ZCZC
BFF-44
AUSTRALIA-AFGHANISTAN-IMMIGRATION
From Afghanistan to the Outback: refugees ditch Australia’s overcrowded
cities
GRIFFITH, Australia, Nov 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A Hazara refugee who now
calls the Australian outback home, Ali named his new venture the “Afghan
Friendship Restaurant”, a tribute to the warm welcome he says he received
after moving to the town of Griffith five years ago.
The 44-year-old father of three is among a growing number of refugees and
migrants to Australia who have opted to live in the bush rather than among
the bright lights, hustle-bustle and astronomical prices of Sydney or
Melbourne.
The word “friendship” hovers over Ali’s head in bright red lettering while
he cooks lamb skewers, his face a picture of concentration as the rich wafts
of fragrant smoke lure in hungry customers.
It is the first-ever Afghan eatery in Griffith — a six-hour drive west of
Sydney — and a far cry from the pie and chips staples of the Australian
bush.
“I suggest to all of my friends, especially Afghan people, to come to
Griffith, because here’s very friendly,” Ali, who asked that his surname not
be used to protect family still in Afghanistan, tells AFP during a break from
cooking.
“Also we can find a job as well, because the population is not too much.”
A nation of immigrants, nearly half of Australia’s 25-million-strong
population was either born overseas or has at least one parent born abroad.
The country takes in around 14,000 refugees annually, with one-off
exceptions to allow additional asylum-seekers, such as a recent scheme for
12,000 Syrians and Iraqis.
But harsh anti-asylum policies against boat arrivals and high-profile
incidents of racism have given the country a reputation as inhospitable to
non-white immigrants.
There’s been a spike in anti-immigration sentiment, according to the Lowy
Institute think tank, despite the overall intake of migrants — capped
annually at 190,000 — remaining stable.
Lowy’s annual poll found that for the first time this year, more than half
the Australians surveyed said the number of migrants was “too high” — up
from 40 percent in 2017.
The poll’s authors said the shifting attitudes could reflect a lurch to the
right, particularly as conservative politicians call for intake cuts amid
urban pressures.
– ‘Crying out for people’ –
Rapid demographic changes in Australian cities over the past decade have
caused disquiet as residents grapple with congestion and high house prices.
Yet at the same time many regional towns are “crying out for more people”,
according to population and cities minister Alan Tudge.
His government is proposing that new arrivals live in smaller towns for a
few years, in the hope they would make it their home.
Critics say the policy is not enforceable, and add that migrants would
struggle to integrate into rural populations amid language and cultural
differences.
But that is not what Jock Collins at the University of Technology Sydney,
who is currently surveying 250 recently arrived families from Iraq, Syria and
Afghanistan, has found.
Collins says many migrants have positive feedback to share after being
settled in smaller towns.
In addition to job opportunities and a supportive environment — “where the
town goes out of its way to welcome refugees” — the presence of other
migrant communities can ease the transition, Collins says.
“A lot of regional and rural towns are losing populations and in
particular, the young people are leaving… so immigration can help fill that
gap.”
Some immigrants also find it difficult to adjust to the busy rhythms of
city life, making smaller towns an easier fit.
Incentives like extended family visas — which the conservative government
has been cutting back on in favour of younger working-age migrants — could
also attract and keep refugees in the bush.
– Crocodile Ali –
One success story is Mingoola, a small rural township in New South Wales,
on the border with Queensland, that was slowly dying as its population aged.
Desperate for an injection of new blood, the town finally found a match
with refugees from rural east Africa who were struggling in Sydney.
Similar praise has been heaped on Nhill, a town four hours’ drive from
Melbourne that’s boomed since local poultry firm Luv-a-Duck found a Karen
community, a minority group persecuted in Myanmar, willing to move there.
Eight years on, business is booming and the Karen now make up 10 percent of
Nhill’s 2,000-strong population.
“From a position of decline, these towns are now thriving,” says Jack
Archer of the Regional Australia Institute, which is pushing for a national
strategy instead of isolated efforts to match needy towns with job-seeking
migrants.
Back in Griffith, refugee entrepreneurs are boosting local jobs. Ali’s
restaurant employs another refugee and a migrant from Malaysia, while his
wife also helps with the cooking.
In more than one way, Ali is altering visitor flows between cities and
rural towns.
One couple have travelled from Sydney three times to eat at the restaurant.
It’s “for the soup”, he says, “they like my soup and because of that they
come here.”
BSS/AFP/MRI/1903 hrs