By Tate Papworth
A brawl that erupted in a St Albans street before Christmas had nothing to do with racial tensions, according to a leading member of the Vietnamese community.
Vietnamese Community in Australia (VCA) – Victorian Chapter vice president Dinh Tran said he believed the Alfrieda Street fight stemmed from a miscommunication.
“I don’t think this was a racial fight. It just happened to be in St Albans where the majority of business owners are Vietnamese – it could’ve happened anywhere,” he said.
“After the incident at Christmas, we knocked on doors of nearby restaurants to see how the incident was related.
“The owner of the shop where this happened told us he didn’t feel like it was a gang attack. It was some kids asking for cigarettes.
“A few words were exchanged back and forward and it escalated.”
Mr Tran said he’s had talks with Sudanese community leaders since the brawl.
“At this point, the VCA are engaged in constructive communication with Sudanese community leaders and discussing how we can … work together,” he said.
“We believe the South Sudanese community is facing a similar challenge that the Vietnamese community faced when we first arrived in Australia … we feel that we can support each other and foster a great relationship.
“We will not let past incidents affect the important social cohesion of our tolerant and multicultural community.”
Brimbank council and Victoria Police will also be invited to attend conversations in the near future.
Mr Tran said saturation media coverage surrounding African young people had helped spread misinformation and unwarranted fear.
“I think the media has exaggerated the issue,” he said.
“We can’t stop that, but as a community we can work together and find ways to improve our community.”
