Migration and Settlement of African People in Australia

Abstract

Australia is a country that hosts millions of migrants from different countries and continents. This chapter presents the migration history of African Australians and the settlement challenges encountered by these families and individuals. In the last two decades, there has been a growing number of African communities in Australia. African people migrate to Australia for many reasons, including job-seeking and civil wars caused by race, religion, nationality, and membership in particular social or political groups. In the 2020 census, over 400,000 people living in Australia recorded they were of African origin. This represents 1.6% of the Australian population and 5.1% of Australia’s overseas-born population. Most (58%) are white South Africans, but 42% are black Africans from sub-Saharan countries. Some people within these African populations did not settle well or adjust effectively to Australian society due to Australia’s predominantly Anglo-Saxon culture. Therefore, this chapter discusses migration and settlement issues faced by African community groups in Australia.

1. Introduction

African people began migrating to Australia from America before 1976 as former slaves, from Britain as convicts, and from Africa after the abolition of the White Australia Policy. However, the decision to migrate and resettle is something that can be exciting and daunting for families and individuals [1]. People choose to migrate to second or even third countries for many reasons including fleeing conflict, seeking jobs, reuniting with family members, and so on. Deciding to migrate often involves consideration of where to settle and how to seek connection with local community groups. In other words, “settlement” involves engagement or participation in local communities. It is also about seeking to belong within the local community. This chapter presents migration and settlement challenges faced by African people in Australia. Ultimately, the Australian Government has a responsibility to engage new migrants in the workforce as one of the pathways to help them settle more effectively and integrate into mainstream Australian society. Assisting migrants and refugees to participate in important social dimensions such as employment and sport has a substantial impact and positive outcome on settlement. Engagement in employment and sport brings benefits in well-being, health, social networks, and positive family relationships/parenting which is good for society and people that are involved in such activities. On the opposite side, a lack of engagement for people from refugee backgrounds in positive activities can come with negative consequences such as mental health problems, domestic violence, and dysfunctional families. However, supporting people to obtain meaningful employment can improve their well-being and the well-being of their families as they become autonomous from welfare which gives them self-esteem and financial benefits [1, 2].

2. The migration and settlement of African people in Australia

African migrants first arrived in Australia as former slaves from America, as convicts from Britain, and more recently as refugees. This sets the scene for the current challenges African migrants face settling in Australia [2, 3]. However, before 1976, many of the migrants coming from Africa to Australia were white South Africans and White Zimbabweans. This was because of the White Australian Policy that allowed only white people to come to Australia during that time. The abandonment of the White Australian Policy allowed many African people to migrate to Australia through the humanitarian program because of civil war and ethnic cleansing in Africa to seek protection and a better place to live [1, 2, 3]. However, settlement was quite challenging for some individuals and families due to many reasons such as unemployment, racism and discrimination, language barriers, and lack of workforce skills required in Australia.

In recent years, young people from African community groups in Melbourne, for example, have not been settling well in schools due to bullying and discrimination. This raises the question of belonging and integration of people from African backgrounds. These concerns create anxiety among families and individuals as well as generate debates in the community about the future of migration for people from Africa, particularly those from refugee camps. This is because some politicians expressed their resentment toward African groups, calling them failed community groups that cannot integrate well into Australian society [2]. This kind of resentment was also labeled as racist and discriminatory by the African community leaders and community members, who argued many young people from different community groups and walks of life engage in anti-social behaviors and criminal activities [1].

Having worked with African-Australian community groups as a social worker, there have been many success stories and contributions made by African−Australians that were not captured by the media. For instance, African−Australians have made contributions in different fields such as sports, community services, law firms, academics, business, and many other fields. This is something that must be acknowledged and recognized as part of successful migration and settlement.

3. Resettlement and protection of refugees

The concept of refugee protection emerged during World War II, resulting in the Convention on Refugees and subsequently the establishment of the UNHCR [4, 5, 6]. Refugees are people who have fled their homeland, often due to political instability, repression, and violent conflict. They leave to escape oppressive discrimination or severe physical and mental harm [4]. Such sudden departures generally mean refugees do not have the opportunity to pack their belongings or say farewell to loved ones [7, 8, 9]. It is fundamentally important to know that journey of refugees is always full of uncertain feelings and danger with unforeseen issues. It is a secret journey with fear of persecution, trauma, and hopelessness without knowing the future clearly and if they will return or not ever return to their homeland [8].

