Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

Submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade on the Issues facing diaspora communities in Australia by the Kateb Hazara Asociation

Kateb Hazara Association welcomes the opportunity to provide a Submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade on the Issues facing diaspora communities in Australia. Kateb Hazara Association is the largest Hazara association in NSW representing multiple Hazara social and community groups.

The Hazara community also offers its members a range of cultural, sporting, religious and social events that encourage social interactions that help community members to feel less isolated and lonely. Events and activities include volleyball, soccer and cricket teams and tournaments, English Classes, music classes, Hazaragi community language classes, community gatherings where food is shared and cultural performances presented, celebrations of specific religious and cultural events such as Eid (Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr, Muharram (Islamic New Year and commemoration of the assassination of the grand-son of the Prophet Mohammad, and Nowruz (Persian New Year), prayers for the family members who were deceased in Australia or overseas, and commemoration of any tragic events that occur in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Background to Hazara Community in NSW

Hazara community members speak a number of languages including Hazaragi, Dari, Farsi, Arabic and Urdu. However, the primary language spoken by the Hazara community in Australia is Hazaragi. According to the 2016 Census, there were close to 5000 Hazaragi speakers in NSW with the majority settled in Cumberland Local Government Area (69%). Over 55% arrived between 2006 and 2011. There were also close to 10,000 Dari speakers; the majority live in Cumberland LGA (41%) followed by Blacktown LGA (22%). It is essential to consider settlement patterns of the speakers of both languages as many Hazaras would say they speak Dari. Overall, it is clear that Cumberland LGA hosts the highest number of Hazaras in NSW. (Multicultural NSW, 2018).

It is also essential to consider high level of disadvantage in this community. For example, at the time of the 2016 Census, only 8% of Hazaragi speakers had tertiary qualifications compared to 32.3 % of the total population of NSW. Close to 80% of Hazaragi speakers had no qualifications compared to 39.1% of the total population of NSW. The unemployment rate of Hazaragi speakers was 17.6% compared to 6.3% of the total NSW population. Finally, 36.9% reported difficulties in speaking English compared to 4.5% of the total NSW population. Many Hazaras are illiterate in their first language. This is due to the history of persecution as outlined below, deliberate denial of education particularly for women, and suppression of the Hazaragi language. (“The Afghanistan-born Community | Department of Social Services, Australian Government,” n.d.)

Along with other Shia minorities in Afghanistan, Hazaras have faced long-term persecution and human rights abuses. Hazaras traditionally lived in Hazarajat in the central mountains of Afghanistan. Before

1 | Page Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

the 19th century the proportion of Hazaras in the overall population of Afghanistan was higher than today. The intense persecution began with massacres by King Abdul Rahman in late 1800s. There are also records of Hazaras having been sold as slaves in the 19th century. Since then their numbers have gradually decreased. During the 19th and 20th centuries, they were marginalised and discriminated against to such an extent that majority were employed in unskilled labour and hard and dangerous work, which further segregated them through socioeconomic disadvantage. Hazarajat was deliberately kept underdeveloped with no roads, schools or clinics. (Ibrahimi, 2017; Marie, 2013; Bacon, 2951; Monsutti, 2005; Poladi, 1989)

The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan temporarily changed the fate of the Hazara. While they were opposed to the Soviet occupation, the conflict at that time allowed them to organise politically and gain political and financial support from the Shia community in Iran. This was lost when Afghanistan descended into civil war in 1989 and the country fell under the Taliban in 1996. The Taliban targeted the Shi'a Hazara as infidels and subjected them to gross human rights abuses, causing them to flee to other countries as refugees. When Hamid Karzai came to power in 2002, persecution of the Hazaras decreased in urban areas and they were able to regroup politically and gain a significant number of parliamentary seats in the 2005 elections. From 2007, the Taliban built itself back up from their base in Pakistan and expanded back into Afghanistan. Once again, the Hazara were targeted for persecution. This has continued in recent years with Hazaras targeted by both the Taliban and the Afghan branch of Da’esh (ISIS) who have claimed responsibility for a number of large scale bombings of Hazara events or sites (Adlparvar, N. 2014; Maley, 2018).

