Monday, December 19, 2005
A story barely reported in the U.S...
I have been overwhelmed by other stuff to post about and this story only peripherally relates to the Balkans, so I've held off.
Basically in the area of Sydney, there is a beach which has a monument to 7 people who died in the terrorst attack in Bali.
There were riots organized by SMS, sort of like a 'flash mob' but it was instead a riot. Various neo-NAZI types began beating up on 'wogs' which in this case meant every sort of people from Lebanse to assorted Balkans types at the beach. The Lebanese however were particular targets, and they got pretty riled. There rumors and I need to stress that these were RUMORS, that the Lebanese, all three religions, the Greeks, and the Serbs had allied themselves to fight the Australian 'white suppremicists' on the beach. There is an online friend of mine who lives in Australia who has been keeping me up with developements.
Basically, people in Australia go to the beach this time of year, it's Summer down there, and Christmas beach barbeques are normal for everybody there.
Anyway last weekend there was a massive police presence to prevent hooliganism at the beach, but the real test is when the police ARE NOT there.
My friend in Australia is ethnically Croat, and he worried he might get attacked by one side or another. People are a bit puzzled generally because Australians may use some rather objectional racial terms but I still found the fact of race riots in modern day Australia just wierd. It's gotten no coverage in our press, probably because it was the White 'Anglo-Celtic' Australians that started it. God forbid any acknowlegement that they could be really doing this.
Basically in the area of Sydney, there is a beach which has a monument to 7 people who died in the terrorst attack in Bali.
There were riots organized by SMS, sort of like a 'flash mob' but it was instead a riot. Various neo-NAZI types began beating up on 'wogs' which in this case meant every sort of people from Lebanse to assorted Balkans types at the beach. The Lebanese however were particular targets, and they got pretty riled. There rumors and I need to stress that these were RUMORS, that the Lebanese, all three religions, the Greeks, and the Serbs had allied themselves to fight the Australian 'white suppremicists' on the beach. There is an online friend of mine who lives in Australia who has been keeping me up with developements.
Basically, people in Australia go to the beach this time of year, it's Summer down there, and Christmas beach barbeques are normal for everybody there.
Anyway last weekend there was a massive police presence to prevent hooliganism at the beach, but the real test is when the police ARE NOT there.
My friend in Australia is ethnically Croat, and he worried he might get attacked by one side or another. People are a bit puzzled generally because Australians may use some rather objectional racial terms but I still found the fact of race riots in modern day Australia just wierd. It's gotten no coverage in our press, probably because it was the White 'Anglo-Celtic' Australians that started it. God forbid any acknowlegement that they could be really doing this.
# posted by Katja R. @ 10:58 AM 
