The History of Croatian Diaspora in Australia - Essay Example

?Croatian diaspora in Australia Introduction Officially known as the Republic of Croatia (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, , Croatia is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic that is bordering Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean; the country has been subdivided into 20 counties, Zagreb being the capital and largest city. Croatia has been a source of migrants to many parts of the world, and this explains the many Croatian communities that have formed outside Croatia today, giving rise to the prevalent Croatian diaspora. Australia, in particular, is one of the leading hosts of Croatian migrants who migrated in large numbers especially in the 1960s and 1970s; in 2006, about 0.6% of Australian residents could trace their ancestry to Australia. Croatian people have been dominant in many fields in the Australian society, especially in the sporting arena where they have made such a great impact by comprising the majority players in most Australian football clubs. This paper provides a critical analysis of the Croatian diaspora in Australia, development of media in the Croatian diaspora community in Australia, and examples of how media compares and contrasts to mainstream media on same key issues in the community, among other things. History of the Diaspora The concept of the diaspora grew out of the historic experience of scattering Jews outside their native lands and it implies that a whole community, usually a nation inhabiting a compact territory, underwent a forced dispersion. This concept was made popular in the sociology of migration in the 1990s and the relationship between the scattered communities and the homeland is crucial in defining the diaspora (Raggazi, 2009, p. 1). The homeland for immigrants is a source of identity, in addition to being their source of values and loyalty; it can be generally understood that every diaspora is a migrant community because of the consciousness of belonging to a common nation and/or a distant homeland and acting upon this consciousness that eventually defines the diaspora. Diasporas are normally connotations of historically enduring strong emotional ties to the homeland, usually concerning some historical injustice that needs redress (Colic-Peisker, 2008, p. 158); the Croatian Diaspora in Australia was in response to the Yugoslav crisis of the 1980s and the war for independence and its aftermaths. The typical feeling of a lost homeland and tragic exile among the immigrants and the need to redress the historic grievances felt by a majority of the Croatian emigres led to the rise of diasporic transnationalism (Colic-Peisker, 2008, p.158). The emigres assumed leadership of Croatian communities outside Croatia and focused on the fight for Croatian independence from the communist Yugoslavia, and by 1991 when Croatian independence was confirmed by the failure of communism, Croatian emigres all over the world were known as an intensely politicized diaspora dominated by nationalist leaders. The most vocal part of the Croatian Diaspora in Australia had intensely emotional and political connection to the homeland, and its pronouncement of anti-communism and separationist agenda made it a clear-cut case of long-distance nationalism. The Croatian diasporic nationalism had two peaks: the 1970s after the Croatian Spring, Yugoslav Communist authorities had suppressed a Croatian nationalist movement in 1971, and during the war for Yugoslav succession in 1991–1995, which politically mobilised a large number of Croats in Australia. Development of Media Media development in the Croatian Diaspora in Australia has been stifled by lack of freedom of the press and the successive ongoing media manipulation that seeks to limit the influence of media both in the diaspora and in the homeland. In the old Yugoslavia, the Communist government controlled media and the Croatians knew only a limited range of information, and up to date, the Croatian media is not yet free and impartial. For instance, Karolina Vidovic, a Croatian journalist whose programme has been known for giving challenging insights concerning government policies, has been charged and suspended from the public (Project Censured, 2013). Ms Karolina is a highly acclaimed journalist, who doubled up as the editor and host of a programme produced for the Croatian Diaspora in particular. Media integrity has suffered greatly in Croatia since the fall of the Berlin Wall due to on-going manipulation and corruption of its capacity to be impartial, objective and balanced in its coverage of local happenings. Journalists in media are categorised as either ‘red’ or ‘blue’ and whereas ‘red’ journalists are supported even when they do wrong, ‘blue’ journalists are attacked for doing the right thing that is required of their job. Overall, no major developments have been witnessed in media in the Croatian Diaspora community because media integrity is still subject to