Although Hazaras have been given full rights under the 2004 Afghan constitution, they still face discrimination in many areas of the country. They are vulnerable to attack and death on Afghanistan’s road network, particularly on the roads to and from Hazarajat that are targeted by criminals, insurgent forces and the Taliban and more recently by ISIS affiliated organisations. Many Hazaras fled to the Balochistan province of Pakistan, mostly in and around the city of Quetta, with a sizeable number also in Iran. Hazaras have also fled to western countries such as Canada, Europe, the US and Australia. (Maley, 2018; Human Rights Watch, 2018; UNAMA, 2018; Refugee Council of Australia, 2018)

Hazaras have come to Australia in large numbers on boats from Indonesia since 2000, regarding the journey as a safer option than staying in Afghanistan or Pakistan waiting for UNHCR resettlement. After the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, a number of Hazaras were forced to return from Nauru to Afghanistan. Most fled immediately to Pakistan and some returned to their villages in Afghanistan. Some of them have since been killed by the Taliban who, though no longer in government, nevertheless have substantial power in Afghanistan. Hazaras from Afghanistan still form one of the major groups of boat arrivals in Australia seeking asylum. Many Hazara have relatives remaining in Afghanistan and Pakistan who still suffer constant harassment and persecution. Worry over the safety of relatives is a constant source of stress and anxiety, as well as guilt and shame over leaving them behind and being separated from them. (Maley, 2018; UNAMA, 2018; Refugee Council of Australia, 2018; Ibrahimi & Maley, 2018) Anecdotes from Hazara Australians suggest that rates of depression

2 | Page Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

amongst the Hazara community are high and substance abuse is common, especially amongst those on bridging visas.

Many Hazaras have arrived to Australia via unauthorised means, usually by boats. They have applied for refugee status post-arrival and while they are awaiting the decision on their application, they remain on Bridging Visas. There are different classes of Bridging Visas, but in general this leads to significant challenges: no means of family reunion; limited or no access to financial assistance (due to recent policy changes); limited access to free outpatient medical services; limited or no access to government-funded casework support and employment services. In the past, rules related to particular Bridging Visas included no access to work rights and free education beyond compulsory schooling age. This has changed in more recent times. Practically, this can result in poverty, homelessness, unemployment or employment in the so called “gig economy” with minimal protection or workers’ rights, and drug and alcohol abuse as methods of coping with distress. It also means long term family separation and extended anxiety over forced return. (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2019)

What do you think about the support offered to diaspora community associations and similar organisations, including government grants and other funding? Did the organisations receive enough support? Were the right things supported? If they did not receive enough support and if the right projects were not supported, what should be supported?

Kateb Hazara Association has never received substantial funding from the Commonwealth Government. We have managed to purchase a community centre using only our own community resources. We provide various community services on a voluntary basis. However, this model is unsustainable as it does not encourage Hazara community to take leadership in settlement and support of our own community members.

For small community organisations, securing funding is critical in allowing them to engage with government agencies on an equal footing. The experience of negotiating funding contracts, delivery of funded programs, evaluation and acquittals would require that Hazara community organisations not only learn how government agencies work but also work on systemic change relevant to our community.

In addition, the current funding system tends to concentrate funding in the hands of few large organisations who then subcontract to smaller organisations. This may be useful for the Government as they only need to deal with a single Contractor, but it has a negative impact on organisations such as Kateb Hazara Association. We never develop capacity to manage our affairs and work directly with Australian Government. We can be a bridge between our community and Australian society but we need channels to have our voices heard directly by Australian Government.

Recommendations

3 | Page Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

• Funding for ethno-specific community associations - The Australian Governments should commit to capacity building for refugee and migrant communities such as Kateb Hazara Association by directing funding and supporting organisational capacity building. This should be direct funding rather than it being outsourced to large NGOs.

