One.
A collection of stories illustrated through
poetry written by Ella Avni
My purpose,
I wish to share the stories of those who have had similar experiences to me, to bring people
together through the medium of poetry. Through this compilation of poetry, I wished to
present the diversity of our young people on the Central Coast as I feel like it is an area which is
often overlooked.
The fact is, adversity and ignorance in our community is at an unacceptable level. A lack of
cultural education and representation contributes to the “us and them” rhetoric which is so
common on the Central Coast.
Individuals are no longer being seen for their merits, but rather the colour of their skin.
Stereotyping and engrained racist values are allowing young people to bury their culture and
differences in fear of being judged.
This should not be the case,
Young people should wear their culture and history like a badge of honour, using the
experiences of themselves and their families to inspire and be the change they wish to see.
A community which remains silent on issues within it is one which
fosters negative behaviour.
I created this small book as a tribute to those who do not feel comfortable within their culture,
who are silenced. I want to empower young people to stand up and speak of their experiences,
their culture, to have a voice without fear of any negative response.
While illustrating our differences through poetry, I used a red string to link all stories together.
To me, red is a colour of empowerment and resistance, I wanted to portray that although we all
are different, we are intrinsically linked by our ability to have a voice. Although we are diverse,
although we have differences, we are all connected
We are one.
Lily, age 16
Horsfield Bay
Female
I am Lily,
I am strong, vulnerable
I am different, mind rich with empathy
I am Australian born Chinese, an acronym of the ABCs,
In order to call Horsfield Bay my home,
my parents crossed the seas.
I struggled to come to terms with my race
Racism and discrimination remaining unspoken,
People do not at first notice my face-
They see, assume, generalise before my mouth opens.
I am connected with my culture,
In both small and big ways
I switch between languages, as they watch in a daze.
Mandarin and English both drip from my tongue
The remnants of a culture which I must carry on.
My culture present In celebrations, such as
Chinese New Year- where red pockets I receive from my loved people
Noodles representative of longevity
Stringing from my mouth as I age another year
I am connected to my culture, I love my heredity
I want to be unafraid of failure,
Start businesses,
Start charities,
NGOs, NPOs,
Failed relentlessly.
I want to share experience with others,
I want to travel and sail the sea
I want to see what this world offers,
I want to leave a legacy
I feel challenged by ignorance
A bubble surrounding those who are afraid to confront the unknown.
Rather than accepting difference
My abilities are assumed, not proven
We must not dwell on ignorance,
As ignorance is bliss- to those who wish
To remain in blissful indifference.
We must stay strong together
in the face of adversity, the fight is never done
we are one.
Bilguun, age 15
Killcare
I am Bilguun,
I am multicultural,
I am different
I recently migrated from Mongolia,
A culture of Russian and Chinese background,
My grandmother from Korea,
Stepfather from New Zealand,
Learning my multicultural history-
A lesson which is worldly.
I came to Australia in April last year,
I have built friendships, relationships here.
I feel accepted by my community,
A culture of love and harmony.
I find it hard to relate to Australian culture,
Culture shock when interacting with one another.
Different upbringings, different lives,
Our diversity is what allows our community to thrive.
I learned a new language,
A new culture, a new life
It is my friends who helped me manage.
I stay with those who understand,
Who empathise and lend a hand.
When I believed I did not belong,
They believed I can.
We must reach out,
We must not stay silent when troubled
With unbelonging or struggle.
We must band with those who can save,
Us from a hardship and remain unscathed.
Friends, we must never have none,
we are one
Joojoo, age 16
Ourimbah
I am Joojoo
I am different from my peers,
My features set me apart.
I am from South Korea,
Adopted and brought to Australia at a young age.
Although disconnected from country and family,
My culture remains at every life stage.
Immersed in culture through food and tradition,
Enabled me to maintain that connection.
I value my culture
It gives me a sense of identity,
exploring myself, knowing my history.
I discover my culture, digging deeper everyday
Languages I learn and international friendships I maintain.
I must hold my culture close as where I live in stability
Is not synonymous to my ethnicity.
I have a dream of entertaining,
In Korea, my place which culture is reigning.
