by Sahar Foladi
Afghan community organisations have expressed a furious backlash against a controversial petition to rename Afghan Bazaar precinct in Thomas Street, Dandenong.
In a collective letter to Greater Dandenong Council, nine Afghan community groups are firmly opposed to the petition by members of the Hazara community to rename the precinct to Little Bamyan.
The letter states the “divisive”, “self-serving” and “dangerous” petition shouldn’t be “re-aggravated” at a council meeting on Monday 10 February.
It argues the term ‘Afghan’ is a nationality not an ethnic identity, as claimed by the Hazara petitioners.
On the other hand, the petitioners claim ‘Afghan’ is associated with the Pashtun ethnicity.
The groups listed in the letter include Bakhtar Community Organisation and Afghan Australian Women Association (AAWA), which serve residents from all ethnicities.
Also in favour of retaining Afghan Bazaar are prominent community leaders, players from the Afghan women’s football team, and businessmen from Thomas Street.
Gulghotai Bezhan, the founder of AAWA, says she is disappointed in the proposed renaming.
“Very disappointed because … Afghan Bazaar represents the entire Afghan community including different ethnicities of Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbek to name a few and not just a province.
“Bamyan is a little province, but Afghan is representative of all ethnicities. Imagine if an Australian says they’re not from Australia but from Geelong.”
Ms Bezhan says she is from Kabul in Afghanistan, questioning whether it would be right for her organisation to be named Kabul Australia Women’s Association.
Her organisation helps to support Afghan women from all backgrounds and ethnicities to settle in Australia, provides programs to build their confidence and to find a starting point to rebuild their lives again.
She was last month named as an Order of Australia Medallist (OAM) in recognition of her work.
The letter also argues that the term Little Bamyan is “far more exclusionary” than the term ‘Afghan’ itself as Bamyan is one out of the total 34 provinces in Afghanistan.
Barat Batoor who initiated the petition says Bamyan is a “multicultural province” hence why the name was chosen. However Ms Bezhan rejects this claim.
Last week Batoor told Star Journal that the Bamyan name was “inclusive” and represented the contribution of the Hazara community in “transforming the once deserted street into a now thriving business centre”.
“I hope the representatives of the community in the council will hear the request of Hazaras.
“Little Bamyan better portrays the rich history of Afghanistan, and the stakeholders in the Bazaar will have a sense of belonging and pride.”
However, Afghan community leader Rokhan Akbar and community activist Khalid Amiri, who was a journalist in Afghanistan, say the petition will instead damage social cohesion.
“City of Greater Dandenong is well known for its multiculturalism, advocacy for social cohesion, assimilation, integration for opportunities and inclusivity. That’s the policy of the government, to encourage social cohesion,” Mr Akbar said.
“To change the name (of Afghan Bazaar), it would do the opposite. It would be a damage to the reputation that Greater Dandenong Council prides itself on and that other councils envy.”
The negative implications are said to be broadly on the businesses on Thomas Street, who have worked over a decade to build what they cherish now.
One of the impacts is potentially to boycott the businesses in support of the petition or if the renaming is given a green light.
Mr Amiri says the Bazaar represents all diverse ethnicities in Afghanistan and not just one province or ethnicity.
“The Afghan community is deeply frustrated and feels ignored.
“None of the shops in this precinct sell products exclusively from Bamyan, the food served is Afghan cuisine, not limited to any one group, and the rugs are primarily Uzbek-made, not from Bamyan,” he said.
“Afghan culture is shared by all Afghans and no single province can claim ownership of these traditions.
“If this misrepresentation continues, it is damaging the social cohesion and it will be a one-sided decision with serious repercussions, including the boycott of the bazaar by many people is under consideration in the community.”
The letter to the council also states the petition was carried out in “secrecy” without any discussions with the wider Afghan community.
A meeting was held between Greater Dandenong mayor Jim Memeti and the group on Wednesday 5 February to hear their concerns
He says the council is in a tough position where they must remain impartial.
“I will keep an open mind, make sure we’re respectful to both parties.
“I understand it’s a touchy subject and we need to respect everybody’s views as well.
“We don’t want to go backwards but forwards, build on the strength that we have.
“I love all the traders on Thomas Street – it’s a great place to shop, eat, spend time. It’s something we really have to tread very lightly and respectfully.”
As of early Monday 10 February, the group in support of the name change have garnered more than 2900 signatures in an online petition on Change.org.
Meanwhile, the opposing group against it have collected more than 3200 signatures on the same platform.
Another meeting is being held between Cr Memeti and the group who initiated the change, just hours before the council meeting on Monday 10 February.