manipulations and corruption that undermine media freedom and independence. Diaspora Media versus Mainstream Media The Croatian Diaspora in Australia was subject to media that had both striking similarities with and extreme differences from the mainstream media; firstly, media in the Croatian Diaspora in Australia compares to mainstream media in the aspect of informing people of local happenings. In this respect, media collects news concerning what is happening in societies and disseminates the same news to the public to keep them informed about their surroundings and those of others, and this remains the prime role of mainstream media in society even today. For example, media played a very big role in reporting news stories such as the ‘Croatian six’, Australian citizens with Croatian ancestry that were tried for terrorism and sentenced in Australia accordingly. In addition, media in both cases is a highly powerful tool that can be used to influence people’s opinions and to dissuade or persuade them into taking certain standpoints concerning social affairs; as mainstream media, media in the Croatia Diaspora situation is very powerful and influential. For instance, media reporting led to the perception that the image of the most vocal part of the Croatian Diaspora, which was intensely emotional and politically connected to the homeland, was actually the image of the entire Croatian Diaspora community. However, there are a number of differences contrasting the mainstream media from media in the Croatian Diaspora community in Australia, and these differences are manifest in a number of news stories revolving around the Croatian Diaspora community experiences. For instance, what the Australian media reported about Croats over the post-war decades was usually bad news; all the Croats were labelled terrorists and all their activities were regarded terrorist activities. All bombings and other terrorist activities were directly linked to the Croatian Diaspora community in a move to demonise the group and their vocal pronouncements against communism and separatist agenda. In addition to the Croatian terrorists and bombings, Australian media also focused on anti-Yugoslav rallies and other public expressions of separatism including local clashes with members of the Serbian community at soccer matches and the war in Croatia. Unlike mainstream media, deviant stereotypes concerning the Croats in Australia were created and propagated by the media campaigns in 1960s and 1970s portraying Croats as terrorists who worked against both Yugoslavia and Australia; this perception of the Croats as outsiders and political suspects had an impact on their capacity to become socially and professionally mobile (Colic-Peisker, 2008, p. 159). On the other side, mainstream media is impartial and gives attention to all the happenings concerning the Croatian Diaspora community in Australia without bias towards certain news stories. For instance, unlike the Australian media, mainstream media is unbiased and attempts to look at the possibility that the ‘Croatian six’ were framed in the fashion of the day (McDonald, 2012). Overall, unlike mainstream media, the Australian media was imbalanced and misreported news concerning the Croats and led to permanent negative impressions of the Australian Croats that left long lasting impacts on the community. Examples of media include Perth’s Daily News which article titled ‘Are They Terrorists or Patriots’ implied the involvement of Australian Croatians in the terrorism against Yugoslavia, in addition to exposing the alleged political rift within the community. A second article in the Herald dated 5 December 1988 and titled ‘Good Riddance to Bad Yugoslavs’ revealed the documented history of Yugoslav intimidation and execution of Croatian exiles around the world. In addition, an editorial in the Australian on 17 July 1989 demanded that the truth be found about Yugoslav agents; most of the Australian federal agents had been active in Australia in very unacceptable ways such as cover-ups (Vukic, 2012). One major cultural issue in the media is Croatian Diaspora nationalism as expressed in the most vocal part of the emigres’ pronouncement of anticommunism and separationist agenda; this led to the whole community being perceived as extremely connected to the homeland both politically and emotionally. Media focus on the relationship between the Croatian Diaspora in Australia and the homeland has particularly been around the Croatian nationalists’ fiery expression of their nationalism in their homeland as a fulfilment of a need for identity and belonging. The emigres, by expressing patriotism and pride, felt part of both their face-to-face ethnic community and the world community of Croatians in the diaspora; for many of them, feeling and acting as nationalists was a way of expressing nostalgia for their homeland. Unfortunately, this issue was not very well tackled in the Australian media because the media was often biased and unbalanced in its coverage