If one were to judge strictly by the policies of one particular political party in America and their fervent and devoted registered voters, one might well assume that the United States is the only country on earth with an immigrant situation. Or, as members of that party and supporters would put it, an immigrant “problem.” Putting aside the obvious problem with irony related to the fact that 99.9% of all those (of any political affiliation) who view immigration into America from foreign countries as one of its biggest problems are themselves only here to make that complain by virtue of immigration laws in the past that were doubtlessly also viewed as too lax, another problem looms large. By making immigration such a point of contention between people in this country, the result has been a diminishing awareness that immigration is a global issue of concern. A concern primarily based on xenophobia and misplaced nationalism.
Aravind Adiga’s Amnesty: A Novel is particularly recommended reading for Americans not just because it presents this reality, but because it presents immigration as being a problem in one of the least likely countries one could suspect. If one were to try to come up with an imaginary industrialized modern Anglo-based country that would seem to be about as free from immigration becoming an issue it would take quite an imagination to cook up anything better than Australia. Mexico, which concerns Americans living in a constant state of trepidation about the consequences of open borders, is situated almost nine-thousand miles away. Thailand—which many geography-challenged people might consider to be the nearest thing to a neighbor—is more than 3500 miles away. And when it comes to Australia’s neighbors, it is important to realize we are not talking about neighbors who can just decide to pick up one day and join a “dreaded” caravan for a thousand mile walk. A ferocious ocean separates Australia from those neighbors. Heck, even just that short jaunt across the water from New Zealand is treacherous.
Despite the fact that merely making it alive to Australia reveals a certain worth of character, a 2019 poll suggested that nearly half the country’s residents felt too many new immigrants were successfully making that trip. And it is against this odd disconnect related to Australia’s immigration issues that Amnesty: A Novel set. The narrative follows what is, unfortunately, a fairly common story related to the peculiarities of Australia’s immigration “problem.” Danny, the protagonist, is from Sri Lanka (more than 4200 miles away) and came to become an individualized “immigrant problem” by way of seeking asylum and refuge from political upheaval in his native land. This is the case with many making the trip to Australia, whether in extremely dangerous circumstances such as the “boat people” escaping the collapse of Vietnam in the 1970’s or through the air courtesy of Qantas. It is not merely a case that the neighbors of Australia are far away, they also share a commonality of political instability.
What the story reveals about Australia through the very specific dramatic travails of Danny which is nevertheless invested with a sense of universality is that despite a shared language, cultural heritage, ingrained sense of independence in the nation’s character and multiple social and cultural affinities, there is one very distinct difference between Australia and America. Even though it has adopted arbitrary—and often downright racist—legislative policies to prevent the current national enemy of the moment from flooding its shores, the United States has always recognized it is a country built upon the power of immigration. That big copper lady with the torch welcoming potential new citizens is the symbolic incarnation of not just America’s desire, but its actual need, to be a melting pot.
Adiga’s story makes what is perhaps a controversial, possibly a surprising and definitely an unnerving revelation about Australia: it was never intended to become a melting pot. And it successfully avoided becoming so for most of its history. The truth—at least the truth as demonstrated by Danny’s story--is that Australia is really not all that similar to the United States. It does not even have much in common with Canada. Australian is the most British of England’s former colonies and that British quality is reflected not in stiff upper lips or pale pigmentation or a love for royalty, but in its Anglo-centered society. Danny's story in Amnesty: A Novel is built upon a history of the breaking down of that Anglo wall over the past forty years from an influx of browner people with much different customs, traditions and cultural expectations.
It is certainly not by accident that Australia’s geographical isolation helped to maintain that very staunch Anglo-centric society for so long whereas the technological advancements in transport hardware has significantly shrunk the psychic mileage between it and the rest of the world if not the actual mileage. It is still not easy to get there from wherever here may be, but it is a lot easier than it used to be. And just as in America (9400 miles away), those with the most intense dissatisfaction with the “immigrant problem” in Australia face a major uphill battle in stemming the tide as the country’s dependence upon people like Daniel to keep the country’s economy from collapsing only continues to intensity. At least on that issue, Australia and America are very similar to each other.