• Australian Government should create funding programs aimed at supporting diaspora communities. Such funding programs must be managed by government directly and a capacity building function should be built within the contract management role; so that funded organisations are supported to develop their structures and managerial capacities.

• Australian Government should create channels for diaspora communities to engage directly with decision makers relevant to needs and issues of our community. One of the options could be that DFAT develops a Diaspora Liaison Unit within the Department.

What safety concerns do diaspora communities have? How can Australian Government strengthen the protection and resilience of vulnerable groups in diaspora communities? Which groups are most vulnerable?

Our security issues are outlined below:

1. The most common challenge to our community members is the issue of family separation and fear for family safety. Early in their settlement journey, our community members may feel happy and hopeful. However, this changes in the long term and is particularly impacted by family separation. The long-term family separation leaves Hazara community in a prolonged state of uncertainty and increasing distress. Our community members have shared their experiences of family separation in a report on mental health issues for Hazara community co-authored by the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) and Hazara community as per below:

I know people who are here and they are the head of the family but their families are in another country [Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia].

I have been waiting for 4 years to get my citizenship and that caused me to not being able to see my family and to help them.

Other issue I see is that our people lacking proper planning when they try to move out the country (Afghanistan) I believe should plan well to able to deal with situation like financial and how many years that will take them to settle get their family to where they have gone - those pressure will cause them to become mentally ill, depressed, isolated, moody and all those make them feel that everyone own them and pick on everyone and everything

4 | Page Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

I myself I have been waiting for my citizenship, I have 4 kids living in Quetta of Pakistan and the security situation is extremely bad, Kabul is the same, just yesterday 4 suicide bombers went only to small Shia district, my kids attend English course there. We are getting sick, depressed, crossing the red light, I know you for 7 years and coming to English class for 4 years and waiting for my citizenship, I can’t bring my family. My body is here but not my mind, yes that I’m living here safe but my thoughts are with my kids and family. Every day I call them to know if they are alive. They are not safe even for one second. I know people have become psycho from these situations.

Many Hazara community members have families overseas in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hazaras are frequent targets of attacks by Taliban and Da’esh. Our community members often share their feelings of sadness and hopelessness associated with this challenge.

2: Young people’s dis-engagement from education and employment would be another future challenge for the community which can result in negative perception of the community. It also results in young people engaging with negative elements of society and putting themselves at risk. Services for Hazara young people delivered by Hazara organisations are essential in addressing this issue.

3: Racial Discrimination and fear of retribution by offenders if a complaint is made. Hazara community members have experienced racism and discrimination along both racial and religious lines. Unfortunately, our community members have reported lack of awareness of how to challenge and report racist incidents and are fearful of being targets of further attacks should they report racism. Hazara women have been targets of Islamophobia in particular, and these experiences have occurred on the street, on public transport and when dealing with law enforcement agencies. We have specific examples we could share if required.

4: Social isolation as a result of limited social and family relationships particularly challenges with family reunion. Feelings of isolation and loneliness in a new environment also contribute to depression. Limited financial resources are also a major contributor to sadness and hopelessness. Our mental health report participants have expressed their feelings this way:

Language is definitely important but also the way people here interact with each other. When two people come across one another the least that they will do is smile at each other and say hello. Whereas, with us it is not really like that. Please do forgive me for saying this. When we see someone we know when they get close they are embarrassed or they put their head down. However, good thing about people here [non-Hazaras] is that when they get close they smile and then say hi and go pass each other.

There are so many people that feel lonely, we have to find them away to sort of touch [connect] them to a group or program, when you touch them with a program then they get a sense of belonging, 5 | Page Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

therefore they will share more, there are a lot of people who have issue they keep away because they don’t have a sense of belonging so if we create more program and invite them and they will share and participate and they no longer will be loneliness.

