Over 20,000 refugees from the Horn of Africa have been resettled to Australia in the past decade. (See the recent report of a project I worked on: Sustaining Settlement of Sudanese in Murray Bridge South Australia)
“The media and public opinion in Australia seldom, if ever, addresses the fact that so many people from African countries are succeeding in building new lives, as well as contributing to the richness of the social, cultural and economic fabric of Australia.
A major attribute of refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa is their resilience and adaptability. As well, there are many who are facing major challenges and problems in the process of settling into a new and vastly different country and culture.”
This report We have a voice, hear us: settlement experiences of refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa, lets the Africans in Australia speak for themselves.
Here is a sample:
On being informed of acceptance to come to Australia:
“I am going to paradise, I will be staying in a beautiful house, I will learn English and will be living with friendly, supportive people who accepted people to come to their country. I expect everything to be good.” (Refugee from Sudan)
On the resilience of African refugees:
“I see my refugee experience as strength not a weakness, I have survived a lot and Australians can learn a lot from our journey, our experiences, our way of thinking. We can be inspirational if we are allowed to express ourselves.” (Refugee from Somalia)
Not feeling at home:
“I don’t think about going back to Sudan because there is still a war going on, but I think about going back to Kenya. I felt at home in Kenya…here I feel like I am not in my country…I feel like an unwanted visitor. When you go out people look at you funny and in a train they will not sit next to you unless the train is full and yours is the only seat they have left.” (Refugee from Sudan)
On feeling at home:
“Australia is one place you can do something normal, live a normal live in a multicultural place that is secure.” (Refugee from Sudan)
A possie in Aussie 
The 20,000 African refugees mentioned in this article, all seem to be sitting idle in Blacktown at Australian taxpayers expense. It’s a ghetto forming right under the noses of our illustrious politicians. I for one, strongly resent this experiment in social engineering. Australia is an Anglo-Saxon country, and I want to keep it that way. It’s probably gone too far, as these foreigners breed faster than we do. NOT HAPPY
Comment by J. Whitaker — September 5, 2009 @ 5:35 pm |
Hi
I agree that ghettos may be forming, but not all Africans are in Blacktown getting the dole.
I work with Sudanese in Murray Bridge who are more than 100% employed- that is, several have more than one full time job!.
They have moved from the city because, despite their best efforts, they can’t get work there. There is plenty of work (and cheap housing) in Murray Bridge.
Why did they not get wok in Adelaide, Melbourne or Sydney? Who knows. I think it is because employers don’t want to ‘take a risk’ on Africans if they can get
‘whites’ -call it racism if you will, or call it caution – it means that many many Africans try over and over to get employment, and over and over again get knocked back.
Nayano
Comment by nayano — September 5, 2009 @ 6:03 pm |