Reconciliation in Australia

Reconciliation in Australia

Student’s Name

Institution’s Name

Date

Benedict Anderson’s Deliberation on the ‘Nation’ in Imagined Communities

The Australia reconciliation era involved the acceptance of Aboriginal community and their integration in the Australian community. The community experienced great level of discrimination during Australian colonialism due to their rebellion. The reconciliation period was basically meant to create peace and harmony in the country. However, this reconciliation could have been imaginable in the fact that, there was always two side of the coin. In some point, the Australian government appeared to assist the Aboriginal community and try to embrace them in the country, there was still some rules that discriminated them, which had not been changed or which were still discriminative to the community. Thus, in the real sense citizens were influenced to love and accept Aboriginal community, while as the rule of law still discriminated them and no one was ready to accept any form of change (Anderson, 2006).

The government just as claimed by Benedict uses similar tool to create group consciousness and national cohesion as it uses to create a boundary for those who were historically discriminated and rebellious. It employs language that evokes images, tells history and provide social cohesion. Never the less, the same tool of the language that they use to create distinctions and cement distinctions, which were created by intruders and outsiders (Anderson, 2006.). This makes real that the reconciliation which was thought to be taking place was not comprehensive. Instead it was imaginable to the community. The government made the community imagine that there is a reconciliation, however, in the real sense the aspects they employed to enhance cohesion is actually a lie since the rules were still static and apprehensive.

Reflecting on Veracini’s ‘Formula’ for Decolonisation

Based on Veracini decolonization formula, we are not closer to decolonization. According to Veracini, colonization is not basically about arrival of settlers and displacement of locals by them. However, it is all about the rules and the authority they create which ends up ruling the countries they colonize long after their departure from these countries. Although people were more concerned about settlers and their acts of displacing them, the most important aspects is not about all this or the occupation of indigenous people land, but the foundation they build in developing the political foundation of a country (Veracini, 2010). Although the indigenous had their own life, all this is nullified with arrival of settlers and new organizations are create which are left running in a country even after the departure of the settlers or colonials. In this regard, they always hesitate in embracing full freedom of the indigenous people even after the dismissal of the colonialism since their system still allows the aspect of discrimination and oppression (Veracini, 2007).

I highly agree with Veracini, although settlers have moved back to their countries of origin they established the government and the form of governance ruling in different parts of the world they ruled. Most countries still have the settlers’ constitution which guides through their daily operations. Moreover, the economic system in these countries is highly defined by their colonials. Thus even in their absence their effect remains dominant though it is executed by locals who take over the governance. They follow the same steps the colonial followed in their governance. Thus, geographically, settlers and colonialism is over though analytically the colonialism system rules in almost all the countries that experienced settlers’ colonization.

References

Anderson, B. 2006. Introduction. In Imagined Communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. Verso: London.

Veracini, L. (2010). Leronzo veracini on settler colonialism. Retrieved from < http://www.southernperspectives.net/ips-series/lorenzo-veracini-on-settler-colonialism>

Veracini, L. (2007). Settler colonialism and decolonization. Borderlands. Retrieved from < http://www.borderlands.net.au/vol6no2_2007/veracini_settler.htm>