Prepared by: Kais Al‐Momani Nour Dados Marion Maddox Amanda Wise C
THE NEEDS OF NEWLY‐EMERGING COMMUNITIES
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THE NEEDS OF NEWLY‐EMERGING COMMUNITIESCommunities with only a short history of migration to Australia have specific needs. Liverpool councillor Gullam Gillani noted that for many migrants, involvement in the political system is often not very important. The majority of the immigrants either from the Middle East or from the sub‐continent ... whether they come as skilled migrants or as a result of war as refugees or whatever, their main target becomes what we call “essentials”, you know? The bare minimum essentials. And they put their efforts and struggles into that. To achieve that goal is to have a house, you know, things for their family. And they have very little time ... to think that we have to integrate into mainstream Australia and become part of this society and contribute ... The first generation... spent most of their time to earn their living. This perception was echoed by another participant: I think the majority of people, especially fairly recent migrants, have their major concerns: getting a job, getting a house, looking after their family, taking the kids to school – just the everyday concerns. A director of an education organisation for young Muslims said that: Parents don’t have the time or the commitment to take their kids to these programs in many of these communities, particularly from the low socioeconomic backgrounds. We asked whether this reluctance was due to the need to travel long distances to reach to programs. But our informant explained: No, no, no. Even if it’s next‐door, it doesn’t really matter, ... they don’t believe these programs are necessary for their children. They don’t see what the problem is. To them, these issues that their kids are dealing with are nothing compared to what they had to deal with back home, with the war, with killing, with life and death, so to them, social issues, emotional issues, are not a priority. ... They don’t realise the kind of damage that’s happening and how it impacts on how their children view their surroundings and interact with it, and achieve ... I know that from personal experience because I know how my parents [were], when they came under stress. ... And ten years down the track ... they look back, they say, ‘How could I miss that? What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I see that?’ ... That’s why we decided to do it inside schools. The program happens inside school, so no‐one has to pick them up and drop them off at particular programs. IMPROVING POLITICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMSMany interviewees considered education very important. Auburn Mayor Hicham Zreika (ALP) emphasised education’s role in informing people about council’s activities, and also about its role and responsibility. We’re going to spend more money having interpreters and translators to make it work. And it’s a very diverse community, so obviously there’s a lot of pressure, it needs more resources ... It’s very, very multicultural and diverse. So that’s a challenge, but it’s an asset. Liverpool Councillor Mazhar Hadid (Liberal) also stressed education’s importance for increasing involvement. He mentioned the educational initiatives provided by organisations like the Federation of Australian Muslim Students and Youth. Through our organisations and our associations we can get it [the message] out. Provide them with lectures, special classes, leadership classes, you know what I mean? One participant advised fellow‐Muslims: One of the simplest things that you can do is write to your local member, or even to the prime minister directly... I do know that letters that come in volumes to a minister does make the minister stand up and take notice ... And then there’s the other level, too: the lobbying where you actually have representation, meeting ministers, etcetera. So I feel that we need to teach the community that you don’t have to be just a passive bystander, that you vote these people in but they’re only in for a certain period of time, until you’ve had enough of them, or you didn’t like what they did and you vote them back out. You have a voice through the vote ... they’re there to work for you. If you voted them in, or they’re part of your electorate, and you’ve got a problem, you need to go to them, but no‐one seems to know that. No‐one seems to understand that ... they should make their local politician work for them! That needs a real, massive, education. Jamila Hussain, a lecturer in Islamic law, agreed: I think the bottom line is the need for more education. And you have to think about strategies to get people to be interested in undertaking some more civics education, so you have to use a carrot approach. At the moment, a couple of friends and I are thinking of running sort of get‐ togethers for women occasionally, maybe once a month, once every two months or something, where people can come along to probably Anatolia in Auburn and just have lunch. And maybe we’ll get a speaker; nothing too heavy, just somebody to give a bit of a talk ... I found that if there’s some kind of social occasion involved, then women will come along. I guess men will too, but I know for a fact that the women will come along. And that way you can sort of get the ball rolling and get people to start thinking about, maybe they really ought to have an opinion, or ‘What are the policies of this or that political party?’ There was a particular emphasis on school level education that could teach not only about rights and responsibilities but also about active participation in the political process. Educator and former Democrats candidate Silma Ihram stressed the role of schools in improving understanding of the political system amongst members of the Muslim community. She noted that progress had been made: A lot of our [Islamic] schools are trying to make them [students] more politically aware ... They’re doing a fair bit. And I think in public schools, too, they’re encouraging a lot of leadership mentoring, and that often sparks off stuff, because often leading lights in school will go on to leadership and political positions once they leave school. Auburn Councillor Malikeh Michaels (Greens) said that political participation would only come through improvements in education: You have to get into the schools, and the Muslim schools, because that’s where you get a concentration—well, not just the Muslim schools, but I don’t think the mosque is a good place to start. I’ve been arguing with a few different people that there are not enough non‐sectarian activities ... there’s just not enough activities that are secular. I’m not saying you should go against your religion, or that we should go against our religion, but I think there need to be more secular‐based activities for people that aren’t necessarily attached to the mosque. A principal of an Islamic school noted that the school now places a great deal on importance on civics education, with each primary school grade undertaking an excursion to a different Australian state. Directory: sites -> default -> files -> documents -> 01 2014 documents -> Ace abi catair customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements documents -> Mobile audio/video recording systems documents -> The south australian government gazette documents -> All public acts appearing in this gazette are to be considered official, and obeyed as such documents -> Union interparlementaire inter-parliamentary union 01 2014 -> Voices Shaping the 01 2014 -> Muslim Voices – Hopes and aspirations of Muslim Australians Centre for Muslim Minorities & Islam Policy Studies 01 2014 -> Editors: Kerry Download 16.24 Mb. Share with your friends:
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