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About the Author Dr. Rolade Brizuela Berthier was born in the Philippines; has worked in Australia, France and the Philippines for universities, government and non-government organisations. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Development Education degree (Cum Laude) from the Visayas State University, Philippines; Master of Social Planning and Development and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland, Australia; and French Language certificate from Sorbonne University, Paris. Dr. Berthier has written many reports and articles on social and sociological issues, such as ethnicity and crime. Last year, she wrote and published a book Journey to the World of Public Service Employment. Preface
“It’s certainly love… only love for a man can a woman abandon an environment close to paradise.”
This was said to me by a French friend who believes in the warm and outdoor lifestyle, pleasantness and simplicity of Australia. I arrived in Australia from the Philippines in 1983 at the height of the debate on Asian immigration. The debate created an opportunity for stereotyping, particularly of Asian women coming to Australia to marry. The media coined a derogatory term – ‘mail order bride’ – to describe the several hundred Filipino women arriving at Australian airports as fiancées. One of these women, a school teacher in the Philippines, became a good friend of mine. I will not forget watching her, in bewilderment, hugging her future mother-in-law and husband she met for the first time. There was an obvious atmosphere of excitement, curiosity and joy accompanied by a sense of uneasiness. I very soon found myself being invited to weddings, lunch and dinner parties, and other social gatherings attended by English, Scottish, Italian, German, Chinese, Spanish and Brazilian men married to Asian women. I observed that there were features of these relationships that make them different from those of couples from the same cultural or linguistic backgrounds, which can be inconvenient or otherwise, depending on how you look at it. Two years later, I joined this group. After less than two years of courtship, I married a guy who came from a country I knew very little about except for its fashion, cheese and wine. In the beginning, I did not want to marry a ‘white’ person for fear of becoming a divorcee (I had the impression that they are more likely to divorce than their Asian counterparts) and of being under- or un-employed. At that time, there were few Asian women in professional jobs and overseas-obtained qualifications were not recognized by the Australian government and employers. It was obvious that my Prince Charming would not reside in the Philippines for economic and professional reasons. My French-born Australian husband and I met at a Youth Fellowship at the University of Queensland. He maintains that he felt there was something in me worth pursuing. My attraction towards him was not spontaneous. I had strong views about Westerners. My experience in the Philippines led me to think that they were nice but patronising and condescending (a stereotype). I appreciated his frankness, persistence and perseverance though. Likewise, he knew very little about my culture and country of origin. As a matter of fact, before becoming acquainted with me, he thought all Asians looked the same. In less than two years, he became an expert in distinguishing a Filipino from a Thai, Japanese from a Chinese, and so on. At our engagement party and wedding reception, there were friends and relatives from different cultural backgrounds. Our engagement party in Australia was arranged by British friends who felt compassion because neither of us had parents and family here. During the church wedding in the Philippines, a group of American missionaries came because they heard that the ‘white’ groom did not have any relatives and should be afforded moral support. My marriage vows included a promise that I would go wherever he went, which haunted me later when I had to leave Australia to be with him in France: the first two years living in busy Paris; later in the tranquillity of Thionville; and at present in beautiful, sunny Nice on the French Riviera. Every day, our union is faced with excitement and challenges. We socialise more easily with cross-culturally mixed couples. Wherever we are, in America, Europe, Asia or Australia, it is easier for us to befriend couples from different cultures and nurture this relationship. On the other hand, we are also the focus of stares and curiosity with strangers asking how and where we met and making comments like “Oh, he’s French. Is it true what they say about them being good lovers?” For 10 years, we managed to brush aside our cultural differences until I got pregnant with our first son and the question about names came up. It took us more than 6 months to agree on a name. We wanted a name that was easy to write and pronounce in Anglo-Saxon, French and Asian environments. Names with ‘h’ and ending with consonants are a problem for our French relatives. Names with ‘r’ are not easy for our Chinese friends. French names are usually butchered by our Anglo-Saxon acquaintances not familiar with the French language. We had to play chess three times to determine who would name him. I won 2 out of 3 games, and thus we agreed to call him Sidney Lee to the delight of our culturally-diverse friends and relatives. This was just the beginning. We still have more of these challenges, which are fuelled by differences in religious belief, language, lifestyle, behaviour, mannerisms and more. However, we could not have asked for a better life than being together and bringing up two bilingual and multicultural boys.
