'Targeted' Experiences of Racism in NSW after September 11, 2001 

Whose Responsibility? Community anti-racism strategies after September 11, 2001 

“…documents and analyses the many ways in which communities experiencing racism after September 11, 2001 have responded to prejudice, harassment and discrimination. As contemporary research is developing more complex understandings of racism and community relations, there is a need to develop innovative and sophisticated responses to moments of crisis.…”

“…Where much existing research documents the extent of racism and its impacts, there is comparatively little research which explores the possibilities and the limitations of anti-racism work in Australia. This research asks: what responses have been developed by communities targeted after September 11, 2001, and what can be learned from those responses? The discussion focuses on projects and strategies developed by people working with Arab, Muslim and Sikh communities in New South Wales to respond to the impacts of racism and widespread fear documented in previous research.…”

“…Far from being passive 'victims' of racism, Muslim, Arab and Sikh Australians are in fact at the forefront of contemporary community relations and anti-racism work in NSW. This activity highlights one impact of the climate of fear after September 11, 2001: there has been an increased interest in interfaith dialogue and in anti-racism work, which has created both the desire and the need for people working with communities experiencing racism to develop response strategies.…”

“…is a companion to the UTS Shopfront Monograph 'Targeted', which documented experiences of racism in NSW after September 11, 2001(Dreher 2006. 'Targeted' analysed the data collected by a telephone Hotline established by the Community Relations Commission For a multicultural New South Wales (CRC) within hours of the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.…”

“…In an important intervention, Greg Noble (2005) has analysed the reporting of social incivility to highlight the prevalence of mundane and even routine forms of harassment directed towards Muslim and Arab Australians after September 11, 2001. These banal and everyday racisms include 'rude or insulting everyday behaviours -name-calling, jokes in bad taste, bad manners, provocative and offensive gestures, a sense of social distance or unfriendliness, an excessive focus on someone's ethnicity' which are rarely reported.…”