Study of Hazara Refugees in Australia - Report Example

Study of Hazara Refugees in Australia Student’s Name Institution’s Name Date Study of Hazara Refugees in Australia Introduction Australian has been receiving a high number of refugees from different parts of the world since the Second World War. The situation worsened when different parts of Islamic countries in Asia and Africa started seeking refuge in Australia. Australia is currently holding refugees from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sudan among other fighting nations. Typically, Australia always welcomes refugees from different parts and tries to resettle them, as long as they are approved and that they have used the right channels to enter the country. This paper focuses on analysing the refugees in Australia, and genuinely evaluating one group among many of the refugees that come into the country. The paper analyses the general information about refugees in Australia. This includes the history of refugees, their origin, their percentage as compared to other immigrants, and the country's performance concerning how it treats refugees as compared to other countries in the world. It also evaluates the issue of illegal immigrants who take advantage of the situation to get into the country illegally. The primary aim of the paper is to identify symbols and colours that Australian can use to develop a cultural orientation program that will help the country to communicate with refugees who do not understand English. With this program, Australia will clearly be able to instruct refugees, using symbols and colours, immediately after they arrive into the country. This will allow them to pass practical information to the refugees without much struggle and misconception. To be able to do this, the paper focuses on Hazara community. This is an Afghanistan tribe that has a history of being in transition and settlement ever. Hazara is a minority tribe in Afghanistan that has been experiencing conflict with different tribes in the country based on religion and cultural ground. Hazaras are Ishia Muslims, which is one of the two main Islamic sects. This initiates a religious conflict between them and the other Islamic group. Also, Hazaras have different cultural practices that make them different from other tribes in Afghanistan. They are characterized by poor economic status, poor political development and a high level of illiteracy. Consequently, this tribe is a bit vulnerable, and thus, it is mostly discriminated, without government protection or support. Therefore, most of its tribesmen have been running up and down seeking refuge from the neighbouring nation. The second section of the paper analyses the Hazaras tribe, their culture, their dialects, and their conflict with other communities. The paper then evaluates Hazaras symbols, colours and clothing that can be used in the program to enhance the transfer of information to new Hazaras refugees without much struggle. Among the identified symbols include the Hazaras flag that contains four colours that include red, black and green and an emblem at the centre. Others include their clothing that identifies them as Muslims, and music instrument. Finally, the paper analysis any conflict between the Hazaras symbols, clothing and colours with those adopted by Australians. General Australian Refugee Facts Australia contains a long history of welcoming refugees and from different parts of the world. It has been involved in resettling more than 700000 displaced persons and refugees. This includes thousands of refugees that were settled immediately and during the Second World War (Philips, 2011). Australia has settled so many refugees especially from Afghanistan such that, they currently count a great deal to the Australian population. Although Hazaras counts for about 16 to 20% of the Afghanistan population, it accounts for over 50% of the refugees in Australia from Afghanistan as per 2006 to 2010 refugees’ records. Based on the statistics, Australia receives many refugees from Burma, Iran, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka as a result of the war. The country receives a different number of refugees per year. In 2013, the total number of migrants was 230000. However, refugees only counted for about 9% of this population. The average number of annual refugees’ intake in Australia is about 6%. This is much less as compared to what was recorded in the 1980s were about 20% of the immigrants were refugees. Although Australia is not among the highest country, based on the number of refugees that are settled on the yearly basis, it is ranked 19th in resettling and acknowledging refugees. However, despite this good ranking in terms of welcoming and accepting refugees, Australia, has only resettled a few refugees. The