The United Australian Lebanese Movement
The United Australian Lebanese Movement – General Secretariat
NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | ACT
PO Box 550, Springwood Queensland 4127, Australia
Phone: +61 413 748 657 Fax: +61 7 3808 7349 Email: secretarygeneral@ualm.org.au
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UALM condemns practices of ethnic stereotyping
UALM: Ethnic stereotyping is destructive to our Australian way of life.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Melbourne, Australia: The United Australian Lebanese Movement (UALM) condemns the recent wave of
stereotyping of the broader Australian Lebanese community through constant references to ethnicity in
reports related to the Chaouk Family.
We urge the media to consider the harm it is doing to the broader Australian Lebanese community, the vast
majority of whom are hardworking, law abiding citizens of Australia, through its choice to view these crimes
from an ethnic perspective, thus implicating a large group of people through ethnic links.
The UALM asks the media to consider the harmful effects of its ethnic stereotyping. We ask the media to
place itself in the shoes of an average Australian of Lebanese descent and to consider the distress and
discomfort it is causing through such “journalistic” practice.
The UALM stresses that ethnic stereotyping is destructive to our Australian way of life and the linking of a
person’s ethnicity to a criminal act is not only irrelevant and unwarranted; but also serves to divide rather
than unite. Australia’s strength is through its diversity and a moral question needs to be asked in relation to
such practices.
The UALM calls on State and Federal governments to consider legislation against ethnic stereotyping in the
media, as is the case in many societies around the world. This legislation is needed in order to protect the
broader Australia community from the harm that such reporting can cause, and to protect against potential
social problems that can emerge as a result.
Media contact:
Robert Bekhazi
P : 0409 411 822
F: (03) 9383 4388
E: secretarygeneral@ualm.org.au
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