Lillian Saleh: Here Come the Habibs and the racial stereotypes

THE latest ethnic offering on TV is Here Come the Habibs. So who are the Habibs and what is it about them that has prompted such backlash before an episode has even aired, Lillian Saleh writes.

NOT since Jim, Effie and Memo from Acropolis Now faded from our TV screens more than 20 years ago has Australia been confronted with so much ethnic humour.

Acropolis Now was groundbreaking — introducing a wider Australian audience to Greek culture in the early 1990s thanks to the antics of Jim Stefanidis, who took over running the family’s cafe in Melbourne.

The show was created by Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris and Simon Palomares, who were also the brains behind the hugely successful Wogs out of Work.

SBS’s much-hyped The Family Law aired on Thursday — bringing to life the story of author and journalist Benjamin Law and his Chinese family growing up in Brisbane.

American show Jane the Virgin tells the story of Latina virgin Jane Villanueva who becomes pregnant after being artificially inseminated by mistake.

The Kumars at No 42 follows the exploits of a British Indian family, winning two Emmys along the away.

Locally we had cult hits Pizza and the movie Fat Pizza, which played up ethnicity and stereotypes.

And there’s the successful transition from stage to big screen this year of the play Alex and Eve, which tells the love story of Alex, a teacher whose parents are Greek, and Eve, a lawyer of Lebanese Muslim background.

Lillian Saleh.

The latest offering about to hit our screens is Channel 9’s Here Come the Habibs.

So who are the Habibs and what is it about them that has prompted such backlash before an episode has even aired?

There’s Fou Fou the singlet-wearing carpenter, his glamorous wife Mariam, their dumb son Toufic, the smart one Elias, and croptop-wearing daughter Layla, who is attached to her mobile phone.

From the teasers it’s obvious this show is going to play on every single Middle Eastern stereotype — complete with the trademark tracksuits, big hair and loud voices.

Among the show’s creators are Rob Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic — both successful comedians who have carved out careers laughing at themselves and their cultural backgrounds — Shehadie being of Lebanese descent, while Bilgic is Turkish.

The show doesn’t air until February. But already we know the family has struck it rich, using their Lotto winnings to move from Lakemba to a mansion in Vaucluse. (If this was based on real stereotypes they wouldn’t have moved — they would have just bought their neighbours’ property and built a wog mansion.)

Then there are the next-door neighbours the O’Neil family — Jack and Olivia O’Neill and their daughter Madison — whitebread made of old-school money.

And, it seems, plenty of misconceptions about those from different backgrounds.

The keyboard warriors — who have watched less than a minute of teaser footage — have been harsh, unleashing on social media and launching petitions to have the show taken off before it’s even aired.

“Won’t bother having a TV soon if this is the rubbish we are presented with. What level of intelligence do you think viewers have, Channel 9,” asked Deborah Ann Peters.

Leila Desborough: “Cant (sic) believe you would support such racist stuff especially with the tensions already in the community.”

It’s amazing how people automatically assume the Habib family is Muslim.

Nowhere have the creators or producers made reference to the family’s religion.

Here Comes the Habibs stars Kat Hoyos, as Layla, and Georgia Flood, as Madison. Picture: Channel Nine

There’s no denying the Australian Muslim community has its issues.

But Islam isn’t a race — it’s a religion. And it is unfair to paint every person of Middle Eastern background as a terrorist or Muslim.

For the record, the Habib family is Christian. I have lost count of the times someone has asked me where I am from.

They are never satisfied when I tell them I was born at the Royal Hospital for Women in Paddington.

They are only satisfied when I reply Lebanon — even though my parents have called Australia home for more than 40 years.

The show will certainly have its cringe-worthy moments, especially if you are of Lebanese descent and for your entire life have had to put up with jokes about the smelly cabbage rolls mum packed for your school lunch.

But we are more than our food.

You will find we are generous, funny and love to laugh at ourselves as much as you like taking the piss out of us.

So what is it about Middle Eastern people that Australia finds so offensive?

Now before you slam me and bring up the Lindt siege and all the arrests from Operation Appleby: The abhorrent, disgusting, totally unacceptable actions of a few do not define the majority.

Just as not all Australians are held accountable for the actions of Port Arthur mass-murderer Martin Bryant, not all people of Middle Eastern background should be tarnished with the same brush.

And for some reason it seems all those of Middle Eastern backgrounds are incorrectly deemed to be Lebanese. And all Lebanese are incorrectly deemed Muslim.

Some of the Braxton brothers on Home and Away are murderers and thieves, yet there is some sort of romantic attachment to them because they are good-looking Aussie surfer boys.

Would we feel the same way towards them if they were three shades darker and had the surname Barakat?

Australians of Lebanese background have a proud record of achievement.

There is former governor Marie Bashir, her equally successful husband Sir Nicholas Shehadie. Steve Bracks, the former premier of Victoria. Australia’s rugby coach Michael Cheika. Businessmen John Symond of Aussie Home Loans and Australia Post CEO Ahmed Fahour.

There are actors Firass Dirani, Natalie Saleeba, Doris Younane and George Basha. Designers Joseph Saba, Steven Khalil and George Elsissa.

But it seems a commercial network show about a family who is loud and burst into song and dance is too much.

Would there be such backlash if the Habibs were Italian, French or Greek? I think not.