world statistics clearly shows that only 1% of refugees that are resettled per year in the entire world. This signifies the small number of refugees settled in different countries. Australia is ranked 22nd in refugee resettlement in the world and thus, it is among the best (Australian Action, 2015). In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, Australia received a considerable number of refugees from Islamic Republic of Iran, Sudan, Serbia and Montenegro, Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of refugees from Serbia and Montenegro was the highest from 1996 to 2001. However, this decreased gradually as the volume of refugees from other countries such as Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Islamic Rep. of Iran increased. Although the value of refugees from Iraq was second highest in 1996, the number has grown steadily, and it remained high even in 2005. The number of refugees from Sudan was quite high in 2005, actually more than the number of refugees from Serbia and Montenegro in 1996. Besides, the number of refugees from Afghanistan was still increasing at a considerable rate. Thus, Australia has been handling an enormous number of refugees from different regions, mainly refugees from Islamic nations (UNHCR, 2005). Australia like any other country suffers from illegal immigrants. Therefore, the state chooses on which foreigners to protect and those not to protect. Typically, immigrants arriving via boats are rejected while others are accepted. The numbers of illegal immigrants or refugees using boats have been increasing since 2009 to 2010. Between 2009 and 2010, illegal immigrants only marked 6% of the total number of immigrants. However, between 2010 and 2011 this increased to 8.9%, between 2011 and 2012 the number increased to 10.2. The population of illegal immigrants continued to grow such that between 2012 and 2013, they had increased to 12% (Refugee Action, 2015). Overview of the Chosen Cultural Group The paper focuses on Hazara community in Australia. Australian-Afghan Hazara migrants have lived a great part of their life in transition and exile. Many of them originate from Pakistan or Iran as a result of persecution. The Hazaras are distinct individual that are set aside from their other countrymen by an independent nature, mixed ethnicity and religion. The three aspects have made them suffer for quite a long time (Encyclopaedia, 2002). Persecution has defined and shaped the Hazaras, specifically for more than 200 years. They experience discernment as a minority Shi'ite Muslims among dominant Sunni Muslim in Afghanistan and for cultural bias. Hazara individuals are usually described as an ethnolinguistic group that originates from the Persian-speaking community in central Afghanistan. They are of Ismaili or Shia Islamic sects, which is one of the two major Islamic sects in Afghanistan. Hazara population is approximated to range between 2.5 and 5 million individuals, standing 9 to 18% of the Afghanistan population. They are commonly non-tribal and did not have a unified political structure until the 1980s. Before then, they were controlled by factionalism containing some Shia clergy elements, the military class and traditional khans competing among themselves. Since then, the Hazaras, have emerged slowly as a political and cultural force in national politics of Afghanistan. This specifically happened under Abdul Ali Mazari leadership; the first Hezb-e Wahdat-e Islami head in Afghanistan, or the Afghanistan Islamic Unity Party (Hafizullah, 1993). Hazaras use Persian-Dari or Persian-Hazaragi as their language. Dari is also known as Khorasani Persian. Hazaragi dialect is notable for a moderately high volume of Turkic and Mongol words. However, some Hazaras also uses Turkic, Baluchi, and Pashtu languages. Persian is found in the Indo-European family of language in the branch of Indo-Iranian. They believe in usual rural superstitions for instants superstitions involving night-time, animals, ghosts and evil eye (Hassan, 1989). They enjoy sharing and telling stories regarding heroes, their ancestors, and their history. They also have some proverbs that they share extensively in their community. Hazaras in Afghani culture are popular for their poetry and music as well as proverbs that act as the stem of their poetry. The music and poetry are mostly folkloric, since they have orally been passed down from one generation to another (Advameg.Inc., 2015). Being Muslims, Hazaras celebrate Muslims religious holidays by performing group prayers in the mosque. They also hold large family celebrations by preparing meals and by visiting friends. They also observe two major holidays in Islamic community that include Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Adha is a holiday used to remember the