If Australia wants to welcome Chinese students and the world back, it needs to reflect on the climate into which it is bringing them.
如果澳大利亚想要欢迎中国学生和世界各国的留学生回归，它就需要反思他们所处的环境。
Choosing to study abroad is as much a leap of faith as it is a financial commitment. The decision to uproot one’s life from the comforts of home is always made with the belief that the new place we have chosen to stake a formative portion of our lives will ultimately value our presence.
选择出国留学既是一种经济上的承诺，也是一种信心上的飞跃。决定将自己的生活从舒适的家中搬出来，总是带着这样一种信念:我们选择的新地方将成为我们生活的一部分，最终会重视我们的存在。
For many Chinese international students enduring the pandemic on Australian shores, that belief has been shaken.
对于许多在澳大利亚海岸忍受疫情的中国留学生来说，这种信念已经动摇了。
In the latest round of political sparring between China and Australia, the Chinese government has advised its citizens and students to reassess travel plans to Australia, citing a rise in racial discrimination and incidents of abuse towards people of Asian descent. Australia was quick to categorically reject the assertions as “disinformation” and “demonstrably untrue”. But political posturing rarely provides clarity on issues, and more often exposes the insecurities of the players rather than the intended show of strength.
在中国和澳大利亚之间最新一轮的政治争吵中，中国政府建议其公民和学生重新评估前往澳大利亚的旅行计划，理由是种族歧视和虐待亚裔人士的事件有所增加。澳大利亚迅速断然拒绝了这一断言，称其为“虚假信息”和“明显不真实”。但政治姿态很少能让问题变得清晰，更多的是暴露了参与者的不安全感，而不是有意展示实力。
Indictments don’t have weight without context, and whether or not it’s convenient for those in power to acknowledge, the pandemic has unearthed the reality of strained race relations that permeate Australian society. The Australian Human Rights Commission and Anti-Discrimination NSW have documented a surge in anti-Asian racism, while the Asian Australian Alliance has reported almost 400 racist incidents since April.
如果没有背景，起诉就没有分量，不管当权者是否愿意承认，这场疫情揭示了渗透澳大利亚社会的紧张种族关系的现实。澳大利亚人权委员会和反歧视的新南威尔士州记录了反亚洲种族主义的激增，而亚澳联盟自4月以来已经报道了近400起种族主义事件。
Behind the dispassionate statistics is a traumatic inventory of lived experiences by the Asian Australian community: a bus driver verbally assaulted, two sisters spat at while crossing the street, a family’s home vandalised with hateful graffiti, an international student punched for wearing a face mask.
在这些冷静的统计数字背后，是一份有关亚裔澳大利亚人生活经历的令人痛苦的清单:一名公交车司机被辱骂，两名姐妹在过马路时被吐痰，一户人家的房子被恶意涂鸦破坏，一名国际学生因戴口罩而被殴打。
These racist sentiments were not spawned by Covid-19 – the virus merely amplified their potency and provided an unabashed avenue for their release. And yet, when China’s travel warnings were issued, Chinese international students quickly came to Australia’s defence, rebuking the notion that studying here was dangerous and expressing dismay that they were being used as bargaining chips in the escalating economic tug-of-war between China and Australia.
这些种族主义情绪并不是由Covid-19引发的——该病毒只是放大了它们的效力，并为它们的释放提供了不加掩饰的途径。然而，当中国发布旅行警告时，中国国际学生迅速站出来为澳大利亚辩护，驳斥了在澳大利亚学习是危险的说法，并对自己在中澳两国日益升级的经济角力中被用作讨价还价的筹码表示失望。
Having completed a postgraduate degree where the majority of my fellow colleagues were Chinese international students, I spoke to several of them in light of China’s recent statements.
我已经完成了研究生学位，那里的大多数同事都是中国国际学生，鉴于中国最近的声明，我和他们中的一些人进行了交谈。
Why did they choose Australia? Do their experiences affirm Australia’s self-projected global image as a nation that embraces multiculturalism? Overwhelmingly, they said choosing to invest in an Australian education was because they believed it was safer here compared with other western countries and wouldn’t discourage others with similar personal aspirations. At the same time, all of them shared more than a few stories of racist encounters they endured, ranging from verbal slurs to physical intimidation.
