Response to
NATIONAL ANTI-RACISM PARTNERSHIP AND STRATEGY DISCUSSION PAPER
11 May 2012
The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) is the national umbrella body for refugees, asylum seekers and the organisations and individuals who support them, representing over 700 organisational and individual members. RCOA promotes the adoption of flexible, humane and constructive policies by governments and communities in Australia and internationally towards refugees, asylum seekers and humanitarian entrants. RCOA consults regularly with its members and refugee community leaders and this submission is informed by their views.
RCOA welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC’s) discussion paper informing the National Anti-Racism Partnership and Strategy. Through RCOA’s annual community consultations on future directions and challenges in Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program, concerns about racism and discrimination towards refugees, asylum seekers and other humanitarian entrants have been raised consistently over many years.[1] These experiences have a considerable impact on the capacity of refugee and humanitarian entrants to settle well in Australia. As the AHRC’s own research into the experiences of African Australians shows[2], racism and discrimination negatively affect the extent to which individuals, families and communities feel welcome and are able to fully participate and apply their skills, strengths and determination in rebuilding their lives in Australia.
RCOA has not responded to all of the questions posed in the Discussion Paper, but will focus on some of the key areas relating to refugees, asylum seekers and humanitarian entrants and settlement experiences raised through our community consultations. RCOA is happy to provide AHRC with more details or be involved in further discussions regarding our submission.
Acknowledging the contributions of former refugeesto Australia (Q.3)
Better acknowledging the contribution of culturally and linguistically diverse communities to Australia is essential in combating racism and discrimination, and this is particularly true in the context of the public and highly politicised nature of the asylum debate and its impact on refugees, asylum seekers and other humanitarian entrants. Sadly, refugee communities often lament the fact that so much attention is paid to the costs of Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program, portraying asylum seekers as “queue-jumpers” or as “illegal migrants” and resettled refugees as victims or clients only, rather than as people with skills and resources and who contribute significantly to Australian society and the economy.
Organisations including RCOA[3], Researchers for Asylum Seekers[4], Amnesty International Australia[5], the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre[6], and the Victorian Multicultural Commission[7] have compiled many stories that show the human face of refugee journeys: the struggles and obstacles overcome, the joy at finding safety, the gratitude to the country and people who provided this security and the commitment that refugees and other humanitarian entrants have to making a positive contribution. It is vital that these stories are told in a variety of different ways – through the media, school curricula, community education campaigns and other local, state and national initiatives – and that these stories show the points of commonality between humanitarian entrants and other Australians. Shared concern for family safety, desire to self-support, to learn and to be a part of a community all fit within what many Australians would agree are shared values. Re-establishing funding for organisations like AHRC to provide education and information to the broader Australian public would also be a way in which the positive contribution of diverse communities can be shared more broadly.
“The Department of Immigration and Citizenship should put public resources into an Australian Story-style program on positive settlement experiences instead of virtual reality TV programs like Border Control.”- Service provider, Brisbane(Qld)
Government agencies and representatives can play a significant role in acknowledging the positive contributions of former refugees to Australian society. The Victorian Multicultural Commission has led the way with the Victorian Refugee Recognition Record, announced annually each Refugee Week since 2004 “to celebrate and document the diverse contributions that people from a refugee background have made”.[8] In NSW, Friends of STARTTS and RCOA have worked together to celebrate the achievement of former refugees and to acknowledge community support of refugees through a Refugee Week awards ceremony held each year. Among the more than 775,000 refugees who have settled in Australia since Federation, there are many stories of resilience and achievement. Federal and State government agencies could follow the lead of the Victorian Multicultural Commission in establishing similar awards to acknowledge the contributions of people of refugee background. Similarly, at a more local level, Federal and State Members of Parliament could publicly acknowledge outstanding contributions of people of refugee background during Refugee Week.
Priority areas for addressing racism (Q.4)
Among the priority areas in which racism is known to have a significant effect on refugees, asylum seekers and other humanitarian entrants are employment, education, the media and settlement in regional and rural areas.
