It’s the fourth night of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. It is a time of contemplation, of family, of fasting during the day and eating small meals at night. In Australia, as the days begin to get longer, there are an extra set of challenges. Many young men, low on energy during the day, and emboldened by full bellies in the evening, find themselves at a loose end.
In Melbourne’s northern suburbs, where the majority of the Muslim population lives, Ramadan can be a frustrating time. Many recent migrants live in this area, having come over from such places as Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, and other parts of North Africa with their parents when young.
Torn between familial duties and religious observance on the one hand, and the tempting opportunities of a more affluent society on the other—and hemmed in by a lack of education, access to services, and a sense of being “outsiders” in their new communities—these young men often end up feeling frustrated, alienated, and at a loose end within their own new “homes”.
It’s a phenomenon by no means unique to Melbourne. In fact, the underlying reasons for this marginalisation are repeated over and over. Just as my family came to Australia in the ‘20s, and naturally gravitated towards other Italians in the community; just as the Vietnamese who came over during the ‘70s gravitated towards a burgeoning Vietnamese community. It’s natural. On the other hand, it can contribute to an “us and them” sense of disquiet within local communities.
In years gone by, during Ramadan, the young men of this community would congregate after sundown, and another day of fasting, and do what came naturally, and what everyone could do equally, and freely. They would play football.
Until 1am, 2am, 3am, they would mill about under the bright lights of the commission housing buildings, talk, play, laugh and relax. Of course, at 3am, with footballs flying about everywhere, and laughter ringing out in front of many, many bedrooms windows, other people, other microcosmic communities within these towers, who had not been fasting all day, would ring the police and complain.
The gatherings would be broken up, the men would disperse; the alienation and the sense of “outsider-ness” would be confirmed.
This went on until 1999, when the Carlton YMCA, the Victorian police, and St Jude’s church put their heads together to try and provide