The real story they didn't teach you in school — Lebanese Australia fights back.
50 minSeason 1 • Episode 4
LatestAfter the Cronulla Beach riots in December 2005, lots of Lebanese Australians were left outraged at what they perceive as an attack by wider Australia on their Australian identity, their culture and religion. After rumours spread of reprisals against the Lakemba Mosque thousands met up to protect the building.
Tells the inside story of the challenges the Lebanese Australian community has faced in Australia and how they have fought to overcome them. This landmark documentary series hears from community leaders, police, families and individuals, as they combine to tell the compelling and dramatic story of a proud and resilient community, under intense pressure and scrutiny. The story begins in the 1970s when large numbers of Lebanese migrants flooded into Australia. Many were Muslim, most were traumatised by civil war, all were desperate to build a better future. Over the coming decades, these new Australians struggled to establish a new life in their adopted country.
Direction
Intimate access that mainstream media never granted.
Writing
First-person narratives dismantle decades of lazy headlines.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Punchbowl became shorthand for 'Middle Eastern gangs' in Australian media, a label this series systematically dismantles through archival footage and firsthand accounts.
The series reveals how Lebanese Australians strategically used documentary participation to reclaim narrative control after decades of sensationalist reporting.
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