Australia often presents itself as the “fair go” country, but in recent years its migration policies and security policies have verged on the trully cruel and bizzarre.
A friend remarked to me after his recent return to Australia that at the airport his bags were checked twice. He said that whilst the customs officers were giving him the matesy treatment it poorly masked the suppressed agression. When he returned to Taiwan the cute customs officers were holding out hongbaos and waving everyone through with genuine goodwill.
Which brings me to the story of a French national who came to Australia to study English and travel around a bit, but had a scratch on his passport. For this offence he was taken to a detention center and then rather than checking his passport with the French authorities he was kept in detention and asked to sing the French national anthem, who the president of France was and to name the highest mountain in France. Now, I’m a dumb fuck, but if that is the standard by which a country judges another persons nationality then goddamit I’m a Frenchman too.
When did this incident with the French guy happen? Did you hear the story from someone, or was it in the newspaper? What was the follow-up (i.e. what ended up happening to the crack-smoking customs jokers?)
Several years ago some Australian government minister said that everyone should know the national anthem. Then he was asked on a chat show to sing it, he didn’t know the words.
Or there’s John Redwood, the then Minister for Wales, looking a right tit when trying to sing the Welsh anthem.
I only know the first verse of mine, it’s rubbish anyway, but I do like the 5th verse:
Lord grant that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
[b]And like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush.[/b]
God save the Queen!
Australian customs are paranoid and brutal to anyone without an Australian passport (although it seems your friend had one) and have been for years. I remember seeing the Kiwi guy ahead of me get the third degree about where he was going to stay and how he was going to get home, etc. even though I thought Kiwis had virtual freedom of movement in Australia.
However, I had the “pleasure” of getting the same treatment when I went to London last year, complete with aggressiveness, rudeness and eye-rolling. “I’m staying with friends.” “Who are your friends?” “Where are they?” Que?
Thanks, Fox, just read the article. The customs folks sound about as stupid in the article as they did in your description.
Not in any way justifying their stupidity, but the Australian reaction did seem quite generous. $25,000 for a few days detention. Assuming singing and dumb trivia questions were the worst treatment that the French guy was subjected to, I suppose that doesn’t sound so bad.
[quote=“Hobbes”]Thanks, Fox, just read the article. The customs folks sound about as stupid in the article as they did in your description.
Not in any way justifying their stupidity, but the Australian reaction did seem quite generous. $25,000 for a few days detention. Assuming singing and dumb trivia questions were the worst treatment that the French guy was subjected to, I suppose that doesn’t sound so bad. [/quote]
I’ll happily spend a few days in a cell singing ‘God Save The Queen’ for $25,000. Easy Money. Better than the other times spent in a cell with no reward and having had to pay to get out.
put epsilon semi-morons in a uniform and what do you get?
I must say that entering France, from Egypt via Thailand I was given a very hard time by the delightfully friendly French Immigration Animated Cadavers. Made to feel as welcome as a pus dripping leper
Seems like the Wee Pretendy Government down at Holyrood is getting to choose a new national anthem for us.
[i]A Man’s A Man for a’ That
Is there for honest poverty
That hangs his head and a’ that?
The coward slave, we pass him by
We daur be puir for a’ that.
For a’ that, and a’ that
Our toils obscure, and a’ that
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp
The man’s the gowd for a’ that.
Ye see yon birkie ca’d a lord
Wha struts, and stares and a’ that
Tho’ hundreds worship at his word
He’s but a coof for a’ that.
For a’ that, and a’ that
His ribbon, star and a’ that
the man o’ independence mind
He looks and laughs at a’ that.
A king can make a belted knight
A marquis, duke and a’ that
But an honest man’s aboon his micht
Gude faith, he maunna fa’ all that
For a’ that, and a’ that
Their dignities and a’ that
The pith o’ sense and pride o’ worth
Are higher ranks than a’ that.
Then let us pray that come it may
As come it will for a’ that
That sense and worth o’er a’ the earth
May bear the gree and a’ that
For a’ that, and a’ that
It’s coming yet, for a’ that
When man to man the world o’er
Shall brithers be for a’ that.[/i]
is one choice. I do like the second verse.