Abraham willingness to obey the command given by God and sacrificed Isaac, his only son (Harpviken, 1995). Eid al-Fitr is a celebration after a month of Ramadan, which takes place in three days. They also celebrate rights of passages that include funerals, weddings, and young boys' circumcision. Girls are needed to use scarves to cover their hair once they reach puberty. Marriages are arranged by the groom and the bride families, and the bride is demanded to live in the groom's house after the wedding (Elizabeth, 1951). Hazara conflict with other communities has been fuelled by a high level of discrimination by the government and Muslims from different tribes. This perception is highly founded on religious practice, belief, or affiliation. However, since religion and ethnicity are frequently inextricably connected, particularly in the Hazara ethnic group case that is mainly Shia. This makes it hard to classify many incidents, particularly as religious or ethnic intolerance. Association between the varying Islam branches remained a bit strained, irrespective of comparative harmony experienced in the previous years (Iqbal et al., 2011). The minority Shia has historically experienced discrimination from the Sunni majority population. As a representation of Shia augmented in the government, overt Sunni population discrimination over the community of Shia lowered. Nevertheless, resentment of Sunni against growing influence of Shia was widely expressed and frequently connected to Iranian efforts claims to impact local politics and culture. The majority of Shias are the Hazara ethnic group members that were segregated traditionally from other communities for a combination of religious, ethnic, historical, and political aspects, many which resulted to conflicts. Hazaras, also, have been documented to experience continuous societal discrimination and to be beleaguered targeted for coercion via physical abuse, illegal taxation, forced labour and forced recruitment (Philips, 2011). Pashtuns are noted to be highly indignant of Hazara minority. Hazaras have been historically discriminated and marginalized by Pashtuns, but managed to make significant advancement in politics and economy since the Taliban regime fell in 2001. Hazaras have however accused the government of providing Pashtuns with preferential treatment at the minorities' expenses, and particularly at Hazaras expenses. Besides, it is reported that Hazaras have continued to be exposed to killings, intimidation and harassment by Taliban among other AGEs. Religious and ethnicity focus lays the base for political manipulation and the conflict escalation in Afghanistan and against Hazaras. Hazaras seem to be discriminated against all other communities. There have been recent conflicts between Kuchi and Hazara, which is highly initiated by land ownership rights. However, despite the government full knowledge of the situation, it is still unwilling to resolve the problem (Klaus, 1959). A historical Ethnic tension is reported between Tajiks and Hazaras and it remains a primary problem in Afghanistan. Many individuals were murdered as violence started between members of two communities in Kabul when Ahmad Shah Massoud Tajik, military leader’s death, was being commemorated in 2012. This happened after Hazara cyclist was injured by the Tajiks convoy that passed via the Pol-e-Sokhta, Hazara’s large neighbourhood (Merrill, 2006). When police failed to take action over the incident, there was an eruption of high violence. This demonstrates the intensity of the rivalry between the Hazaras community and other Afghan tribes. It also demonstrates how much Hazaras are disregarded not just by other communities, but also by the government. The government does not take time to resolve any conflict directed to Hazara community. As a result, there is always the war between Hazara and one or another tribe in Afghan and thus, most of them have freed to the neighbouring nations for security as refugees (Mcadam, 2013). Accurate Visual Information on Colour and Symbols Hazara is a community in Afghanistan. In this regard, they are recognized using the Afghanistan flag that contains four colours that include red, black, green and white. The black colour stands for foreigners’ occupation on Afghanistan soil. The red colour represents the freedom fighters blood and in Hazara community, it is used to describe their suffering and bloodshed as they fight for their position in the community and the government. Green stands for Islam and freedom. Thus, green represent the minority Islamic community Ishii based on the Hazara community. Then there is a national emblem situated in the flag centre. The emblem is created with pulpit and Mehrab in white colour. Besides, two flags are located on its side. In the upper-middle, a