IUs, Them and the Bigger Picture (Sample Only)
Cross-cultural liaisons, not necessarily marriages, have always existed as societies evolved from group units to tribes and villages to nation states amidst prohibition, such as during apartheid in South Africa and in the Nazi period in Germany. During the 1600s and 1700s in the French, English and Dutch colonies, cross-cultural liaisons were forged as a result of the importation of slaves, discovery and expansion of resources and immigration of families. In 1829, cross-cultural encounters took place when the British, French and Russians helped the Greeks free themselves from the Turkish rule. Similar unions were inevitable when Britain occupied India, Egypt and Sudan. There was a similar story during Spain’s and Portugal’s seizure of South American territories. In 1788, some 1000 British convicts arrived in Sydney, Australia. They were mostly men and some later had relationships with indigenous women. The discovery of gold in neighbouring Victoria in 1851 attracted adventurers from all over the world, mostly men, and some married the locals. The two World Wars opened the doors for new encounters, some ended in marriage while others left women as single parents. In April, 2007, 95 war brides were reunited at the Anzac Day festivities in Washington DC. These women, who are now in their 80s and 90s, were among the 15,000 Australians who married American servicemen based in Australia during World War II and moved to the USA with their husbands. Under the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, “war brides”, who lost their Australian citizenship when they applied for the American one, can reclaim it, and their children can likewise apply to be Australian citizens. (Mitchell, 2007). After more than a century of French rule, Algeria only gained independence in 1962, which was a long occupation that no doubt led to some cross-cultural relationships. Then there was the Vietnam War that brought Allied soldiers to Indo-China. Currently, there are American, Australian, European and Asian troops stationed outside their countries, such as in Iraq. Since the end of World War II, there have been over 150 wars, almost all of which were in the developing countries; consequently, millions of people have been uprooted from their homes. As well, there are continuing persecutions and calamities in some countries that lead to constant movements of people. Generally, due to media coverage, the public is aware of the courageous actions of migrants and the sad plight of refugees, such as the Burmese and East Timorese fleeing to Australia and neighbouring Asian countries. However, what is not openly discussed is that unmarried migrants and refugees add to the pool of available candidates for cross-cultural relationships. During the last 20 years, our global community has been beset with positive social, political and economic changes. Never before have nations been more integrated and more reachable than now. We have seen the dismantling of the Berlin wall, the abolition of apartheid, the gaining of independence of several Baltic States, the democratisation in Russia, and the expansion of the European Union and introduction of its common currency. Now, we experience the ease of travel, the expansion of multinational companies, the enduring works of international aid organisations, inter-country sporting competitions, scientific co-operations, and educational interchanges. All these provide opportunities for people to meet and establish long-term relationships that may or may not end in marriage. It has been reported that in Western countries today between 25% and 40% of all marriages are cross-cultural. As the number of cross-cultural liaisons increases, the number of children from these unions – biological and adopted – also increases. The Allied involvement in military exploits in Asia alone has resulted in thousands of culturally-mixed children, both in and out of wedlock. Some of these children continue to hope to one day meet their father in America, Australia, Europe or elsewhere. They have grown up to be physically and socially different, which has significance for families and societies. Some of these children are subject to generalisations and stigmatisation that often leads to social isolation and identity crisis, especially amongst those living with their single mothers. Meanwhile, their being the product of a cross-cultural union can be an advantage. Years ago, we watched on television a news segment showing an Albanian in tears who said that she had to leave Kosovo to escape death, whereas her mother stayed, hoping that she would be spared because she was from a mixed marriage and could pass as a Serbian. Generally, children of cross-cultural couples operate successfully in today’s complicated and competitive world because they are bilingual and culturally sensitive. There are numerous international entertainers who have cross-cultural parents, like Mariah Carey and Kate Cebrano. Miss France 2000, Sonia Rolland, has a Rwandan mother and a French father.
Cross-cultural couples and their
families pose challenges in education, health, employment, social and welfare
services, law and the criminal justice system of every society. This is because
of difficulties in old-time ethnic relations that persist amidst legislation and
globalisation, economic and political developments locally and internationally,
and the threat of deviancy and terrorism.
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