By Margaret Maccoll
In some cultures looking someone in the eye when speaking to them, giving someone the thumbs up or folding your arms in front of you would be considered very rude.
When Albertina Banks came to Australia as a refugee in 1967 from West Papua life was a culture shock for the 10-year-old Year 5 student who knew little English.
With a Dutch father and Indonesian mother the family fled West Papua almost two decades after Indonesia’s independence from Dutch rule at a time of political unrest during which military leader Suharto took over the presidency from President Sukarno and tens of thousands lost their lives.
But coming to Australia was fraught with problems for her Indonesian mother as the White Australia policy barred immigration for many non-Europeans and it took eight months for her to be granted asylum.
During Multicultural Queensland month in August Albertina, a teacher of 30 years and cultural consultant will be sharing stories of language and communication barriers and explore cultural differences at Noosaville and Cooroy libraries through a series of free cultural awareness workshops.
Albertina said through You Tube videos and interactive activities she would take a humorous look at the difficulties faced by people from different cultures.
Some phrases such as “could you take a seat” can be confusing for people whose first language is not English, she said. And behaviours can be interpreted differently in different countries. In many cultures, for example, seniors are treated with great respect but that is not the case here, she said. And in Sudan men are used to congregating in groups but here it is seen as a threat.
The two-hour workshops take place at Cooroy on 13 August and Noosaville on 14 August at 10am. Book at www.libraries.noosa.qld.gov.au or 5329 6555.
