by Lily Seabrooke

Created on: July 05, 2010

Introduction

Australia has been, and always will be, known as a multicultural society. Australia aims to be tolerant of the diversity produced by its immigration program, but there are many obstacles to be faced by migrants seeking to integrate into Australian society, particularly for those of refugee status. The centre for Multicultural Interests (2005) defines a refugee as: “Someone who has been forced to leave their country of origin and is unable or unwilling to return due to fear of persecution for reasons including race, religion, nationality or political opinion”.

5. The issues and obstacles faced by refugees seeking to integrate into Australian society, and the potential solutions to alleviate if not solve said problems, will be examined in this paper.

Discrimination and Employment

Discrimination is a major obstacle in refugees' integration into Australian society, and is most evident when related to difficulties faced within the employment and careers sector. “Refugees to Australia, despite high levels of work-relevant skills, and despite legislation designed to eliminate discrimination, experience both personal and institutional discrimination in the employment market”7.

The fundamental barrier in achieving this is language difficulties. Perceptions created by having English as a second, third, sometimes even fourth language can lead to racial discrimination, often due to differences in accent or accustomed way of speaking. This creates problems when seeking employment and may result in inappropriate workplace behaviour by colleagues or clients. The barriers considered most significant as well as most frequently encountered when seeking employment for refugees include; non-recognition of qualifications, lack of local referees, accent and language ability, stereotyping, and inappropriate workplace practices which stigmatized particular ethnic groups or individuals11.

Acculturation

Refugees arriving in Australia are faced with the challenges of acculturation13.

Newly arrived refugees are presented with the challenge of adjusting to a completely different culture, language and value system during resettlement, often while coping with the effects of past trauma.15

It has been found that younger persons often find it easier to adapt to cultural practices and learn new languages faster. Many African refugees are accustomed to pastoral, communal environments, but are forced into the urban, individualistic environment of Australia

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next Page >>