I see my idols of my place of birth,
They make me happy- understand my worth.
I wish to be able to make someone feel
The way this music and dance enables me to heal.
I have a passion for dance,
However, my home is not allowing me a chance,
Opportunities for international success
Are not available in Australia, I confess.
I am alone,
A lack of diversity in my home.
My name, my face,
I am different
Because of my race.
I look and see no reflection of my culture,
In those whose mouths speak so vulgar.
In response to ignorance I learn,
I empower myself with knowledge of I,
And not of them.
I build friendships with those who understand.
We should not ignore,
A community which stays silent
Only fosters ignorance
Encourage education,
Stand together, be patient.
With ignorance, no one has ever won,
We are one.
Allirra, Age 17
Bensville
I am Allirra
I am a Wadi Wadi woman of Yuin nation
I have passion for my land,
Nature my inspiration.
I am connected to the land where bush meets sea,
A love for the natural world
I feel it coursing inside of me.
Born on the peninsula, I belong in Jervis Bay
Through connection to my culture,
From materialism and greed, I stray
I am of the oldest culture in the world,
Kinship, bush and spirituality
I am proud of these roots, they are my identity.
My culture lives in my heart, heard through my ears.
I wish to educate everyone who hears.
Values of kinship, bush and spirituality
Be like the powerful voices of my family.
Activism in the wake of injustice,
I will fight for a cause, I will fight for my rights
I will fight for recognition of our existence.
“If you look after land and country
Land and country will look after you”
I walk the lands which meet the sea
I wish to take care of the lands, I do
My land where tradition grows like
Black sheoak from dunes with foliage like spikes.
I feel challenged by apathy,
A lack of knowledge of my history,
Representation here is at a low
A plague of ignorance disturbs me so.
In the face of injustice I try
To educate those who refuse the story of i.
Our story which remains untold,
We must learn of what has been and can be done
We are one.
Ella, age 16
Copacabana
I am Ella
I have a voice
My Nene and Dede came here from Cyprus,
I am grateful for their choice.
I feel it hard to connect to culture,
When my vision is flooded by none
I sport an evil eye blue in colour
With my family I celebrate Bayrumi
I feast on traditional foods when I visit,
Dolma, Mulukhiya and pilaf
My friends laugh when they try to pronounce it.
My Nene was stripped of her voice,
No education, she had no choice.
A life of oppression she could not flee,
Reading and writing she was never allowed
Her experiences are what empower me.
My life purpose to make her proud.
I have skin similar to the earth in hue
Juxtaposed against the sand which is surrounding
A monocultural environment nurtures a girl of two
Taken as a token, ignorant words resounding
I am known for my race, not my value.
I drown the apathy with empathetic words,
Defeating hate, loving and being heard.
I wish to give a voice to the silenced,
To give peace to a world which is violent
Words and difference stream through my mind
Crashing upon this page of mine
Taking physical form in charcoal ink
Think, to transform I think
The air I breathe as my fuel
My pen as my tool
I think to challenge
My thoughts my bullets I slay my world
In a mad waltz, my dreary whirled
I am my word, a girl of the sun
We are one.
We are one
We are different,
Yet the same.
Our diversity is what makes us, us
We cannot allow stereotypes define us
As we are more than our race. Thus
Allow empowerment through difference.
Allow proudness in culture in every sense,
A generation breaking from silence.
Although we are different,
We are intrinsically linked by humanity
Red, weaving, intense humanity
The type which refuses to be undermined
The type which screams, which will not be confined.
It is bright like the blood which courses in our veins,
It is loud to shatter any prejudice which remains.
A humanity expressed through our voice,
Together we stand in solidarity, defiance
As we recognise that some do not have a choice
But to remain in silence.
Let our voices be heard,
Each sentence let them echo word after word.
A community which remains in silence
Fosters a world of compliance
we must stand
allow our words to drip like honey,
empower us through our ability
empower us through our humanity
empower us through our diversity
through our differences we are empowered
through our differences,
we are one
Thank you
Marie James, community coach
Lily Wang
Bilguun Wicks
Joojoo Brown
Allirra Miller-Moore
Jaqaiar Liufalani
Hannah Lang of MYAN
For making this happen