In his role as Race Discrimination Commissioner for the Australian Human Rights Commission, Dr Tim Soutphommasane is required to travel. A few times a week he boards a plane. He’s not scared of flying, but this is a part of the job he’s come to dread.
Soutphommasane, who is a first-generation Australian born to Chinese and Lao parents, says when he hands his boarding pass over to the flight attendant, he’ll get one of three responses. Some will say, “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know how to pronounce that. How do you pronounce that?” Others will have a go – and will often succeed or get very close.
