Bankstown Boys
For many of us spending time with friends is something we take for granted. But if you’re a young person from a Non English Speaking Background, living in western Sydney, just hanging out with your mates often means getting ‘moved on’ by the police.
Over the past few years, the media portrayal of young people from multicultural backgrounds has been largely negative. The overall stereotyping of youth as ‘trouble-makers’ hanging around in gangs hasn’t helped much in terms of how the wider community sees them. As a result, young men in particular get a rough time because they’re the ones generally targeted by people in positions of authority.
Elissar Mukhtar headed to the streets of Bankstown to hear some of the concerns faced by young men in the area, who gave her a snapshot of life in the west. She also spoke to Steve Vam, a youth outreach worker and the beat-boxing singer featured was Susan Chamma.