Employment
Racism and discrimination has been identified in researchand consistently through RCOA’s community consultations as a profound barrier to refugee and humanitarian entrants finding and sustaining employment.[9] In one study of experiences of refugee and humanitarian entrants in Tasmania, participants reported experiencing discriminatory and racist comments in work environments and this was named directly as a barrier to employment.[10] Similarly, interviews of employers and former refugees conducted by Colic-Peisker and Tilbury in Western Australia found that “some employers suggested that it was the migrants’ fault that they could not get jobs, due to ‘personality differences’, ‘bad attitudes’ such as ‘lack of gratitude’ or being ‘too proud’ of their country of origin, being ‘too enthusiastic’ or not enthusiastic enough, exaggerating their abilities or ‘not selling themselves enough’, or simply because they lacked understanding of Australian work culture (including racist jokes)”.[11]Colic-Peisker and Tilbury’s compelling study exploring the effects of visible difference on employment outcomes of three recently arrived refugee entrant groups (ex-Yugoslavs, black Africans, and people from the Middle East) found different outcomes for respondents from the three backgrounds despite similar levels of human capital (English proficiency and qualification level) and similar length of residence. The authors contend that these differential outcomes are due to both structural and interpersonal racism, and cannot be explained using the traditional analysis that argues there are only four main factors influencing employment outcomes: English proficiency, length of residence in Australia, educational qualifications and visa type.
Berman et al’s comprehensive research on racial and religious discrimination in employment found evidence of: discrimination in recruitment; underemployment and lack of recognition of qualifications; discrimination and disadvantage in accessing and utilising job search agencies; over-representation of migrants in low skilled, low paid employment; under-representation of migrants in the public sector; bias against migrants in promotion; intimidation in the workplace; religious discrimination; additional discrimination related to gender; discrimination in small and medium enterprises; racism in the media and stereotyping of communities; and difficulties accessing the complaints process.[12]
“A lot of people are doing blue collar work. We get a really high rate of people dropping out of work, not showing up because of the racism they experience from fellow employees. They don’t like to go to work because of racism. If they react to it, they get into a fight. It interferes with confidence. They don’t like to go to work alone, they will go in pairs so that they are not alone on a shift. They don’t have the incentive to go to work because it isn’t a pleasant environment.”- Africancommunity leader, Hunter Region(NSW)
Strategies thatpublicly acknowledge employers that embrace and support diversity in their work place, such as through the promotion of the Diversity@Work Employment and Inclusion Awards[13] or profiling ‘Refugee-Friendly Employers’, is an area for potential development.
Education
As many community members and settlement service providers have noted, focussinganti-racism strategies on schools is importantin order to createa movement of change and strengthen the foundations of multiculturalism for the future. An opportunity available to the Australian Government is to examine the presentation of refugee and asylum seeker issues and the human cost of conflict and persecution in the national curriculum. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority – the independent authority responsible for the development of a national curriculum – has a published framework upon which the national curriculum is built. The changes in educational pedagogy, in world events and affairs and in Australia’s demographics have led to a shift in the priorities for education in the 21st century. These changes include the reality of global integration and increased international mobility. As a consequence, it is recognised that Australian students need to “nurture an appreciation of, and respect for, social, cultural and religious diversity, and a sense of global citizenship”.[14] The educational goals set out for young Australians also include an appreciation of social, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity; the ability to relate to and communicate across cultures, especially the cultures and countries of Asia, to be responsible global and local citizens; and to commit to national values of democracy, equity and justice, and participate in Australia’s civic life.Developing excellent educational resources to align with these goals is essential.
The media
Through RCOA’s community consultations, concerns have been consistently raised about the media’s portrayal of issues relating to refugees and asylum seekers and how thisperpetuatesracist attitudes and negative stereotypes. It has been widely noted that misinformation and negative coverage far outweigh facts and positive stories of asylum seekers and former refugees and that the current discourse is distorted and tangential, leading to overall confusion for the public and even for those within the refugee sector. For example, a monitoring of major news outlet blogs and information gained by RCOA shows that over-population, water security and caring for vulnerable and marginalised Australians all enter as common arguments against taking a more humane approach to asylum seekers and refugees. Media coverage concerning people seeking asylum in Australia who arrive by boat is particularly problematic. For example, every single boat arrival during 2010 received some media coverage, many times backed up by commentary aimed at building a sense of a worsening crisis.[15] The publication of this material in the most popular forms of public media has a significant impact on the daily lives of those trying to settle and develop a sense of belonging here in Australia. These effects extend well beyond the community of asylum seekers and humanitarian entrants, and impacts on refugee communities more broadly and on public support for Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program in general.
