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Bachelor of Asian Studies/Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics

5th year (and final!!)

What is your cultural/ethic heritage and what do you love about it? How has it shaped you?

I’m half Sicilian. My mum’s parents emigrated in 1961 and, after six weeks in Botany Bay, arrived in north Queensland, where my family’s been ever since. It sounds trite, but my favourite part of my heritage is the cuisine. Most internationalised Italian food—Bolognese, pizza etc.—originates in northern Italy. Southern Italian food can be pretty different!

Another important aspect is commitment to family. It manifests in funny ways—moving interstate for uni was considered pretty radical! And in a world where people are increasingly atomised and disconnected from each other, my nonna’s endless FaceTimes are much appreciated.

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

At school and uni, I’ve been learning Japanese. I’m far from fluent and have many, many more kanji to learn, but would love to have a stint in Japan after graduation and improve my language skills. I also used to speak Sicilian (or my nonna’s dialect) until I was about 10. While I’ve sadly lost most of it, I also would like to re-learn some form of Italian one day.

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

As a kid, I was really interested in planes. Townsville, my hometown, used to have many international flights to Asia and the Pacific. The more I read about our tourism heyday of flights to Tokyo and Honolulu, the more I became curious about all things Asian and Pacific—the regions’ politics, histories, cultures. Add an interest in politics and history more broadly, and here we are today.

I’d ideally travel to New Caledonia and Japan. I love all things tropical, and New Caledonia is as tropical as it comes. Plus, it has a fascinating history whose consequences—namely a continuing struggle for independence—are still being borne out today. As for Japan, I want to improve my Japanese, which requires, well, going back to Japan. I’d like to explore beyond the major cities (Tokyo, Osaka), however, and visit Kyushu and Okinawa.

What issue in Asia or the Pacific regions are you most passionate about/intrigued by?

I’m most passionate about democracy and self-determination. It might sound very 1990s, but these issues are still relevant and, if anything, positive developments over the past few decades are being wound back.

Authoritarianism almost always produces human rights abuses, internal displacement and kleptocracy. Democratisation doesn’t fully fix these issues, but it is a massive step in the right direction and provides new institutions and avenues through which positive developments can occur. Yet, there are signs of democratic rollback: the Marcos dynasty is ascendant in the Philippines, Malaysia’s reformist government was nipped in the bud, and Indonesia now lacks a substantive political opposition.

Self-determination is also important. From West Papua to New Caledonia, it raises uncomfortable questions about colonialism and is often overlooked by other countries for diplomatic reasons. For these reasons, it’s important that self-determination isn’t overlooked. Indeed, New Caledonia’s 2021 independence referendum was a recent reminder that national self-determination is still an active fight. Held in the shadow of a covid wave that devastated the islands’ Kanak people, the referendum was almost conducted as to ensure an emphatic anti-independence result.

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

My favourite book is Stay Alive, My Son, by Pin Yathay. A moving first-person narrative of a Cambodian engineer’s attempt to survive under the Khmer Rouge, it recounts the different stages of the Khmer Rouge’s rule, the depredations progressively inflicted on Pin and his family, and his ultimate escape to Thailand. The book probes a confluence of emotions: intrigue, worry, guilt, despair and, at the end, an all-consuming desire to survive. We often reduce real human suffering to collective abstractions that do away with emotion or empathy. Stay Alive, My Son is an antidote to this. Interestingly, this is a very rare book. It was loaned to me by a friend, her dad having bought it at a Phnom Penh shop, and I haven’t been able to source a copy since.