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The Perceptions and Usage of Alcohol and Other Drugs in Middle Eastern and Burmese Refugee Communities Across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven Region

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The Perceptions and Usage of Alcohol and Other Drugs in Middle Eastern and Burmese Refugee Communities Across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven Region University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities 1-1-2020 The perceptions and usage of alcohol and other drugs in Middle Eastern and Burmese refugee communities across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region Jioji Ravulo University of Wollongong, [email protected] Dianne Woods Sesiahs Lance R. Barrie University of Wollongong, [email protected] Joseph Abdo Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers Part of the Education Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Ravulo, Jioji; Woods, Dianne; Barrie, Lance R.; and Abdo, Joseph, "The perceptions and usage of alcohol and other drugs in Middle Eastern and Burmese refugee communities across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region" (2020). Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers. 4811. https://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers/4811 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] The perceptions and usage of alcohol and other drugs in Middle Eastern and Burmese refugee communities across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region Abstract People from a refugee background experience intersecting challenges which predisposes them to a heightened risk of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) related harms. Despite AOD service staff being conscious of increased risks regarding substance usage, there remains pivotal inextricable differences amongst the way cultures and subcultures conceptualise and relate to substance usage. This may be evident for refugee populations that have to navigate through the experiences of displacement, resettlement, and the acculturation process. Despite refugee populations being at risk for AOD harm, the services available for support remain under utilised. As a result, this can highlight discrepancies within the knowledge(s) of both service-provisions and refugee and CALD communities concerning engagement with one another as there is a misalignment of expectations. The research outlined in this report aims to minimise service-access barriers that exist for people from a refugee and CALD background by proposing recommendations based on key findings. Influenced by grounded theory, our qualitative study utilised focus groups to collaboratively engage participants who were from a Middle Eastern and Burmese refugee background. All participants (n=26) were between the ages of 18-25 and were resettled within the Illawarra or Shoalhaven local government areas within the last 10 years. Data was documented using a recording device and was later transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. Results showed participants understood the nuances of AOD harm in a unique way that was mediated through cultural values, language, and lived experiences. Thus, impacting the knowledge and access of AOD services. The study is pivotal because it paves the way forward in improving refugee service- provisions in AOD for youth and communities. Disciplines Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Ravulo, J., Woods, D., Barrie, L. R. & Abdo, J. (2020). The perceptions and usage of alcohol and other drugs in Middle Eastern and Burmese refugee communities across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region. Wollongong: University of Wollongong. This report is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers/4811 The perceptions and usage of alcohol and other drugs in Middle Eastern and Burmese refugee communities across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region JIOJI RAVULO DIANNE WOODS LANCE BARRIE JOSEPH ABDO REPORT | I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are truly appreciative of the time taken by the Middle Eastern and Burmese young people from across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region who participated in our focus groups and provided invaluable insights into their experiences of moving to Australia and their interactions with the wider community. Thank you to Illawarra Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Local Drug and Alcohol Team (CALD-LDAT) and the Faculty of Social Sciences - University of Wollongong for your respective funding support. We are grateful for the additional research support and assistance provided by Annie Lucas from Australian Red Cross Nowra, the community agencies that provided a space for the research to occur and the ongoing guidance provided by our research partners across the region including Middle Eastern and Burmese community elders and leaders. A special thank you to Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra, Wollongong Youth Services, CareSouth, and Illawarra Multicultural Services for their ongoing engagement with the communities they work with and their support of this project. We also respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands in which we undertook this research project, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders, and the importance of striving to work collaboratively towards meaningfully including Indigenous knowledges, perspectives and practices across contemporary societies. ISBN: 978-1-74128-326-6 © Jioji Ravulo, Dianne Woods, Lance Barrie, Joseph Abdo Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2 ABSTRACT 3 INTRODUCTION 4 REFUGEE YOUTH FROM MIDDLE EASTERN & BURMESE COMMUNITIES 5 — Middle Eastern Refugees and Existing Research 5 — Burmese Refugees Existing Research 9 NEW RESEARCH 6 — Research Context 6 — Consultation with Service Providers, Community Elders and Leaders 6 — The Young People Who Participated in Our Research 11 MIDDLE EASTERN YOUNG PEOPLE: KEY FINDINGS 7 — Knowledge and Substance Usage 7 — Gender Differences in Consumption 7 — Usage as Ways of Coping 7 — Shared Responsibilities in Substance Usage 7 — Language & Understanding 8 — Cultural Maintenance 8 — The Role of Parents 8 — Surrounding Stigma 9 — The Experience of Racism 9 — The Importance of Trust 9 BURMESE YOUNG PEOPLE: KEY FINDINGS 10 — Evolving Knowledges 10 — Gender & Identity 10 — The Roles of Family and Institutions (Gate Keepers of Education) 10 — Social Events Impacted & Influenced Alcohol Consumption 10 — Usage amongst Parents and the Migration Process 11 — Different tolerance levels 11 — Excessive Drinking Identified Explicitly as Taboo 11 — The Importance of Culture & Religious Influence 11 — Pre-Migration Impacted Perception on Australian Drinking Culture 12 — Acculturation Stress Mitigated and Impacted Substance Usage 12 — Prevention Preferred 12 OVERALL CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS 13 — Strengths to build on 13 — Systemic Challenges 23 RECCOMENDATIONS: MIDDLE EASTERN YOUNG PEOPLE 14 RECCOMENDATIONS: BURMESE YOUNG PEOPLE 15 REFERENCES 16 REPORT | 1 2 | UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG Abstract People from a refugee background experience intersecting challenges which predisposes them to a heightened risk of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) related harms. Despite AOD service staff being conscious of increased risks regarding substance usage, there remains pivotal inextricable differences amongst the way cultures and subcultures conceptualise and relate to substance usage. This may be evident for refugee populations that have to navigate through the experiences of displacement, resettlement, and the acculturation process. Despite refugee populations being at risk for AOD harm, the services available for support remain underutilised. As a result, this can highlight discrepancies within the knowledge(s) of both service-provisions and refugee and CALD communities concerning engagement with one another as there is a misalignment of expectations. The research outlined in this report aims to minimise service-access barriers that exist for people from a refugee and CALD background by proposing recommendations based on key findings. Influenced by grounded theory, our qualitative study utilised focus groups to collaboratively engage participants who were from a Middle Eastern and Burmese refugee background. All participants (n=26) were between the ages of 18-25 and were resettled within the Illawarra or Shoalhaven local government areas within the last 10 years. Data was documented using a recording device and was later transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. Results showed participants understood the nuances of AOD harm in a unique way that was mediated through cultural values, language, and lived experiences. Thus, impacting the knowledge and access of AOD services. The study is pivotal because it paves the way forward in improving refugee service-provisions in AOD for youth and communities. REPORT | 3 Introduction The Illawarra and Shoalhaven region is a diverse and dynamic and qualitative methods. The authors went on to state the community that is made up of people from different heterogenic nature of findings concerning substance usage backgrounds, cultures, religion, and languages who all was a result of context and is a reflection of regional and contribute to the richness of this south coastal area. Across global differences between cultures, as one in three displaced the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region, there are approximately persons may be using alcohol in hazardous or harmful ways. 91,936 people who identify as being born overseas which Horyniak et al. (2016) suggested that that figures might be an equates to being 24.7% of the population (ABS, 2016a; ABS, underestimate to the true prevalence of drinking due to the 2016b). Over the last 10 years, the region has received a nature of stigma surrounding substance usage and help- number of people from refugee backgrounds to settle within seeking behaviours. their respective community. Particularly
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