"There may indeed be problems in the resettling of some African refugees, but these are not strictly of their making; rather, they represent the bridging of a wretched, traumatised past and a new, vastly different, society with its own rules and structures. Just as the refugees must learn to adapt, so, too, should Australians learn to be encouraging, not dismissive. For example, African migrants in Dandenong are able to enrol in a driver-education program set up in response to a spate of incidents, including drink-driving. In May, Victoria Police sent two officers to Sudan to learn about a culture that includes an inherent distrust of those in authority. The man who sent the officers, Assistant Commissioner Paul Evans, told ABC Radio yesterday that such prejudices would be overcome, but in time. "There's no quick fix," he said.
No such compassion or understanding is to be found in the Government's own quick fix. Instead there is dispassion and obduracy, along with the ominous feeling that Australia is tightening its borders for short-term political advantage that can only further this country's unfortunate racially intolerant reputation. Is this really how we want to be seen by the rest of the world?" (Article from The Age)
In a conversation about how best to approach working with the Sudanese Refugee community, I wrote this to a friend a few months ago:
'I think exploring the 'Human Capacity Development' is a really positive way of approaching working with the Sudanese Community in Australia. I have been involved in a volunteer capacity over the last year or so tutoring english and from my experiences, the biggest challenges for them as they arrive in Australia is obviously language, but also social integration. And is there any wonder, in a society that is very private and comes across as quite cold to them. The challenges of living in the australian system - eg. job hunting, guidance in dealing with government support (centrelink -in which most english speaking australians struggle with!), attitutes to authority/police etc. This is to not even mentioning dealing with the past trauma that most have faced.
For me, all of the concerns that i've heard over the last year highlight the need for us as a church to be present with them above all else and supporting them as they face each hurdle. I was embarrassed to be Australian one day when a young sudanese guy said to me "you are the first white person that just wants to be friends". It hit me what impact our culture of being 'cold' on public transport has, the fact that at his university (where he is trying to complete high school as a mature age), you could sit in a class with the same people for 12 weeks, and not even ask someone thier name. Come, sit, listen, go home. That was my experience of university - and if university was where i was looking to make friends, I would be very lonely right now. Is there any wonder on my part that there are barriers to Social Integration? No. Just as growing up in a lifetime of war is foreign to most of us, so too is the culture that we live in here. It takes two to break down those barriers of igorance and misunderstanding, and without making the effort to be in relationship with each other - i can't see the way forward. (And between you and me, i don't think its the Sudanese that are holding back)
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very striking. didn't know Australians were such assholes....just kidding, we have the same problem in the states. You could switch "Australians" with "Americans' in your article and still be right on mark. Existing societies have a huge problem with dependents (i.e. refugees) coming in and feeding off their resources. Usually, the view is those dependents don't put in what they take out. In the States we have the same problems with latin american refugees or "immigrants". The ironic realization that most individual have when they look a bit closer at the situation is that refugees only need a sliver of a chance. They will take it and run with it. The problem you have to mitigate against is new comers bringing some bad habits. (e.g. Domestic abuse, community based justice, crime, tribal/mob/gang mentality, littering and waste removal (or lack there of), etc.) These bad habits are not the ineptness of the people, but just a lack of general understanding of the new culture. The fact that there is a sophisticated waste management system is sometimes a new concept. All it takes to over come these issues and so much more is a little education. Fore example, in the bathrooms in some very westernized buildings in Colombo Sri Lanka there is posted a diagram of how to use a "western" toilet. Now there is no problem. I think if we (westerners) claim to be as smart as we think we are, overcoming the transition of a new culture into our own should be just a simple process of using our heads to alleviate the road blocks which cause the problems. If we are so sophisticated, then overcoming something as trivial as this should be a cake walk. Chris (Sri Lanka)
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