A Reflection on Being Australian

by Joseph Kolapudi

What does it mean to be Australian?

I find myself asking this question rhetorically from time to time, but more often these days, it has become more of a quandary to answer. For me, I have found that my citizenship, though by birth, is something I often felt disconnected to, due to my cultural upbringing.

Growing up in a home where both my parents were born overseas, I was often reminded not to let go of my cultural roots; yet, whether by peer pressure or by personal experience, I was reminded daily that I did not belong.

Now in my thirties, it has taken over twenty years to finally come to terms with my dual culture as an Australian-born Indian, having spent some time living back in my homeland of India, while still calling Australia home.

Yet somehow, in all my travels, I could not shake the feeling of being welcomed in every country where I’ve proudly called myself an “Australian”, yet feeling like a perpetual foreigner in my own city which I call home.

On the 26th of January, there are definitely mixed feelings of patriotism on what it feels to be a citizen of this land of Australia. The question I now ask myself is the difference between being or becoming Australian.

In Scripture, the Apostle Paul also seemed to struggle on his dual identity as being raised as Jew, yet being born a Roman citizen. On more than one occasion, he had to bring up his citizenship as a Roman for the very sake of survival; and yet, he clung to his Jewish roots.

Where he eventually landed was the idea of actually being a citizen of a far grander land. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

Interestingly, the original Greek word used for citizenship is actually translated as “commonwealth”, which is where we get our word for community from. Undoubtedly, Paul’s connection with his Jewish brothers and sisters was a constant reminder that he would one day walk hand-in-hand with a greater, larger, wider community of believers under one King, the greatest of all.

Despite our own proclivities to being known as a person of one land, we can take comfort that, whatever our cultural background, we are all pilgrims on a journey to finding our true identity as citizens of that heavenly land we will one day call home.

About the author:

Joseph serves as part of the SU Australia’s Cultural Innovations and First Nations team. He loves sharing his heart for young people with those in his local community, and especially over a South Indian meal. In his spare time, he serves in his local church and writes of his travelling tales for a number of publications.