Why my heart and soul belong to Australia
Why do I love Australia so much when I am not an Australian citizen yet and 28 of 32 years of my life were spent in Pakistan? I belong to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, which is persecuted in Pakistan. Even after paying tax, I am unable to vote in the country of my birth. I cannot greet in public or practise my religion, and I have been denied the most basic of human rights. Australia has provided me with security, respect, equality, religious freedom, a job and a good education for my children. In return, I try my best to contribute in making this great country even better by doing voluntary work and teaching my kids to be loyal, law-abiding citizens. I will always be ready to protect the great Australian values, which makes it the best country in the world.Asif Khan, Mount Druitt, NSW
Dark shadows hang over our country 
I arrived in this country just before   January 26, 1948. I was a refugee from Eastern Europe, aged nine. The first Australia Day passed me by. At school I was taught about Captain Cook's discovery of Australia and the rapid settlement and civilisation of the country. There was a faint undercurrent of the violence of convict settlement and the savage reality of Aboriginal dispossession. Now, during the Australia Day celebrations, we read of the ongoing harshness to innocent people in detention centres run in our name. I wish I could be proud of being an Australian.
Eve Addis, Blackburn
Commemorating slaughter and oppression
Martin Flanagan's article (Forum, 23/1) touched me and he is right. Why should we commemorate a date which led to the slaughter and oppression of the original Australians? But we do not need John Howard to solve the problem, other than to negotiate the political solution. The appropriate date to recognise and celebrate our modern nation is   September 17, 1900, the date that Queen Victoria gave royal assent to the bill setting up the Australian commonwealth through federation of her then colonies, to be inaugurated on   January 1, 1901. (It would be pointless to celebrate   January 1 as it is already a public holiday.)
John Miller, Hawthorn
Seeking a true 'national day' for Australia
I agree with Martin Flanagan about   January 26. At least two other days should be considered if we wish to have a "national day". The first is   May 27, 1967, when, by referendum, the nation agreed Indigenous people would be counted as part of the population. The second is   June 3, 1992, when the High Court decided the doctrine of terra nullius was invalid and that Indigenous people had historic rights to land. There may be other days, but they should recognise that our history and culture is based on more than just 228 years of colonisation. Unfortunately, given the political leadership on both sides, I am not holding my breath waiting for the debate to begin.
Richard Rawson, Mount Waverley
  January 26 - a day for genuine celebration
Few Australians will agree with Martin Flanagan that "the great historical divide is between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians". If a division exists, it is between defenders of traditional Australia and those who seek to transform it. We traditionalists support the Crown, the flag, our primary connection with the motherland, Britain, and the rule of law as it was bequeathed to us by our forebears from that nation. For us, Australia Day is the best day for celebration as it marks the moment when our nation - one of the most successful in the world - was born.
Nigel Jackson, Belgrave