Skip to main content

HREOC Website: Isma - Listen: National consultations on eliminating prejudice against Arab and Muslim Australias

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.