Differences from mainstream Australia can be made less difficult with a greater understanding of each others' cultures. A local newspaper explains the holy month of Ramadan.
Click here for a copy of a brochure which was distributed to local households to explain Ramadan to non-Muslims.
Click here to see a local newspaper article about our Somali tea ceremonies.
This article was written for the College newsletter by Mohamed Algadi.
Banksia Secondary College is one of the schools in Victoria where there are many students from different countries and cultures. Besides the many students who were born in Australia, there are students from many other countries such as Greece, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, China, Tonga, Italy, the Philipines and many other countries.There are 32 Somali students studying in our College. Somalia is a country which is found in the horn of Africa. Somali borders Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and the Indian Ocean. Somalia's population is about 8,300,000 and all of them are muslim.
The principal language of Somalia is Somali, and it's a Cushitic language. The Somali have a vital poetic tradition with complex rules. There are small groups of non-indigenous people living in Somalia. There are about 35,000 Arabs as well as Egyptians, Indians, Pakistanis and people of European descent.
There was a civil war going on in Somalia and because of this most Somalians went to find a new life. In Victoria there are many Somalian people who live in areas including Flemington, North Melbourne, Heidelberg, Kensington and Brunswick.
In Heidelberg, nearly 50% of the Somalian students come to Banksia Secondary College and as one of the senior students I am proud about this.
