Consultations Homepage || Meeting Notes: 29 May 2003
Consultation with students from Goulburn-Ovens TAFE at Shepparton (Victoria) hosted by Shepparton Ethnic Communities Council, 29 May 2003
The meeting was chaired by Ms Vicki Mitsos, Chair of the Shepparton Ethnic Communities Council, and attended and facilitated by Susanna Iuliano and Omeima Sukkarieh from HREOC. It was attended by 80 invited participants who were studying English at the Goulburn-Ovens TAFE. The TAFE English teachers allocated their regular English class-time for the consultation and attended as observers.
The consultation was conducted with the assistance of an Albanian interpreter, Bianca Bido. Omeima provided Arabic interpretation. The consultation began in one large group but then was split into two separate groups of (1) Albanians and (2) mainly Iraqi refugees to facilitate translation.
1. What are your experiences of discrimination and vilification?
General
Iraqi and Turkish participants felt there had been a general rise in intolerance and discrimination towards them following 11 September 2001. Some reported that strangers' attitudes towards them on the street or in shops changed following September 11. A Muslim man of Turkish background explained, "People are looking at us as if we were responsible for the events that took place overseas ..."
One Iraqi refugee explained, "Before September 11 Arab and Islamic communities were treated like any other Australians. After September 11, Bali and the Iraq war we are treated like terrorists ... Even Muslims who have been part of this country for many years all of a sudden were no longer treated as part of this country ... "
There was a general lack of knowledge about human rights or complaint processes among participants, due in part to language difficulties. There was also a lack of trust in government and scepticism about the likelihood of concrete outcomes from the consultation process. Some participants could not see the purpose of complaining or informing someone else of incidents of discrimination because of the perception that "the law was there to protect the majority not the minority".
At work
Iraqi refugees perceived the difficulties they experience in finding work and in their treatment from employers as being partly related to their visa status, partly a result of language problems and partly a result of discrimination based on their ethnic/national backgrounds.
Most Iraqi refugees who participated in the consultation held Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs). Since October 1999, asylum seekers who arrive in Australia without a valid visa who are found to be refugees are granted a TPV. The TPV provides refugees with a three year temporary visa and only limited access to the kinds of settlement support available to other refugees. TPV holders are not eligible for many types of social security assistance and cannot sponsor their families to join them in Australia.
TPV visa conditions allow refugees to work but not to claim Newstart Allowance (the 'dole') or a range of other social security benefits. This effectively means that refugees must take whatever work they can get. In Shepparton, this work is most often fruit-picking on farms or packaging and processing work in canneries.
Shepparton has a well-developed economy due to its strong agricultural and irrigation base. The Goulburn Valley is often referred to as the 'Food Bowl of Australia' as around 25% of the total value of Victoria's agricultural production is generated in this area. Major secondary industries in Greater Shepparton are mainly related to food processing, manufacturing and transport. Major employers include SPC Ardmona, Tatura Milk Industries, Unifoods-Rosella, Snowbrand and Campbell's Soups - as well as the private farms which provide these companies with raw product.
Most of the Iraqi refugees who participated in the consultation work as fruit-pickers on private farms, often for cash only. Several participants felt that they are being paid less or not being given overtime because they are refugees. Others explained that they are forced to take whatever work they could, regardless of their actual qualifications and that their qualifications obtained overseas are not valued in Australia anyway.
"Working on the farms is ok, but you work extra long hours and get paid very little, sometimes less than others who are not like you ..."
"I have a job packing in a cannery but I cannot get weekend work because I cannot speak English well - even though you do not need much English to do the job ..."
"There are people who don't want to work who have been here all their lives - but we want to work and we can't get good jobs ..."
"Employers want people with 'Australian experience', not overseas qualifications and experience ..."
"The problem is also having TPVs. People don't treat you as part of the community anyway - and when you try to find work, even though you are allowed to work, it's hard because of the instability ..."
