I was in a working situation with a 17 year old Somali lad. To break the ice we were chatting about a few things. He told me about Somalia / Somaliland and the history leading up to the current situation where there is no government - NONE (no embassies, no passports, no government stuff) - which, for me, living in a stable country which sometimes seems to have TOO MUCH government, seems pretty unimaginable...
But that's not what I'm writing about...
He asked me about Australia. He asked, who were the Somalis before Europeans got to Australia? I explained that the people who lived there before Europeans got there are called Aboriginal. He then asked whether they live in the jungle. I answered that many live in the desert but some live in cities. Though they are very poor.
We then changed topics and I wondered whether I said the right thing. I realised how much you compromise when you explain about your country's history in a few lines. I felt bad about claiming all Aboriginal people are poor - which is not true and fits a dubious Australian stereotype... but I didn't know where to begin. I guess I wanted to show the effects of colonialism on 'my country', compared to his. I guess I also wanted to show that I knew of the nastier side of Australian history, that I could 'own up to it'. But I also knew I misrepresented things. And I didn't say enough.