George Street

 George street in Sydney CBD is one of the most known streets of Sydney. It was where I worked on my first job, once I moved. It was a corporate job that I took up, until I got an appropriate job for my qualifications in healthcare. I am an oversees-trained professional and was unaware of corporate culture and I probably succeeded to pick up this job because of my healthcare knowledge. I didn't understand workplace politics because I was a licensed practitioner who ran my own clinic/business in India. I didn't understand fitting into cliques because all my life I was told that my academic performance was what counted in my professional success. I also didn't understand the importance of my physical appearance in my professional performance for I thought my honesty, empathy, hard work and skills would suffice. My beliefs were all changed at my workplace on George street.

 The first few days of my job, I didn't notice any undercurrents, if there were any, because I was engrossed in learning the skills I needed to apply and fulfil the demands of the job. However, once I was assigned to a mentor/work buddy to help me out in a tight spot and was getting slightly comfortable and confident with my performance was when I noticed it. My mentor used a very different tone when speaking to me in comparison to another new starter. At first I thought it was just hazing, which I was fine with because I had gone through a similar situation during my graduation. But, the hazing in my graduate school had forged these deep bonds with my 'seniors,' who had then been as protective and proactive in my growth like mama bears. However, I noticed that this time the tone didn't change for the entire duration of my employment (11 months).

I was already trying my best to acclimatize to a new country, new family and new job and maybe I was oversensitive. It might explain the times I went to the office restroom and silently cried. However, the difference in the way I was being treated persisted. I wasn't really included by my mentor in team activities as simple as lunch. I think the breaking point for me was when my mentor sat next to me with her work friend and began talking about Slumdog Millionaire. I understand that this was a massive movie, but being a citizen of India, I also understood that it was a white man's version of a story he was influenced by. However, my mentor and her friend said some pretty demeaning things about India and decided to end the conversation with how they would never take a vacation there because India was dirty and its people were unhygienic.

I have till date never understood what could have been the motivation behind them sharing their personal opinions in my presence, knowing full well that I was Indian. So, I put in my month's notice and never looked back. To be fair, there were team members who spotted my upset state of mind on that fateful day and did everything in their power to support me. I was also asked if I wanted to file an official complaint and I never did for one simple reason. I understood that those two girls were not my enemies and what they said that day was a reflection of their personalities and not mine. I did feel like a slumdog on George street, but only for a moment. It did not define me because my real life is very different from their perception.

I do, to this day, hold an opinion of them being racist. And, that hasn't been the only occassion that I have felt racist undertones in this country, but I also can say for every bigot that I met, I have met 10 more beautiful, accepting and open-minded Australians. I don't understand racism per say. But in my opinion, divisive politics played by people in places of power has been its source and people who have deep insecurities and low self-esteem are subscribers of such ideologies. I wonder if the subscribers to these ideologies do it from a place of ignorance or blind faith, but whatever it is, it is the most de-humanizing experience one human can put another human through. It is the most uncivilized act to feed one's ego by dragging someone down. And, this applies to not just racial discrimination but also communal, financial, and gender discrimination. What I am trying to say is that if one succeeded in making me a Slumdog for a moment, doesn't mean that it the truth. It means that I have in some way triggered an insecurity inherent in that person.

I have always wanted to set the record straight for myself. And after 5 years of living here this is what I understand. Immigrants (most of us) are not the enemy. We definitely move to a country with the hope of building a better life. But, our dreams are small. All we want is to be able to afford a decent roof over our head, food on our table, and ability to support a family. We take jobs that most citizens of that country refuse to do. We are not included in any positions of power. We are made to feel like second class citizens. But, we pay our taxes, spend on a foreign economy, contribute to society in the small ways that we know and try to keep out of trouble. We, certainly, are underdogs in a foreign land but never a slumdog. Because I think it takes a massive heart to come to a different country and call it your own, and most of us in our earnest ways do that. And, any decent human being will have the ability to acknowledge this truth.