We know that the term “refugee resettlement” is a positive concept to remove people from difficult situations to a better place. It is a term commonly used to explain the relocation of refugees from second country of asylum to a third country with the idea that third country is for permanent resettlement and integration in host community. The aim is that third country is responsible for providing settlement support services for refugees and helping them to integrate with society and system of the host society as a way of their needs. Refugee resettlement and integration is a very complex process. However, it is generally considered a durable solution to refugee problems [see [10, 11, 12]]. Refugees are assessed and accepted for resettlement when they meet the criteria set out by the UN Convention [1, 3, 5]. The challenges that refugee people experience are significant and multi-faceted [7, 13]. Large numbers of refugees who are waiting to be assessed and resettled currently live in refugee and displacement camps worldwide, such as the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where many African-Australians have lived before migrating to Australia. Some also come from other refugee camps in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Egypt. These camps are characterized by shortages of food, inadequate medical services, and lack of sanitation [14, 15, 16].

Furthermore, these refugees encountered some additional issues such as hardships and physical deprivations, some of the vulnerable refugees experienced a high level of traumatic events before their arrival in the refugee camps. Some had witnessed execution, death of loved ones, and busses such as rape, torture, psychological deprivation, looting, and destruction. These challenges and lived experiences can have overwhelming psychological and emotional impacts on individuals and families. Some researchers have already recognized these difficulties and suffering of refugees from divergent degrees of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) [4, 12, 15, 16]. The complexity of refugees’ pre-settlement experiences and the impact of these experiences on individuals and families place pressure on countries to ensure that they can adequately support arriving refugees at both a policy and service level [9, 15]. Host countries are providing resettlement and settlement programs as part of their contributions and global commitment to humanity by taking a share in protection of refugees. They provided resettlement and settlement support services voluntarily. Protection and resettlement of refugees is a responsible idea to do in face of humanity and it is a durable solution for refugees who cannot return to their countries of origin [6]. The role of host countries included, but was not limited to providing access to resources, facilitation of integration, and provision of support services [1, 2, 6, 17]. These issues critical for the South Sudanese community in Australia and in the context of this study. Families and individuals are struggling with resettlement and may need support services to overcome settlement issues.

4. Policy and practice: refugee settlement in Australia

Australia has a history of resettling refugees and migrants via humanitarian programs. Australia is a signatory to the United Nations 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to the subsequent 1967 Protocol [18, 19]. This means that Australia agrees to protect refugees and is one of the countries that accepts refugees for resettlement. The 1951 Convention clearly defined a refugee as a person who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it” [6]. The Humanitarian Resettlement Program in Australia began in 1947, with the resettlement of European Displaced Persons (DPs) who were displaced by World War II (31) and resettled to Australia under the auspices and accommodation of the International Refugee Organization (IRO), the immediate precursor of the UNHCR. Australia started resettling refugees in 1947 and more than 800,000 refugees from different countries and nationalities have been resettled. They rebuilt their lives in Australia and called Australia home [4, 11, 20, 21]. Between 1933 and 1939, for example, more than 7000 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany were settled [22]. In 1937, the Australian Jewish Welfare Society pioneered the first refugee settlement support services, with financial assistance from the Australian government [23]. However, Australia also has a history of discriminating against certain ethnicities. The Restriction Act 1901, which became known as the White Australia Policy, limited immigration to Australia on the basis of ethnicity [11, 20]. When this White Australia Policy ended in 1975, the Racial Discrimination Act was introduced. The agenda of multicultural debate started to grow strongly politically. However, it took time for the federal government to put this multicultural agenda into the National Policy for Multicultural Australia. The aim of multicultural policy is to achieve a harmonious and friendly society based on Australian values by recognizing diversity as a positive contribution to the workforce within Australian culture [23, 24]. This was the time when first Vietnamese refugees came in 1975 by boat. As a result, many refugees started arriving from Asia, Middle East, and Africa. In the recent decade, many refugees have come to countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Bhutan, Somalia, Burma, Iraq, Sudan, Burundi, Congo, and other countries [1, 2, 4, 11, 20].

The idea of multiculturalism embraced diversity and differences as a public policy designed by the government in response to the expectation of society with nationalities with different cultural practices. There are three main dimensions of multicultural policy identified by the government. First dimension is a cultural identity as a right of all Australians to express their cultural heritage including language and celebration of religion. The second dimension is social justice as a right of all Australians to equal treatment, opportunity, and the elimination of barriers of race, ethnicity, culture, religion, language, gender, or place of birth. The third dimension is economic efficiency, the need to maintain, develop, and effectively utilize the skills and talents of all Australians, regardless of background [1, 2, 25].

