Harmony Week – Student Reflections

Harmony Week has given us the opportunity to experience different cultures and experiences. This week we listened to bible verses and hymns in different languages, tried different foods from other countries, and witnessed speeches from two boys from Holroyd High School in the Headmaster’s Assembly. The speeches, I have to say, were phenomenal. It was very eye-opening to hear first-hand accounts about what happened during the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021. It’s all well and good to hear and see this on the T.V.- that people were evacuated by our aircraft from Afghanistan, but to hear how they were evacuated from young people, who experienced it themselves, is another thing.  Both boys were excellently spoken too under the circumstances, being that English is their second language and in front of a large audience of staff and boys. I had the chance to speak with them after their speeches, and they seem to have adapted to Australian life well and seem just like any other Aussie kid. The Shore Harmony Week was an enjoyable and eye-opening experience, and I look forward to next year’s.  

Saxon Mitchell (Year 10) 

At Shore this week, Harmony Week has been celebrated in a way that has promoted a greater understanding of different cultures and backgrounds. The efforts of several teachers, notably Ms Tierney and Ms Ritchie, have seen boys at food trucks, doing readings in chapel, and talking about their backgrounds in tutor group. Australia is a richly multicultural society, and it is excellent that we can positively embrace that in this way. 

However, racism persists in Australia, and our nation seems to struggle to address this. Only this year, Rabbitohs full-back Latrell Mitchell was subject to racial abuse in a game against Penrith and recently, Nazi parades occurred in Melbourne’s CBD. So, in reflecting on Harmony Week, as great as eating different foods is, the celebration should be as much about addressing the failures of Australian society to accommodate multiculturalism as it is about embracing it. In fact, Harmony Day was initially designed in this way, known as the U.N.’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It was established to reflect on racial discrimination by commemorating the black South African victims of the Sharpeville massacre in Apartheid South Africa, and until 1999 Australia celebrated this date. However, that changed when it was determined that a more “palatable” way for Australians to confront racial discrimination would be to rename the day Harmony Day. 

So, whilst Harmony Week is an excellent celebration of Australia’s different cultures and traditions, we must not forget why we are marking the day and consider how we can be forces for change by calling out racial discrimination. 

Lachlan Hunt, Senior Prefect (Year 12)