At school
Several parents reported incidents of discrimination experienced by their children at school. A young Iraqi refugee explained how he had experienced discrimination at two secondary schools in Shepparton. At the first school he was told by some students of Australian background to "go back to your country". He told his teacher who advised him to ignore the teasing as there was nothing he could do to help. After that, he did not report anything more to his teachers and subsequently left both schools, works on a farm and studies part-time at TAFE. His father provided more detail about an incident which led to his son's suspension from high school. The father told of how both his son and daughter were often teased with nicknames such as 'Osama'. On one occasion, his son was provoked to the point that he struck out and hit another student. The school principal called in both sets of parents and suspended the young Iraqi refugee giving no punishment to the other student. The father withdrew both his children from the high school. The son has since enrolled in TAFE but the daughter has yet to return to school.
In shopping centres, banks, government offices etc
Shops were a commonly mentioned site of discrimination. A Turkish woman relayed the story of a friend who was hit by a car while crossing the road outside a K-Mart store. The motorist apologised explaining that he did not see her because the sun had been in his eyes, then drove off without calling for further assistance. The friend was upset because passersby did nothing to help her; they just looked on. A Turkish man also relayed how Muslim women were treated differently by check-out operators in supermarkets following 11 September 2001.
At home
One participant reported an incident involving his son being abused by the father of a school colleague because he is Muslim. His son was talking at home on the telephone to school friend of Anglo-Australian origin when the boy's father interrupted the call asking, 'are you a Muslim?' When his son answered 'yes', the man said "I don't want you ever to speak to my son again' and swore at Muslims.
In the street or public transport
Chair of the Shepparton Ethnic Communities Council, Ms Vicki Mitsos, described the feelings of humiliation and isolation that some members of the Turkish community were feeling post-September 11. Turkish women, some of whom had been resident in Australia for over ten years, had been harassed in the street by young boys who pulled at their hijabs and said "go back to your own country because you are troublemakers."
In a similar vein, an Iraqi refugee and his wife were approached on the street by an elderly woman who told them, "why don't you go back to your country?"
A Turkish woman participating in the consultation summed up the general unease felt by Muslim women in particular on the street. "Everyday there is a big problem for Muslim women in Shepparton. Turkish, Iraqi, Albanian, Arabic we are all the same - we do not look Australian."
While many participants referred to incidents involving Muslim women, men were also targeted on occasion. A young Ghanaian refugee described an incident which took place just a week before the meeting: he was approached on the street by a man who said, "You're from Africa - jump back on your boat and go back to your country." The comment was made in the vicinity of a security guard. When the Anglo-Australian man realised that the security guard had overheard his comment, he apologised and tried to shake the young man's hand.
In the media
There was a general impression that the Australian media exaggerates information and is too closely aligned with the American media. "They are looking at the Arabic, Islamic and Turkish communities with hate and contempt. They now consider us to be terrorists ..." The difficulty of accessing Arabic newspapers also contributed to the sense of isolation felt by Iraqi refugees in Shepparton.
Albanian consultation
The concerns expressed by the Albanian participants in the consultation were quite different from those of the Iraqi refugees or Turkish participants and warrant separate discussion. The group was mostly composed of newly arrived people whose time in Australia ranged from several months to several years - average time was around 12-18 months. Most had family sponsors in Shepparton. Most were also Australian citizens who received citizenship by descent through their fathers who had been former migrants to Australia in the earlier post-war period. Most did not speak English and were at the lowest ESL levels (1 and 2). Therefore all questions were translated into Albanian.
The main points raised during the consultation were:
Discrimination:
Among the group of approximately 30 Albanian participants, only one man identified himself as non-Muslim. Participants did not feel discriminated against because of their religion. Most felt that the wider community had been positive and welcoming toward them. The group felt no tension with other non-Muslims in Shepparton or between Muslims and non-Muslims in the Albanian community. One male participant explained that different religious groups in Albania all get along and the same kind of cooperation existed amongst Albanians in Australia.
