758: 船槳的家——從《Odyssey》看維多利亞的新故鄉

今年，《Odyssey》這部電影，再次搬上大銀幕。三千年前，一位古希臘詩人，寫下了這個英雄回家的故事。但其實，故事真正的結局，說的是另一件事: 人，如何在陌生的土地上，重新建立家。

奧德修斯終於回到伊薩卡。但先知提瑞西阿斯，早已告訴他：回家，不是終點。

「你要拿著你的船槳，走到一個從未見過大海的地方。當有人把你的船槳，誤認為一件農具，你就把船槳，埋在那裡。那裡，才是你真正的新家。」

這不是要奧德修斯忘記伊薩卡。而是提醒他：過去，是用來尊重的，不是用來停留的。真正的人生，是帶著過去的記憶，在新的土地上，建立新的家庭。

今天的澳洲，也站在同一個十字路口。超過三分之一的澳洲人，出生於海外。這群人都在學習，如何把這裡，叫做「家」。同一時間，超過六成的澳洲人，在這裡出生、長大, 但他們眼前的城市、社區、生活方式，也在過去三十年間，徹底改變。他們也在學習，如何在一個不再是童年模樣的地方，重新叫它做「家」。

過去三十年，這個轉變，一直沒有人正視。有些新移民，只願意留在自己的圈子裡，

不願意走出去，不願意讓自己，成為澳洲的一部分。有些本地居民，面對經濟與社區的改變，選擇的不是理解，而是恐懼。於是，有政黨提出，限制移民、減少移民，

彷彿只要人少了，昨天就會回來。但，昨天不會回來。

拒絕融入的一方，和拒絕改變的一方，其實犯了同一個錯：他們都不願意面對過去，也不願意面對未來。

而過去三十年，各級政府，只顧討論經濟、房屋、移民數字，卻沒有人問過一句：

「我們是否已經準備好，一起建立新的澳大利亞？」

我相信，政府的責任，不只是建設道路與房屋。政府也應該建設「歸屬感」。

我希望，每一項政策，都能夠多問一句：這項政策，是否能幫助不同背景的人，一起建立共同的澳大利亞？

教育，不應只是教授英語，更應教導共同的價值。社區服務，不應只是提供福利，更應建立彼此的友誼與信任。多元文化政策，不應只是保存各自的文化，更應該建立我們共同的文化。

我的夢想，很簡單。我希望，二十年後，今天剛剛抵達的新移民，會說：「澳大利亞，就是我的家。」我也希望，在這裡出生的人，會說：「今天的澳洲，雖然和我童年不一樣，但我依然以她為榮。」

《Odyssey》留給我們最後的提醒是：真正的故鄉，不是我們曾經擁有的昨天。

而是，我們願意一起，動手建造的明天。我把我的船槳，放在這片土地上。

周偉文 社長

Finding a New Homeland in Australia Through the Odyssey

This year, The Odyssey returns to the big screen. Nearly three thousand years ago, an ancient Greek poet wrote the story of a hero’s journey home. Yet the true ending of the story is about something much deeper: how people build a new home in an unfamiliar land.

Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca. But the prophet Tiresias had already warned him that coming home would not be the end of his journey.

“Take your oar and walk inland until you reach a place where people have never seen the sea. When someone mistakes your oar for a farming tool, bury it there. That is where your true new home will be.”

This was not a call for Odysseus to forget Ithaca. Rather, it was a reminder that the past is to be honoured, not lived in. The real journey of life is to carry the memories of the past while building a new family and a new home in a new land.

Australia today stands at a similar crossroads. More than one-third of Australians were born overseas. They are all learning how to call this country “home.” At the same time, more than sixty per cent of Australians were born and raised here, yet the cities, neighbourhoods, and way of life they once knew have been transformed over the past thirty years. They too are learning how to call home a place that no longer looks the way it did in their childhood.

For the past three decades, this transformation has largely gone unaddressed. Some new migrants have chosen to remain within their own communities, reluctant to step beyond them or become fully part of Australian society. Some long-time residents, confronted by economic and social change, have responded not with understanding but with fear. As a result, some political parties have proposed reducing migration, as though fewer newcomers could somehow bring back yesterday. But yesterday will not return.

Those who refuse to integrate and those who refuse to embrace change are, in truth, making the same mistake. Neither is willing to come to terms with the past or face the future.

For the past thirty years, governments at every level have focused on the economy, housing, and migration numbers. Yet few have asked the most important question: “Are we ready to build a new Australia together?”

I believe the responsibility of government extends beyond building roads and houses. Government should also help build a sense of belonging.

Every public policy should ask one additional question: Will this help people from different backgrounds build a shared Australia together?

Education should do more than to teach English; it should also nurture our shared values. Community services should provide more than welfare; they should foster friendship and mutual trust. Multiculturalism should not simply preserve separate cultures; it should help create a culture that we all share.

My dream is simple: Twenty years from now, I hope that those arriving in Australia today will be able to say, “Australia is my home.” I also hope that those born here will be able to say, “Australia is different from the country I knew as a child, but I am still proud to call her home.”

The final lesson The Odyssey leaves us is this: Our true homeland is not the yesterday we once possessed. It is the tomorrow that we are willing to build together. And so, I lay down my oar on this land.

Mr. Raymond Chow, Publisher