With this multicultural society in mind, refugee community groups are considered disadvantaged and thus deserving of special consideration under social inclusion services [24]. Social inclusion has become an important policy initiative for state governments, and it often generates debate about which groups are socially excluded and why [23, 24]. Social exclusion is viewed as a significant social cost, since it pushes new arrivals to the edge of society and prevents them from participating fully in society due to their poverty, lack of basic competencies, limited lifelong learning opportunities, and ongoing discrimination [1, 2, 4]. People from refugee backgrounds often experienced poverty in displaced camps, refugee camps, their home countries, and in their interim countries before their resettlement. The poverty experienced is additional to war, conflict, disruption of life, and basic activities such as education, farming, and business. This is one of the reasons why formal education is absent from some refugees. However, some refugees are well-educated or literate in their own language and English. These are people who have attended formal education in their countries before the war displaced them. Some also attended education in refugee camps [1, 2]. Many refugees in Australia do face problems in workforce due to lack of experience in workforce and institutional discrimination. Australian workforce can be more complex compared to their previous work experiences in their countries. Also, life in refugee camps denied them to get work experience in big institutions such as banks, hospitals, schools, and hotels prior to their arrival in Australia [7]. The combination of unfamiliarity with systems and lack of confidence and ability to communicate effectively in English created a struggle to access meaningful employment opportunities. Lack of participation or limited participation in society denied refugees the power and make relevant decisions for their lives. They often feel powerless, confused, and unable to control their lives, their families, and their children [1, 2, 4, 26]. On the other hand, young people from African community want to be free citizens like other young people in Australian mainstream community groups. They want to be viewed as young people that want to participate in a multicultural society without many expectations of them. They see the idea of inclusive society as something that not working sometimes for them when they are extremely judgmental by the media and politicians who want to promote their politics in a negative way. Some of these politicians that are promoting negative debates about minority community groups in Australia as “African Gang” are clearly violating the multicultural and social inclusion policy. One of the principles of social inclusion policy is a promotion of harmony that allows all Australians to feel valued and welcome to participate freely without discrimination and exclusion. Social policy promotes the idea of diversity and celebration of diversity regardless of status and cultural background. It is also about celebrating the benefits of diversity in a multicultural society with the commitment to social cohesion [4, 25].

The Australian Government’s concept of social policy and the principles of multiculturalism are particularly relevant to the African community groups that are faced some barriers to participation in employment and sport as well as many other areas. Benefits of participation are very clear and highly needed by the vulnerable community groups and families that are struggling with isolation. This study demonstrates general experiences of African community groups in Australia and these experiences are contradicting the social inclusion policy and the principles of multiculturalism in areas of employment, participation in sports, and other important decisions or powers. People from African community groups are more likely to experience some subtle and explicit forms of racism and discrimination in different fields including workplace and sports [1, 2, 4].

5. Settlement of refugees: a challenging process

Settlement support services are provided by the Australia humanitarian program. This program manages and provides settlement support services to newly arrived families and individuals. However, these support services are delivered by non-governmental originations that are funded to provide settlement support services.

While general resettlement issues for refugees have been discussed above, this section discusses settlement issues that are of particular significance to the South Sudanese community in Australia. “Refugee settlement” is a term used when refugees arrive in Australia and require a range of support services to establish themselves and become independent in a new cultural and social context [see [4, 27]]. Settlement is a complex process that requires support from the host community, government, and non-government agencies to address different challenges [4, 7, 28].

Refugees have sometimes been perceived as a burden on receiving countries. This notion of burden has been central to both policy and research debates about displacement and protection [29]. Such political and community concerns are indicative of the global challenge of refugee resettlement amidst decreasing numbers of refugees being able to return voluntarily to their countries [30]. The difficulty of settlement is exaggerated by their connection to place and creation of a sense of belonging in local place. Having a sense of belonging can assist in feeling safe and connected to local community activities. This increases interest in participation in upcoming community activities or events with confidence [2, 31]. Host community can assist in navigating connections and access to community activities if refugees are not received as troublesome to host community groups. According to the 1951 Convention, protection of refugees was a responsible action for countries to protect and resettle refugees in non-discriminatory way. Countries are also responsible for ensuring that participation of refugees in host society is fully participated by the government of the country hosting refugees [1, 2, 4, 6]. Settlement of refugees in host communities is a two-way process in relation in term of cultural understanding and expectations of integration. There is a great need for partnership between organizations that are supporting refugees and the host community. Settlement of refugees can be made better by the host community by welcoming and engaging refugees in meaningful programs or activities that make them feel welcome with the spirit of hospitality and not an environment where they are viewed as “other” or people with problems [1, 2].