[i]Scots Wha Hae
Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled
Scots, wham Bruce has aftimes led
Welcome tae your gory bed
Or to victorie
Now's the day and now's the hour
See the front o' battle lour
See approach proud Edward's power
Chains and slaverie
Wha wad be a traitor-knave?
Wha wad fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee
Wha for Scotland's king and law
Freedom's sword will strongly draw
Free-man stand, or free-man fa'
Let him follow me
By oppression's woes and pains
By our sons in servile chains
We will drain our dearest veins
But we shall be free
Lay the proud usurpers low
Tyrants fall in every foe
Liberty's in every blow
Let us do or dee[/i]
[quote=“TainanCowboy”][i]"This the wattle,
the symbol of our land.
You can put it in a bottle,
you can hold it in yer hand.
AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA!
WE LOVE YA!"[/i]
isn’t this the song?[/quote]Don’t think so mate, it goes something like this …ready boys
Traveling in a fried-out combie
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie… Sandman l know you want to take it from here
Seriously, Australian’s all let us rejoice for we are young and free, with goalden soil and wealth for toil, our home is girt by see. etc, quite boring but i can sing it. Aussie immigration, don’t get me started.
I can hum the Liechtenstein anthem, it has the same tune as “God Save the Queen”, the Spanish one is easy too, it has no words. The Greek one’s a bit tricky, the full version has 158 verses. The USA couldn’t come up with one by themselves as usual and used a British tune.
Huh? That would be news to me. Which British tune? I remember being told from a young age that the US anthem is unusually difficult to sing well as national anthems go. No wonder. It’s the Brits’ fault.
I bet the only Canadians who can sing the national anthem are either schoolchildren, elementary school teachers or work in hockey or government.
The words keep changing all the time to be less patriarchal, monotheistic, gender-specific, etc. Also, now there’s a whole verse in French which very few people outside of Quebec or the scattered French communities can sing, pronounce or remember.
Huh? That would be news to me. Which British tune? I remember being told from a young age that the US anthem is unusually difficult to sing well as national anthems go. No wonder. It’s the Brits’ fault. [/quote]
I think “Rule Britannia” or some twaddle got the treatment.
[quote=“TainanCowboy”][i]"This the wattle,
the symbol of our land.
You can put it in a bottle,
you can hold it in yer hand.
AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA!
WE LOVE YA!"[/i]
isn’t this the song?[/quote]
No no no, I’m pretty sure it’s
We have to sing every morning on Monday when we were in primary school to secondary school (Age 7 to 17) :s
Could not imagined how many times I have sung…
Not just our national anthem but also our state song and school song… I wondered why we have to sing so many songs when we gathered ??? Still a question to me.
National Anthem in Bahasa Malaysia:
Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku
Rakyat hidup bersatu dan maju
Rahmat bahgia, Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita selamat bertakhta
Rahmat bahgia, Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita selamat bertakhta.
I know a bit of the NZ one. I know the first and second verses and the first couple of lines of the fifth (of five) in English, and the first in Maaori. Christ, there are ten verses in the NZ anthem? God damn that’s a long one. Somehow we never learn the whole thing these days.
[quote=“God Defend New Zealand”]God of nations at thy feet
in the bonds of love we meet.
Hear our voices, we entreat,
God defend our free land.
Guard Pacific’s triple star
From the shafts of strife and war,
Make her praises heard afar,
God defend New Zealand.
Men of every creed and race
Gather here before thy face,
Asking thee to bless this place,
God defend our free land.
From dissension, envy, hate,
And corruption guard our state,
Make our country good and great,
God defend New Zealand.[/quote]
[quote=“E Ihoa Atua”]E Ihoa Atua,
O ngaa iwi maatou raa,
Aata whakarongona;
Me aroha noa.
Kia hua ko te pai;
Kia tau too atawhai;
Manaakitia mai
Aotearoa.[/quote]
