The Impact of Religious Difference and Unemployment/Underemployment on Somali Former Refugee Settlement in Australia

Abstract

Australia has resettled many Somalis as part of its annual refugee intake; upon coming to their new host country, Somali communities face multiple challenges with regards to successful settlement. The majority of Somalis are Muslim and are visibly different from the predominantly Anglo-Australian population. This paper presents findings from a small-group qualitative study in Australia that explored the challenges Somalis face in the employment context, and the resulting impact of unemployment/underemployment on members of the Somali community. It reports narratives gathered from 16 Somali males and females (employed and unemployed) via focus groups in Brisbane, Australia. These narratives painted a picture of perceived discrimination and marginalization due to religious affiliation, which led to unemployment/underemployment within the community.

Settlement and employment outcomes of black African immigrants in Southeast Queensland, Australia

“…Their white friends whom they did the TAFE together have got jobs.Although youth unemployment is a common problem, it can be magnified by factors of racial and cultural difference for African youths. Consistent with the findings of Hebbani (2014), Roy believed that black Africans (youths included) will find it harder to obtain employment than native-born Australians, leading to high levels of dissatisfaction with life. For this reason, Roy has devoted his retirement years to assisting new arrivals and youths from Africa to settle and navigate the Australian labor market.…”

“…Although our findings cannot be generalized in the strict sense, there are reasons to believe that they can be extended to Australia in general. Consistent with existing Australian research, African immigrants face barriers in entering and succeeding in the Australian labor market (Hebbani, 2014) and are concentrated in the secondary labor market (Colic-Peisker and Tilbury, 2006; Correa-Velez and Onsando, 2009), which is characterized by low wages, poor working conditions and little chance of advancement. This, in turn, has negative effects on their sense of belonging and citizenship.…”

“…Those who have no other choice due to structural barriers and everyday racism take such jobs.As the above quotation suggests, employers' prejudices or negative biases can be significant barriers to employment for certain “identifiable” immigrant groups. This bias also emerged in the narratives of 16 Somalis, both males and females, and employed and unemployed, who participated in focus group discussions in Brisbane, the main city in SEQ (Hebbani, 2014). The Somali immigrants described themselves as facing multiple challenges in the labor market because of bias and discrimination based on their religious affiliation and visible difference (Hebbani, 2014).…”

Settlement experiences of Iranian migrants on humanitarian and non-humanitarian visas in Australia

“…"An unfavourable context of reception" (Schwartz et al, 2010, p.238) and "the treatment by the host society" (Kazemipur & Nakhaie, 2014, p. 628) can restrict one's integration and adaptation. Cultural differences might be an impediment to integration, as it has been reported that cultural disparity between the host society and the migrants adversely impacts on their adaptation (Hebbani, 2014;Hebbani et al, 2010;Khanlou, Koh, & Mill, 2008). Therefore, considering the presence of these challenges, it was important to see how these Iranian migrants adapt in Australia.…”

“…Further, Australia is reported as a country where migrants face serious challenges based on their ethnicity and race (Birrell & Healy, 2008;Colic-Peisker, 2009;Lovat et al, 2013;Syed, 2008). Obstacles to employment and discrimination at workplace are believed to be compounded for Muslims and migrants from African countries in Australia (Bouma, Haidar, Nyland, & Smith, 2003;Hebbani, 2014;Lovat et al, 2013). For instance, Sudanese refugees in Australia face challenges in finding permanent employment and experience downward career mobility (Hebbani et al, 2010).…”