他们为什么选择澳大利亚?他们的经历是否证实了澳大利亚作为一个拥抱多元文化的国家的自我投射的全球形象?绝大多数受访者表示，选择投资澳大利亚的教育是因为他们认为，与其他西方国家相比，澳大利亚更安全，也不会阻止有类似个人志向的人。与此同时，他们都分享了自己遭遇的种族主义事件，从言语侮辱到身体恐吓。
As a Chinese Australian who grew up in Sydney, I have the luxury of saying that I have never had to fear for my safety while calling Australia home. But I also can’t deny the twisted sense of relief I felt when lockdown began, as it meant I wouldn’t have to leave the house as often and mentally prepare for whatever Covid-related ignorance might befall me, or see my immunocompromised mother ridiculed for wearing her face mask. For much of the Asian Australian community, these two realities are not mutually exclusive.
作为一个在悉尼长大的华裔澳大利亚人，我可以很荣幸地说，当我把澳大利亚称为家的时候，我从来不用担心我的安全。但我也不能否认，当我开始被禁闭时，感到解脱，因为这意味着我不必经常出门，不必为可能发生的新冠肺炎疫情做心理准备，也不必看到免疫缺陷的母亲因为戴口罩而受到嘲笑。对于大多数亚裔澳大利亚人来说，这两种现实并不相互排斥。
中国留学生表示，他们选择澳大利亚是因为那里比其他西方国家更安全，但他们也分享了遭遇种族歧视的故事。
In recent weeks, federal ministers have repeatedly plugged the soundbite that Australia is a harmonious and multicultural society, reducing racism to the “actions of a tiny minority of cowardly idiots”. Given the suite of stories being shared about anti-Asian discrimination and the growing momentum of Australia’s Black Live Matters protests, the halcyon story of racial harmony being peddled by the government rings disingenuously hollow.
最近几周，联邦部长们一再强调澳大利亚是一个和谐的多元文化社会，将种族主义归结为“一小撮懦弱的白痴的行为”。考虑到人们分享的一系列关于反亚洲歧视的故事，以及澳大利亚Black Live Matters抗议活动日益高涨的势头，政府兜售的种族和谐的宁静故事听起来有些虚伪。
The glaring injustices faced by Indigenous Australians and the racism faced by the Asian community are distinct and nuanced issues the government needs to seize without diluting the concerns of its citizens with the “a few bad apples” line.
土著澳大利亚人所面临的明显不公正和亚洲社区所面临的种族主义，是政府需要抓住的独特而微妙的问题，而不是用“几个坏苹果”这句话淡化其公民的关切。
After initially choosing to complete my academic studies in the United States, I decided to return to Australia midway – because it was home.
在最初选择在美国完成学业后，我中途决定返回澳大利亚——因为那里是我的家。
I missed the familiarity of a childhood where a little Chinese girl used to frolic across playgrounds with little black, brown and white kids without a care in the world. That is what I have told friends and family envisioning a future for themselves here, that despite its faults, Australia could offer them the same. But we need to ensure the story of Australia’s aspirational diversity is not a myth. It’s not enough to be a multicultural society on paper. The powers that be need to translate those ideals into actions that effect meaningful change.
我怀念那种熟悉的童年，那时一个中国小女孩在操场上和黑、棕、白三种颜色的小孩嬉闹，无忧无虑。这就是我对在这里为自己设想未来的朋友和家人所说的，澳大利亚尽管有缺点，但可以向他们提供同样的东西。但我们需要确保澳大利亚渴望的多样性不是一个神话。仅仅纸面上是一个多元文化的社会是不够的。当权者需要将这些理想转化为行动，从而产生有意义的改变。
If Australia is to welcome international students and the world back to its shores, there needs to be some self-awareness and reflection on the climate into which they are bringing them. The question this government and its institutions need to ask themselves is: are we going to invest in the people who are choosing to invest in us?
如果澳大利亚想要欢迎国际学生和全世界的人回到它的海岸，就需要自我意识，并对他们所处的环境进行反思。这个政府和它的机构需要问自己的问题是:我们会为那些选择投资我们的人投资吗?
新闻出处：The Guardian
作者：Yang Tian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/15/we-dont-need-china-to-tell-us-australian-racism-exists-just-ask-international-students?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
