Roads Old & New

This short film captures the journeys of several South Asian-descent migrants to Australia, some from more than fifty years ago, others more recently. Their stories occur within the broader one of Australia as a migrant society since the 1788 European settlements, all those migrant strains interacting to produce today’s multicultural mosaic.
These South Asian citizens now honour their cultural heritage alongside an affection for and loyalty to Australia as a country that has given them opportunities they might otherwise not have had. And they reflect, to, the emergence of the modern Indian diaspora, some coming from India itself, others from the United Kingdom, some from east Africa, others even via the United States of America.
Individually, they illustrate the highs and lows of the migrant experience. One couple had to leave a young son behind in India when leaving for Australia where officials had advised the need to do so financially. That lives with them still, even though fifty years later that son assures them his upbringing in the extended family carried many benefits.
Another migrant “made it” in Australia by way of hard work, but it cost him his marriage. Others experienced the difficulty of being “different” in a once dominantly white society, eventually succeeding despite the obstacles confronted – one became head of nursing services in the very organisation that years earlier declined her first job application because of her colour and accent. A teacher recalls the vast communication gap between himself and his students in rural Australia that forced his return to Sydney. And one woman recalled that setting up an ice-cream shop in Sydney was not the life her parents had imagined for her.
But all have done well and appreciate what Australia has done for them, at the same time serving their own communities and the broader one as cultural ambassadors, striving to create even stronger connections between all Australian communities.
The success of this film encourages the makers to produce similar ones on other specific communities, as their contribution to the further development of a complex, colourful and creative Australia.