up in different decades and in different cultural environments, so naturally they have different values. While most young people respect the views and honour the wishes of their parents, they are inspired by a different set of beliefs. While acknowledging their roots, sons and daughters embrace Australian values in this multicultural society. Only with them as a guide can people from different cultures live together harmoniously.
As a way to show gratitude towards both his parents’ generation and Australian society, the young CASS volunteer wants to make a contribution. We at CASS wish that every Chinese Australian will continue to strive towards interweaving Chinese culture and Australian values, to produce something worth passing on from generation to generation.
Originally published in December 2012
Young CASS volunteers contribute to society by assisting the disadvantaged.