sacred phrase is placed, the year 1298 and the word Afghanistan is situated on the lower part. The flag symbol represents Hazaras country of origin, and it stands for their identity. In this regard, it can be used as a symbol to call upon all those who originate from Afghanistan to take part in an activity or to assemble at a particular place. It is a potent symbol that demonstrates their country, their religious belief and their position as a community in the Afghanistan. The flag is shown below: Figure 1: Afghanistan flag (Afghanistanflag.facts, n.d.). Being Islamic, Hazaras have a unique way of dressing. Men wear loose trousers and long gown that cover three-quarter of their trousers. During their religious ceremonies, some men could be found covering their head with a headscarf that is neatly done to symbolize a cap. On the country, women wear long dresses and loose trousers that are three-quarter covered and always cover. The main difference between men and women close is their design especially the tops and their colours where women majors on brighter colours than men. The women headscarf can be of any kind including colourful or plain headscarfs. However, men headscarfs are always plain and with the colour almost similar to that of their top gown. This form of dressing can be used to differentiate between men and women in a foreign country since their dressing is very distinct. Young boys can wear around collar neck shirt and a loose trouser. Women can also wear a trouser and a long gown on the top, but it does not completely cover the trouser. This is demonstrated in the picture below (Robert, 1973a).  . Figure 2: Hazaras girl dressings (Envoy, 2014) Other symbols that can be used in this case are the music instruments used by Hazara community. Based on their music history, Hazaras have a great love for music and poetry, and they use specific tools such as Kazakh dombra as demonstrated below Figure 3: Hazaras Music Instrument Kazakh dombra (Oreshinguitars, 2015). Hazaras are divided into two groups based on their geographical position in the Afghanistan. This includes the group that lives in the centre of Hindu Kush Mountain and the group that lives on the mountain. Therefore, Hazara can also be identified with central of Hindu Kush Mountain that defines their actual origin in Hazara. The mountain region is as shown below: Figure 4: Hindu Kush Mountain in Afghanistan (Bob, 2012). Eleven is also an important number in Hazara community. It stands for the eleven Hazara’s tribal groups, each with a different number of the subgroup. The eleven sub-groups include Kala Nau, Dai Kundi, Walang, Dai Zangi, Shaikh Ali, Behsud, Uruzgani, Dai Mirdad, Polada, Ghazni Hazara and Jaghui. Therefore, number 11 can be used to signify the 11 Hazaras tribal groups, and can thus be used symbolically to represent the tribe Hazara (Info.Public intelligence, n.d.). Although Hazaras are Afghanistan, who shares the Afghanistan flag, it also has its national flag that represent its community. The national movement flag for Hazaras is pale blue in colour, with yellow Hazara national symbol, which is outlined in black. The symbol has two stylized bird conquered by five-pointed stars and a crested moon. This was a hypothetical flag used around 1998 to 2002 (Minahan, 2002). The flag is presented below: Figure 5: Hazara National flag used from 1998 to 2002 (Macdonald, 2015). Hazaras have recently adopted a new flag with three colors that include blue, yellow and white with the word Hazaristan written in the central stripe that is white. As shown below, in this regard, blue, yellow white and pale blue are four other important colors for Hazaras that can be used to pass different messages (Macdonald, 2015). Figure 6: Hazara Current National Flag (Macdonald, 2015). General Discussion of Cultural Taboos Australia’s culture, symbols, colours and dressing are quite different from that of Hazaras. Australian national colours include gold and green. The country also has a national anthem that demonstrates the country's unity and people’s loyalty and patriotism to their country. The national flag contains three colours that include blue to show justice, perseverance, loyalty and truth, and vigilance, white represents honesty and peace, and Red represents strength, bravery and hardiness. The left upper quarter of the flag contains UK Union Jack Flag, and the stars stand for Commonwealth star that signifies the 1901 colonies Federation of Australia (Signology, 2014). In Australia, the flag is an emblem or a symbol placed on a rectangular piece of cloth of particular design. It is used to demonstrate method and devices of communication. The flag is given much importance in Australia as compared to the Hazara since they do not have much meaning to country's solidarity. To