otb,

Again to set the record straight for you.

Approximately 10,000 Lithuanian migrants came to
Australia in the late 1940s. They were refugees
who had fled Lithuania in or around 1944, to
escape the second Soviet occupation of their country.
They came as indentured labour, that is, every migrant
over the age of 18 had to enter into a two year
contract with the Australian government which obliged
the migrant to work wherever directed. The contracts
were strictly enforced, even if it meant that families
were split up.

On completion of their Government contracts, the Lithuanian
arrivals remained spread across the continent: Sydney, 2,500;
Melbourne 1,500, Adelaide 1,200; and smaller numbers in
hundreds of other locations.

Some unable to work in their professions or having found
the climate too trying, went overseas. According to some
sources, up to 2,000 re-settled in the USA. Smaller numbers
went back to Germany, and to several other countries, to live
permanently.

By 1996, the number of Lithuanians in Australia had dwindled
down from 10,000 to 4,222.

BTW: Lithuanians do not see themselves as "victims."
I have never inferred anything like that.
All I did was simply state
the conditions as they existed at that
time - conditions that people lived through and experienced.
This does not mean that those people saw themselves as "victims."
Nor do I "hate" Arthur Calwell.

You can believe whatever you want.
However, I do feel obliged to set the
record straight for you regarding the period that my
parents lived through.

You should take note however of what
SteeleRedux has pointed out to you.
You do need to get rid of all the obvious insecurities
you're carrying within you. No one is attacking you.
It's coming from within yourself. And that will eventually
do you a great deal of harm.

Foxy,

I have previously given the site for Australia's largest Lithuanian community wherein the history of Lithuanians in Australia is discussed at length.

Here it is for others to read as well,
http://www.slic.org.au/

The most relevant sections are under "Background briefing" and "Lithuanians in Australia".

Show me where they complain of the false promises, unrealistic expectations, unfairness and discrimination you appear to be alleging.

As has been pointed out to you before and there is very comprehensive evidence from authoritative sources, Australia post-WW2 was reeling from its conversion to a war economy and attempting to recover. There were thousands dead from defending Europe and thousands more returned severely injured, many of whom died soon after. There was not the employment even for the returning Diggers who were reasonably fit. Housing was inadequate and often not available.

The Lithuanians as you should remember from previous posts on this, were the first or among the very first refugees to be placed post WW2. The well-meaning and well-disposed Australian government and the Lithuanians themselves did well from all reports and should be applauded. There are no lemons to suck.

What you do is tell one side and against modern expectations of migrants in a modern, developed, First World nation. You need to get some balance and to do that you really need to acquaint yourself with conditions in post-WW2 Australia.

What should tip you off that you are over-the-top and damned unfair in your sledging of Australia for its alleged (by you!) poor treatment of Lithuanians is that the people affected, the Lithuanians themselves, are not complaining but have got on with life. Good for them and what a lesson for you.

Where and when were you born?
onthebeach,
probably neither, might be an academic.

otb,

Stating facts, historical
facts, and people's experiences at given periods of time
is not sledging off at Australia. You need to take things
in their proper context. Read what is actually being
written, and in response to what, and why, it is being
written.

Lithuanians are well integrated into
Australian society. They have achieved a high proficiency
in English and are participating in Australian cultural
activities. A considerable proportion of Lithuanian
immigrants also maintain, to varying degrees, their
national heritage and their membership of Lithuanian
associations.

Lithuanians are a self-sufficient migrant group. Long
before the principle of "User must pay" became fashionable
in Australia, the Lithuanians chose to finance all their
etnic interests out of their own pockets. Lithuanians in this
country also have their own Australian Lithuanian Foundation,
Inc. Its aims are to foster and financially supprt Lithuanian
migrants' cultural activities. Soon after their arrival
in Australia, Lithuanian women formed highly effective
self-help social service committees in Melbourne, Sydney,
Adelaide, and elsewhere. This was back in the days when
the Australian government-run welfare services were still in
the early stages. In 1975, the Lithuanian Women's Welfare
Association Inc. in Sydney built a village for elderly
citizens. In the 1980s, the Lithuanian Women's Association of
South Australia established hostel-type accommodation for
the elderly, incapacitated Lithuanians in Adelaide.

And the list goes on.

I fully acknowledge the fact that Lithuanians have successfully
integrated into Australian society. They also set about
establishing their own communities and within them recreated
all aspects of the rich Lithuanian culture they brought with them.

Migrants from non-English speaking countries and their
children permeate Australian society.
Through the study of this
country's history people regardless of his or
her ethnic background will gain a
deeper understanding of not only the struggles
of migrant groups, but the issues which face every ethnic
community in Australia. That's why the study of the history
of this country is important. It helps us understand some
of the problems we are faced with today - regarding
migrant groups.

George,
I agree, there have been countless thousands of migrants from many countries that have integrated and they, and their kids, now call themselves Aussie. Their ethnicity is not important, it is their preparedness to integrate and accept our laws and social standards. Like most Aussies, I do not give a damn about their ethnicity, if they respect our laws and society, that is what counts.

We are NOT multicultural, but are multi-racial, or multi-ethnic, to use your term.

There are only a few groups that cannot or will not respect our social standards and, I believe, we should stop further immigration of those groups. It is quite apparent that some cultural aspects are so ingrained that these people would be happier in another social environment.

Dear George,

Experts have pointed out that over the next few decades
Australians will need to be more receptive to ethnic
change and more engaged with multicultural
policies and approaches. Even if current immigration
policy remains in place, the skilled and educated intake
will not be coming from Europe.

Australia is likely to be even more ethnically diverse in
2050 than it is now, an experience which according to the
experts it will share with New Zealand, the United States,
and Canada.

This will require a political leadership which encourages
tolerance and harmony and which refuses to advocate
narrow nationalism. The political temptation to mobilise
xenophobia is incompatible with a rational immigration
program.

Such a program also requires a more humane approach to
issues like family re-union, settlement services, and refugees.
Future governments may need to be less rigid, less
obsessive, less directed by public prejudice and more
humane than they have been.

Some Australian attitudes to immigration and multiculturalism
are strongly engrained. Some are suspicious of immigration
and immigrants. It is a responsibility of governments to
explain the realities of their policies to the people and
for attitudes to change in the future there need to be
a greater degree of consensus and bipartisanship.
Sadly however, there are few signs that a more constructive
and bipartisan approach was being developed.

See you on another discussion.