As already discussed above, refugee settlement is a final phase, and are meant to be integrated into their host communities. It is time when individuals and families required some support to be connected in community groups and activities to participate in meaningful activities such as sports for young people. They also required some support and connection to develop and build their social and economic independence [1, 2, 32, 33]. However, we know that from the research, settlement is an ongoing process for people from refugee backgrounds. It is not something that can be achieved overnight as it is a process that involved many challenges such as adapting to a new place and a new community with a new language cannot be an easy task to overcome in short period of time [1, 2, 28]. Settlement challenges include lack of social capital and language acquisition to assist in navigating systems and integration processes. This can be daunting task for individuals and families if they are not well supported regardless of the level of education they obtained in their previous countries. These challenges can overshadow some benefits for refugees during the settlement period [1, 2, 4, 7]. The impact of integrating into a new society can cause high levels of stress and anxiety [11, 21]. Refugees often experience intense homesickness and isolation which are aggravated by culture shock that further hinders their ability to begin a new life in Australia [4]. To reduce these challenges, there is a need to promote optimal well-being strategies to help people to manage stress and adjustments to settlement issues. Settlement programs should be funded to support emotional and personal well-being of people from refugee backgrounds. It is important to assist people with prevention of mental health issues are they are more likely to be developed by individuals and families. Refugee people need support to rebuild their lives from what they lost or missed in their lives. This should be seen as part of the settlement package for refugees [1, 2, 34]. The studies in this area of refugee settlement have generated enough evidence globally. Some of the critical themes are discussed in the context of this chapter in terms of understanding forced migration, displacement, and settlement of migrants in Australia. Prominent themes of relevance include drivers of displacement and forced migration, legal and moral frameworks, and experiences in refugee camps and countries of resettlement [see, for example [3, 4, 5]]. Some positive factors identified in this research that are useful in helping refugee people overcome settlement issues and contribute better include feeling safe from discrimination and racism, getting secure and well-paid employment, participation in local community meetings without encountering prejudices or negative judgments, feeling supported at school and in community, buying home raise family and many others [1, 2, 4, 11, 14]. These studies have discussed general challenges faced by refugees in Australia but have not critiqued policies and ways forward to address issues on a broader level as African people are still experiencing unemployment issues and discrimination in Australia. In some cases, the treatment of refugees and their access to meaningful resources is something that is influenced by the politics in Australia. When some politicians choose to use negative language calling young people from Africa as “African gang” level of racism and discrimination increases in community against people of African heritage [1, 2, 35]. This was because of some politicians and media promoting fearmongering and exposing African Australians as a desirable group in Australia. Levels of abuse and racial attacks were noticed in community and at schools by children. In Australia, there is interesting culture and attitude toward newly arrived groups. Newly arrived groups often generated debates in public about who is responsible when there is something wrong. There is often a blame game about why they are in first place or why they are not deported back to where they came from. This was a case with African community or “African gang” debates with some blaming that they are not able to integrate in Australia according to the Australian values. This happened with the group that came by boat to asylum in Australia. They were managed by the federal government in detention centers, but public debate increased with some calling for deportation [1, 2, 4, 36, 37]. Many of these recent debates in the media have attempted to distinguish between “good” and “bad” refugees. “Bad” refugees are those who “jump the queue”, meaning they arrive by boat and not through the formal UNHCR channels [4, 37]. The majority of African people in Australia who arrived via UNHCR work in refugee camps. Despite this, they are often still labeled as “undesirable” refugees in political and media discourse because of their settlement-related challenges in Australia, which have been both exaggerated and widely misreported by the mainstream media [4, 36, 37]. Therefore, understanding this history and these challenges facing people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in Australia, including people from African community groups, is vital in policy and practice contexts.

6. Conclusion

This chapter discussed migration and settlement challenges faced by families and individuals from African backgrounds during migration and settlement. The majority of African migrants in Australia came because of war and other challenges including political prosecution. However, people from minority community groups appear to find settlement challenging due to a lack of support services available to community groups or families/individuals. Families and young people from African community groups often find themselves in trouble with many settlement issues in Australia. The settlement of African community groups has been negatively publicized in the media and African community groups are thus often viewed negatively.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge that this chapter was written as part of a PhD research project conducted between 2014 and 2018 at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.