them, a flag is just a reminder of their origin and their suffering in the foreign country. The Australian flag demonstrates unity of the nation, but also of a region, for instance Commonwealth region. Therefore, there is a very significant difference between the treasure and the respect given to the flag in the Australia and by Hazaras (Refworld, 2014). The war and instability resulted in the loss of the flag's meaning. It also made the national anthem that accompanied the flag to show the level of patriotism to be forgotten and to lose its meaning. In this regard, it may be hard for Hazaras to understand and employ the high degree of respect given to the Australian national flag. Though not a taboo not to respect the flag and the country’s symbol, it may create an adverse attitude of the Hazaras to their host; Australians (Queensland Government, 2011). Australia is a modern country that embraces all the diversity in the world and a high level of civilization. In this regard, Australians have embraced a modern way of dressing that may be wholly unacceptable by conservative Muslims. In the Muslim community, it is considered taboo for a woman to show any part of her body other than the face (The Embassy of Afghanistan, 2015). To Hazaras, the Australian women’s dressing is like disrespect, and it is considered a great sin. On the other hand, Australian cannot consider dressing like Hazaras since it is not part of their culture, and it does not fit their level of civilization (Robert, 1973b). References Advameg. Inc. (2015). Hazaras: Countries and their cultures. Retrieved from < http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Afghanistan-to-Bosnia-Herzegovina/Hazaras.html> Afghanistanflag.facts. (n.d.). Afghanistan flag information. Retrieved from < http://afghanistanflag.facts.co/afghanistanflagof/afghanistanflag.php> Bob, M. (2012). Mountainish. Retrieved from < http://mountainish.tumblr.com/> Elizabeth, B. (1951). An inquiry into the history of the Hazara Mongols of Afghanistan. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 7, 230—247. Encyclopaedia. (2002). Hazara. Retrieved from < http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Hazara.aspx> Envoy, H. (2014). Hazara girls in Hazaragi culture dress. Hazara News. Retrieved from < http://www.hazaranews.net/2014/08/hazara-girls-in-hazaragi-culture-dress.html> Hafizullah, E. (1993). Minority group politics: The role of Ismailis in Afghanistan's politics. Central Asian Survey, 12(3), 379-392. Harpviken, K. B. (1995). Political mobilization among the Hazara of Afghanistan: 1978—1992. Ph. D. Dissertation. Oslo: Department of Sociology, University of Oslo. Hassan, P. (1989). The Hazaras. Stockton, CA: Moghal. Info.Publicintelligence. (n.d.). Central Asia cultural intelligence for military operations. Hazara in Afghanistan. Retrieved from < https://info.publicintelligence.net/MCIA-AfghanCultures/Hazara.pdf> Iqbal, N., Joyce, A., Russo, A., & Earnest, J. (2011). Resettlement experiences of Afghan Hazara female adolescents: A case study from Melbourne, Australia. International Journal of Population Research. doi.org/10.1155/2012/868230 Klaus, F. (1959). Preliminary notes on Hazara culture. Historiskfilosofiske Meddelelser: Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, 37, 5. Copenhagen. Macdonald, I. (2015). Hazaristan (Afghanistan). Retrieved from < http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/af-hazar.html#des> Mcadam, J. (2013). Australia and asylum seekers. International Journal of Refugee Law, 25(3), 435-448. Merrill, L. (2006). An introduction to Afghanistan culture. Retrieved from < http://eafghanag.ucdavis.edu/country-info/culture-and-working-locally/Man_Afghan_Culture_CWTI.pdf> Minahan, J. (2002). Encyclopedia of the stateless nations: D-K. Greenwood Publishing Group. Oreshinguitars. (2015). Kazakh dombra. Retrieved from < http://oreshin-guitars.com/?page_id=145 > Philips, J. (2011). Asylum seekers and refugees: what are the facts? Parliament of Australia Department of Parliamentary Services. Retrieved from < http://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/bn/sp/asylumfacts.pdf> Queensland Government. (2011). Afghan Australians. Retrieved from < https://www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/health_workers/Afghan2011.pdf> Refworld. (2014). Information on the Hazara. Afghanistan- researched and compiled by the refugee documentation centre of Ireland. Refugee Documentation Centre. Retrieved from < http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/52fe0ba04.pdf> Refugee Action (2015). Refugee Action Coalition fact sheet. Refugees: The Facts. Retrieved from < http://www.refugeeaction.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/General-fact-sheet-April-2015.pdf> Robert, C. L. (1973a). Faction and conversion in a plural society: Religious alignments in the Hindu Kush. Anthropology Papers, 50. Ann Arbor: Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan. Robert, C. L. (1973b). Hazara integration into the Afghan Nation: Some changing relations between Hazaras and Afghan officials. New York: Afghanistan Council of the Asia Society. Signology. (2014). Australian flag. Retrieved from < http://www.signology.org/flag-symbol/australian-flag.htm> The Embassy of Afghanistan. (2015). Afghanistan in brief. Retrieved from < http://www.embassyofafghanistan.org/page/afghanistan-in-brief> UNHCR. (2005). Australia. Retrieved from < http://www.unhcr.org/4641835f0.html> Read More