of the Croatian Diaspora news by only focusing on the isolated negative images, most of which were alleged. For instance, media perceived the emigres’ expression of nationalism in their homeland as a threat to both Australia and Yugoslavia, and in this respect, most of the emigres were branded terrorists, even though they were not. Research Analysis Several researches have been conducted on the Croatian Diaspora community in Australia, and one of these studies by Sutalo (2010, p. 7) has focused on ‘the future of the Croatian community and identity in Australia’. This research examines the position of the Croatian community in Australia, and other Croatian communities in the Diaspora can learn from these lessons. In this case, the research concludes that the second and succeeding Croatian generations will have to take the front line in preserving the Croatian community and identity in Australia to ensure its continued existence in the future. The research also suggests a number of ways to maintain the Croatian community and identity in Australia in the course of the current generational transition process and adjustment to the establishment of Croatian sovereignty. The research reveals a significant trend that indicates a transition in demographics of the Croatian Diaspora community in Australia; for instance, the main demographic trend in the Croatia-born population in Australia is ageing as revealed in the 2006 census that showed that 43% of the Croatia-born population is over 57 years of age (Colic-Peisker, 2010, p. 54). Ultimately, Croatia is the largest source of migrants to many parts of the world, but Australia in particular is one of the leading hosts of Croatian migrants today, giving rise to the Croatian Diaspora community in Australia; the Croatian Diaspora community in Australia is visible in many areas of the Australian society, especially in the sporting arena. The concept of diaspora arose in sociology of migration in the 1990s and it implies the scattering of communities outside their native lands; the scattered communities are defined based on their relationship with the homeland because migrants usually derive their values and identity in their homeland. For many decades now, media development in the Croatian Diaspora community has been stunted due to lack of freedom and independence that has greatly corrupted its integrity; on-going media censuring and manipulations are counter-productive because they constrain the capacity of media to remain objective, impartial and balanced. Media in the Croatian Diaspora community in Australia is comparable to mainstream media in its duty to inform people of the current affairs through free, fair and balanced coverage; in addition, media also plays a significant role in influencing people’s opinions and perspectives concerning local happenings in society. However, unlike the mainstream media, media in the Croatian Diaspora community in Australia is highly biased, partial and does not offer a balanced coverage because its integrity has been corrupted and manipulated through restrictive policies. For instance, during the post-war periods, media campaigns propagated stereotypical perspectives of the Croatian Diaspora community by portraying them as terrorists who were a threat to both the communists of Yugoslavia and Australia. References Colic-Peisker, V., 2008. Migration, class, and transnational identities: Croatians in Australia and America. University of Illinois Press: Illinois. Colic-Peisker, V., 2010. Croatian community in Australia in the early 21st century: a demographic and socio-cultural transition. Croatian Studies Review, 6, pp. 53–68. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2013. Croatia country brief. 2013. [Online] Available at: http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/croatia/croatia_brief.html [Accessed 23/06/2013]. McDonald, H., 2012. Framed: the untold story about the Croatian Six. The Sydney Morning Herald. [Online] Available at: http://www.smh.com.au/national/framed-the-untold-story-about-the-croatian-six-20120210-1smum.html [Accessed 23/06/2013]. Project Censured, 2013. Ongoing media manipulation in Croatia – the case of Karolina Vidovic-Kristo. Projectcensored.org. [Online] Available at: http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/ongoing-media-manipulation-in-croatia-the-case-of-karolina-vidovic-kristo/ [Accessed 23/06/2013]. Raggazi, F., 2009. The invention of the Croatian Diaspora: unpacking the politics of ‘Diaspora’ during the war in Yugoslavia. Global Migration and Transnational Politics Working. [Online] Available at: http://cgs.gmu.edu/publications/gmtpwp/gmtp_wp_10.pdf [Accessed 23/06/2013]. Sutalo, I. D., 2010. The future of the Croatian community and identity in Australia. Croatian studies review, 6, pp. 7–30. Vukic, I., 2012. Croatia, the war, and the future. inavukic.com. [Online] Available at: http://inavukic.com/2012/02/11/they-discredited-the-whole-of-croatian-diaspora-completely/ [Accessed 23/06/2013]. Read More