Participants explained that there is little contact with other non-Albanian Muslims such as the Iraqi Muslim community in Shepparton. Albanian Muslims in Shepparton pray together at their own mosque - they do not pray with other non-Albanian Muslims. In response to a question about whether there was any difference in the experience of Muslim women and men in relation to discrimination, one participant answered,
"If they (the Iraqi Muslim community in Shepparton) feel more discrimination it is because their women wear the hijab and they look different. It is their ethnic appearance not religion that attracts attention."
Family Reunion and Visa Issues:
The group's main concern was family reunion. Around 30 families in the Albanian Muslim community of Shepparton have had to leave adult children (over the age of 18) behind in Albania with little or no prospect of family reunion. As a result, families have been split and there are young men and women in their late teens and early twenties left behind in Albania in limbo - wanting to be with their parents in Australia but unsure if they can ever come.
"They are our family, but the government says that they are not and will not give them visa."
"We are Australian citizens. Why can't we bring our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers here?"
One Albanian woman explained, "My son (27years) is strong - he can work in Australia. But the government takes me - and I am on pension. Why?"
Other families were concerned about having left aged relatives in Albania. One man who had been in Australia for 7 years (and had migrated with all 4 of his siblings) had left behind an 80 year old mother. He was told by the closest visa office in Greece that it would be impossible to get a visa for her to join them in Australia, even though all her adult children are in Australia.
Language:
Lack of information in the Albanian language about Australian social services was seen as another problem. Centrelink and other government offices only have printed information available in Italian, Greek etc and not in Albanian making it very difficult for members of the community to get clear information about government services. Participants also expressed the need for an Albanian interpreter in the town on-call. As one man explained, "If I have a problem there is no-one to translate for me ..."
Overall, the participants expressed their concerns that they were being treated differently from other new arrivals to Australia. One of their concerns was their ineligibility for the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) which provides 510 hours of free English classes to new migrants and refugees from non-English speaking backgrounds. Participants explained they were not eligible for the AMEP program because they had entered Australia as returning citizen not migrants, even though they had no or very little English and therefore had to pay for their classes if they were working and not registered at Centrelink. The group believed this was unfair and placed a great deal of pressure on them.
2. What is being done to fight anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?
Participants identified a range of government and non-government agencies that provide assistance such as the Ethnic Communities Council, the Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul and the TAFE. However, most were reluctant to complain about discrimination to these agencies. When people complain to their TAFE teachers about discrimination, they are often referred to the Ethnic Communities Council.
3. What more could be done to fight anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?
The meeting proposed the following strategies for achieving some of the key objectives identified by the Isma project.
Promoting positive public awareness
"There needs to be more education of the broader community about who we are - Muslims, Arabs, Iraqis ..."
Challenging stereotypes
Participants felt that media need to be better informed so they would not give false or misleading reports on overseas events.
"There must be less media bias where both sides of the story are shown. Australians are easily influenced by the media - the media has to be educated about what really goes on overseas. People in Iraq are running away from terrorism ..."
Providing community support
Participants in both consultation groups felt there is a need for more interpreters in Shepparton. One Iraqi refugee explained, "The community needs more interpreters in the town, especially knowledgeable ones who can give you advice about what to do in situations where you need help ..."
Facts about Shepparton
Greater Shepparton, situated in the heart of the Goulburn Valley, covers an area of 2,421.9 square kilometres, and is the fourth largest provincial centre in Victoria. Greater Shepparton has an estimated population of 59,000 people. 67% of the population is concentrated in the main urban centres of Shepparton, Mooroopna and Tatura, with the balance of the population residing in the rural areas and surrounding smaller towns. Shepparton is the major regional commercial centre, serving a wider regional population of approximately 160,000. 15.7% of residents in the Greater Shepparton area were born overseas. A high number of residents have origins in Italy, Turkey, Macedonia, Greece, Albania, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, India, New Zealand and The Philippines. More recently, there have been large numbers of people with Middle Eastern background (principally Iraq) settling in Greater Shepparton. The Aboriginal population is estimated to be up to 10% of the total population.
