Henry Devitt

Henry Devitt

Special Projects

Bachelor of Asian Studies/Bachelor of Languages

3rd year

What language/s can you speak? Or what language/s would you love to learn?

English is my mother tongue, and I speak Japanese at a high enough level where I'm comfortable reading novels and having conversations on most topics. I'm also currently studying Mandarin at university, and whilst my Chinese isn't at the level I'd like to be at I'm really enjoying studying it. I'm also conversational in German but I don't get to use it very often. Other than that I can understand but not speak Yiddish and I've dabbled in French, Hebrew, and Persian in the past. In the future, I'd love to learn more Persian and pick up Te Reo Māori.

What made you interested in Asia and the Pacific regions? Where would you ideally travel?

Asia and the Pacific have almost been a constant in my life. Growing up I used to hear my dad's stories from when he lived in PNG, and I lived in an area of Sydney with a high concentration of East Asian communities, specifically Korean and Chinese. I have always been exposed to these cultures, whether that be going to a friend's house to eat kimbap, watching the Chinese New Year parade, or playing doubutsu no mori (animal crossing) with friends in Japanese and not understanding a word.  Then when I was in high school I was fortunate enough to go on exchange for a year to Nagasaki, Japan. The experience fundamentally changed my life and really reinforced and expanded my interest in the regions and Australia's place in relation to them. Since then I've explored Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East as much as I could. I'm desperate to go hiking through Central Asia, explore northeast China, and go see Nan Madol in Micronesia.

What issue in Asia or the Pacific regions are you most passionate about/intrigued by? I'm interested in many different issues, but one area I'm particularly interested in is indigenous sovereignty in the 21st century. Growing up in Australia we're taught about First Nations Australians to varying, and often unacceptable extents, and I'd always assumed it was only European countries that had colonised and occupied others.

One instance of colonisation I'm particularly passionate about is West Papua. It astounds me that even today it's not an issue many Australians are aware of, despite our geographical proximity. It raises a lot of confronting questions about our national morals and ideas, and where our priorities lie and is a prime example easily indigenous sovereignty can be overlooked.

That being said, Western colonisation in the Pacific is still ongoing and also frequently overlooked. The US military continues to occupy multiple islands in Asia and the Pacific, often at the expense of indigenous peoples such as Okinawans, Native Hawaiians, and Chamorro people. Additionally, the US used the Marshall Islands and its indigenous peoples as their "Pacific Proving Grounds" for testing their nuclear weapons; something they still haven't apologised for or attempted reconciliation and compensation. Mining corporations also continue to occupy islands in the Pacific, with some such as Nauru being all but destroyed by strip-mining phosphate and indigenous Nauruans left exploited.

Do you have any favourite books/movies from Asia or the Pacific regions? Why would you recommend it?

One of my favourite books I've read in recent years is Potiki. It's about a Maori community who are threatened by land developers who want to destroy/move their community from their ancestral lands to develop a resort. The story unfolds at its own pace and beautifully blurs the line between the present, the dreamlike past, and magical realism to tell the story of not just the community, but also families and individuals. Reading the book felt like I was sinking deeply into the Maori language and culture and  It helped me to question my own ideas surrounding community, and the conflict between Western and Maori conceptions of development.

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Updated:  11 May, 2022/Responsible Officer:  Dean, ANU College of Asia & the Pacific/Page Contact:  CAP Web Team