Tailoring anti-racism strategies to different geographicallocations
Tailoring responses to racism should not only focus onspecific areas such as education, employment and the media, but also to different geographical locations. As many community members and service providers have noted, there are differencesin the way in which racism and discrimination manifest themselvesacross rural and urban locations and a one size will not fit all locations in terms of aNationalAnti-Racism Strategy. Some rural and regional areas have a strong and well-established history of supporting migrants and refugees and other newcomers, whereas other communities may feel more threatened and respond differently to change and the diversifying of their local community. Ensuring that the Strategy includes local place-based initiatives as well as a broad national campaign will strengthen its impact overall. The LEAD Program is an excellent example of initiatives tailoredto local areas.[16]
“Racism is a big problem in regional areas; we experience it on trains, in our car, from our neighbours. They call us ‘chocolate’ and ‘black dogs’ and tell us to go back to where we came from. It is happening more. Everywhere is a bad word.”- South Sudanesecommunity member, Morwell(Vic)
Government measures (Q.5)
In our 2010-11 submission to the Minister and Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), RCOA highlighted the often-expressed concern among those consulted about the general failure in political leadership on asylum seeker and refugee issues and that this filters down to community attitudes.[17] Unfortunately, these sentiments were again expressed in consultations for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 Refugee and Humanitarian Program. Participants expressed their desire for politicians on all sides of politics to present facts, use correct terminology and cease leveraging asylum issues for political gain. The prevailing view from RCOA’s community consultations is that there is little of the “frank, open, honest national conversation” or a calm and rational debate that Prime Minister Gillard spoke of at the Lowy Institute in July 2010.[18]
RCOA would welcome political leaders clearly stating the facts about the relatively small numbers of people seeking asylum in Australia each year, explaining the responsibilities of being a signatory to the Refugee Convention and why it is in Australia’s strategic interest to support other countries to respect and implement the principles of the Convention. Throughout community consultations, people called for bipartisan support of the Refugee and Humanitarian Program. The lack of leadership from “the top” was seen as a catalyst for the perpetuation of negative stereotypes and for a lack of understanding and harmony between the broader Australian community and refugee communities. Concerns were also raised that the framing of the debate has affected the way in which the Government approaches resettlement. Serious concerns were raised that the Government has allowed some presumptions of the debate to go largely unchallenged – for example, that people arriving on boats are “illegal” and that resettlement is the only “proper process” for the entry of refugees to Australia.
The role of the media (Q.6)
While the negative discourse is often blamed on the “media” (as though it is a singular entity), a number of initiatives and compelling work are coming from some media sources. The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) has made a commitment to “inspire all Australians to explore and appreciate our multicultural world and contribute to an inclusive society”. SBS is interested in extending this commitment to a broader set of public debates and, to achieve this, the network has not only commissioned research about Australia’s perceptions of cultural diversity but also has produced a “suite of landmark, locally produced factual programs exploring elements of Australian multicultural society scheduled through 2011”.[19]Channel Seven’s Sunrise host David Koch has used his blog to counter myths about asylum seekers and to provide information on people who have come to Australia through the refugee program. His posts include a blog detailing the reality behind the fabricated emails which claim that asylum seekers receive more benefits than pensioners, as well as a profile of Anh Do and his book The Happiest Refugee.[20]
As detailed in the AHRC’sIn our own words – African Australians: A review of human rights and social inclusion issues, the organisation New Australia Media is a good practice example of how to assist young people from new and emerging communities to develop media and journalism skills. This project matches professional journalists with young people: the journalists mentor the young people to prepare news articles, which are then published to a website hosted by the State Library of Victoria. This approach has the dual purpose of providing skills to the new community members while also providing learning opportunities for journalists.
There is a pressing need for a coordinated strategy to counter the widespread inaccuracies and misinformation in reportage on refugee and asylum seeker issues within the Australian media. This should involve both responding to negative coverage and creating opportunities for positive engagement with the media. The development of targeted training programs for media personnel to enhance understanding of the refugee experience and of Australian refugee policy would not only improve the quality of reporting and assist in combating misinformation, but could also increase media interest in promoting positive images of refugees and asylum seekers. Strategies should also be developed to enhance the capacity of former refugees and organisations working in the sector to engage effectively with the media and the Australian public.
There is also a need for political leaders and Government officials to take on a greater leadership role in responding to inaccurate, misleading and sensationalist coverage of refugee and asylum seeker issues. While some positive efforts have been made, notably DIAC’s responses to fabricated e-mails on welfare entitlements, they remain isolated examples and their impact to date has been limited. A more coordinated approach to monitoring and challenging inaccurate media coverage is clearly needed. As such, RCOA recommends that the Australian Government consider funding (through the Diversity and Social Cohesion Program or similar programs) the development of a NGO-coordinated national training and media strategy to improve the quality of reportage on refugee and asylum seeker issues and enable refugees and the organisations working with them to engage with the media and the Australian public.