REFUGEES MEET FIVE FACES IN AUSTRALIA

WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO AMANDA BROWN'S BLOG “YOUNG REFUGEES IN AUSSIE CLASSROOMS”

Australia needs to address the welfare and settlement of refugees – particularly in regards to education as it influences their future and the extent to which they are compatible with Australian society. Where I disagree, is the assumption that this can happen in a traditional classroom by an already over-stretched teacher.

Refugee students often have “interrupted education” (Siripala, 2013) so their educational level is not the same as ESL students with a full education from another country, whereby the only barrier is learning the English language. Reports also show many refugees are from poor families (Crossley, 2013; Written out of the picture, 2013), which would ordinarily place them multiple years behind their middle-class peers in terms of literacy and numeracy (Bryant, 2000).

What I propose attempts to combat Young's five faces of oppression (Gewirtz, 2006:469-470). I suggest that refugees are educated in special schools that can give them intense classes for learning a new language and the academics of an Australian education. Powser Soe (Siripala, 2013) states that refugees do not have a high school certificate equivalent, that they cannot embark in tertiary education or secure a job. What Soe doesn't mention is that this problem stems from the standards of education. If an Australian education is to be effective for refugees, it needs to start from the basics and build up so that they can stand a chance against Australian-educated students. The focus should be language, then academic areas, so that these individuals can be progress and be integrated once more into mainstream Australian facilities, not in terms of assimilation, but to create “belongingness” and a future (Hall, 1988:28 as cited in Henry, 1993:8).

Christos Tsiolkas proposes that asylum seekers are settled in remote areas of Australia, so parents can 'build infrastructure [… or] work in hospitals and on farms where there are labour shortages”(2013). I think this makes sense for the whole family to be settled in these areas. Adolescent and child refugees need special schools to begin with – just as an ESL student needs special classes – and they would also benefit emotionally from the strong sense of community, as well as the cheaper cost of living outside Australia's cities.

In suggesting such radical action, I don't propose to segregate, but simply to give refugees time to build themselves a raft to get out of the deep waters of oppression; including the potential for non-English speakers to be marginalised, the exploitation of young girls sexually or young boys into gang culture, to be powerless to move their family out of poverty, violence in the form of racial attacks on “boat people” or “queue jumpers” or “illegals”, and lastly, cultural imperialism in expecting these people to assimilate and leave behind all they are when Australia is a nation built on immigration (Gewirtz, 2006:469-470).

Whilst I can only imagine the challenges these individuals must face, I do believe that the challenges of integrating refugees into typical classrooms are too large for individual teachers and the schooling structures of Australia as is. Refugee needs are the needs of the future Australian population, they're deserving of special attention and I don't think the public education system in cities such as Sydney is able to offer the attention so desperately needed for this growing group.

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REFERENCES

Bryant, L (2000). Class and education. Retrieved from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/class_education.htm

Crossley, S (2013). The forgotten poor: refugees and asylum seekers. Retrieved from http://www.poverty.ac.uk/editorial/forgotten-poor-refugees-and-asylum-seekers

Gewirtz, S. (1998). Conceptualizing social justice in education: mapping the territory In Journal of Education Policy, 13 (4), pp. 469-484.

Henry, G. (1993) Living dangerously: Identity politics and the new cultural racism: Towards a critical pedagogy of representation In Cultural Studies, 7 (1), pp. 1-27.

Siripala, T (2013). Young migrants 'facing unprecedented challenges'. Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/09/17/young-migrants-facing-unprecedented-challenges

Tsiolkas, C (2013) Why Australia hates asylum seekers. Retrieved from

http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2013/september/1377957600/christos-tsiolkas/why-australia-hates-asylum-seekers

Written out of the picture (2013). The role of local services in tackling child poverty amongst asylum seekers and refugees. Retrieved from http://www.poverty.ac.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/NEP001%20Report%20Web%201.pdf