General Australian Refugee Facts Australia contains a long history of welcoming refugees and from different parts of the world. It has been involved in resettling more than 700000 displaced persons and refugees. This includes thousands of refugees that were settled immediately and during the Second World War (Philips, 2011). Australia has settled so many refugees especially from Afghanistan such that, they currently count a great deal to the Australian population. Although Hazaras counts for about 16 to 20% of the Afghanistan population, it accounts for over 50% of the refugees in Australia from Afghanistan as per 2006 to 2010 refugees’ records.

Based on the statistics, Australia receives many refugees from Burma, Iran, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka as a result of the war. The country receives a different number of refugees per year. In 2013, the total number of migrants was 230000. However, refugees only counted for about 9% of this population. The average number of annual refugees’ intake in Australia is about 6%. This is much less as compared to what was recorded in the 1980s were about 20% of the immigrants were refugees. Although Australia is not among the highest country, based on the number of refugees that are settled on the yearly basis, it is ranked 19th in resettling and acknowledging refugees.

However, despite this good ranking in terms of welcoming and accepting refugees, Australia, has only resettled a few refugees. The world statistics clearly shows that only 1% of refugees that are resettled per year in the entire world. This signifies the small number of refugees settled in different countries. Australia is ranked 22nd in refugee resettlement in the world and thus, it is among the best (Australian Action, 2015). In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, Australia received a considerable number of refugees from Islamic Republic of Iran, Sudan, Serbia and Montenegro, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The number of refugees from Serbia and Montenegro was the highest from 1996 to 2001. However, this decreased gradually as the volume of refugees from other countries such as Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Islamic Rep. of Iran increased. Although the value of refugees from Iraq was second highest in 1996, the number has grown steadily, and it remained high even in 2005. The number of refugees from Sudan was quite high in 2005, actually more than the number of refugees from Serbia and Montenegro in 1996.

Besides, the number of refugees from Afghanistan was still increasing at a considerable rate. Thus, Australia has been handling an enormous number of refugees from different regions, mainly refugees from Islamic nations (UNHCR, 2005). Australia like any other country suffers from illegal immigrants. Therefore, the state chooses on which foreigners to protect and those not to protect. Typically, immigrants arriving via boats are rejected while others are accepted. The numbers of illegal immigrants or refugees using boats have been increasing since 2009 to 2010.

Between 2009 and 2010, illegal immigrants only marked 6% of the total number of immigrants. However, between 2010 and 2011 this increased to 8.9%, between 2011 and 2012 the number increased to 10.2. The population of illegal immigrants continued to grow such that between 2012 and 2013, they had increased to 12% (Refugee Action, 2015). Overview of the Chosen Cultural Group The paper focuses on Hazara community in Australia. Australian-Afghan Hazara migrants have lived a great part of their life in transition and exile.

Many of them originate from Pakistan or Iran as a result of persecution. The Hazaras are distinct individual that are set aside from their other countrymen by an independent nature, mixed ethnicity and religion. The three aspects have made them suffer for quite a long time (Encyclopaedia, 2002). Persecution has defined and shaped the Hazaras, specifically for more than 200 years. They experience discernment as a minority Shi'ite Muslims among dominant Sunni Muslim in Afghanistan and for cultural bias.

Read More