Marrickville/Newtown has a diverse multi-cultural community and migrant population. In the mid 20th century, it was a major centre for Sydney's large Greek community and to some extent, still is. Today the Vietnamese are now slightly more prominent but many Greek businesses still thrive in the area and Greek flags fly in the main street. In recent years, Newtown/Marrickville has attracted young professionals for its close proximity to the Sydney Business District, the vast array of restaurants and inner-city multicultural lifestyle.
Different cultures have managed to live here happily together for decades but now the Muslim community are causing some angst. They are very quick to point out the shortcomings of our Australian culture, but refuse to accept any criticism of their own. And it's all about a mural painted on a wall. Cigdem Aydemir 27, a Muslim artist and high school art teacher said she felt "completely offended and insulted" when she saw the "Ban the Burqa" mural in Newtown. "My sister-in-law wears the burqa.... my mother wears the veil" she said. "I wore a veil for 10 years of my life. I think everyone has the right to wear whatever they want on their body and that kind of diversity needs to be protected".
So when she saw the mural on the wall facing the busy street and rail line she was so outraged she went straight to the council but was told that because it was painted on private property, they couldn't do anything about it. Not to be put off, she then went to the Anti-Discrimination Board who this week notified the artist Sergio Redegalli and he's not a happy man. Be believes his right to freedom of expression is on the line. "There's a problem about the right to free expression, the loss of the ability to say something without being instantly being branded a "racist" he said. He mentioned a few reasons why he opposes the burqa, including concerns about security and the rise of Islamic extremism in Australia.
The mural has been defaced at least 20 times, but keeps miraculously returning to its original state. Former Marrickville Mayor said in September "The mural goes against the values which the Marrickville community has believed in for generations". No help there.
No decision has been made but I suspect the Anti-Discrimination Board will insist that Sergio paints over his mural and we will have yet another example of how the Muslim community keep getting their own way.
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