I feel being lonely is a big issue. When I first come for 3-4 years I didn’t know the community, I was feeling lonely and whenever I had that feeling I was going on social media, social media itself will bring depression because you unknowingly compare your life with others and celebrities, social media creating high expectation. So we need to create social program and social networking to make people use less social media and socialise with people face to face.

5. Mistrust of authorities due to past experiences – as highlighted in the introduction above, Hazara community have come to Australia from a background of long-term persecution at the hands of Governments and authorities. This impacts on their ability to trust and engage with Government institutions. Unfortunately, our experiences of racism and Islamophobia, and lack of leadership in addressing those, contribute to perpetuating this fear of authorities.

The most vulnerable people in our community are people with mental health issues, asylum seekers, people with disabilities, seniors, women, children and young people.

What prevents the full participation of diaspora communities in Australia's democratic and social institutions and what can be done to make sure they can participate fully?

Our experience has been that many mainstream providers do not have a tailored approach to the specific needs of Hazara culture that considers their language barriers, limited knowledge of employment rights and opportunities and their background skills and knowledge.

Additionally we find that many Hazara asylum seekers get assessed for basic level supports by case workers who come from ethnic groups that perpetrated violence against Hazara community members in Afghanistan. Service providers often provide Dari language translations and interpreters who tell us that our language, Hazaragi, is the same as Dari hence there is no need for Hazaragi interpreters or staff. Denial of the existence of our language and importance of using this language contributes to our community’s lack of participation in society and institutions.

We would also like the issue of employment addressed in our community. The unemployment rate in our community was 17.6% at the time of the 2016 Census. Many Hazara community members have small business skills and experience and being able to obtain targeted and culturally appropriate support would help them start businesses and reduce unemployment in our community.

Recommendations

6 | Page Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

 Ensure Hazaragi interpreters are provided for Hazara community members when requested and Hazaragi translations are available in both written and audio-visual format.  Commonwealth Government should develop and implement a National Anti-Racism Strategy.  Hazara associations to be consulted when decisions are made by all levels of Government where those decisions impact on Hazara community.  Permanent protection to be made available to all Hazara asylum seekers found to be refugees. Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) system should be abolished.  SRSS payments should be reinstated for all unemployed asylum seekers. Financial situation is particularly dire during the COVID-19 situation. Many of our community members are destitute and rely on community’s charity.  Vocational counselling and support to access education programs or skills recognition to enhance employment and education outcomes should be made available.  Organise orientation program which can include information on the health system in Australia including mental health services. The community is facing significant issues in navigating and accessing health services.  Ensure all service providers who employ Hazara community members adhere to the access and equity requirements at all times.

How can communication and partnership be improved between government and diaspora communities?

The relationship between Australian Government and the Hazara Community is very significant for us. We are proud of living in Australia and accessing freedom and safety we have not had in Afghanistan or countries of first asylum. We need to have direct contact with Australian Government as opposed to relying on large service providers. Service providers could act as our voice when we were newly arrived but we feel that Hazara community is at the stage where self-representation is possible and necessary. We are able to provide Australian Government with direct cultural and grassroots knowledge and would be happy to do that.

Are there any other issues relevant to diaspora communities you would like to raise with Australian Government?

We have identified a number of initiatives that need support:

- English Classes particularly for those not eligible for AMEP

- Embroidery class to support women who have the skills to create independence via small business development.

- Domestic and family violence programs

- Programs that provide social support and connections for women, children and young people.

7 | Page Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

8 | Page Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

Bibliography

Asylum seekers: Key facts and latest news. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2019, from Refugee Council of Australia

website: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/asylum/

Australian Human Rights Commission (2019). Lives on hold: Refugees and asylum seekers in the ‘Legacy

Caseload’.

Adlparvar, N. (2014, April 8). Afghanistan’s Hazara minority flexes its political muscle. The Conversation,

retrieved at http://theconversation.com/afghanistans-hazara-minority-flexes-its-political-muscles-

25171

Bacon, E. (1951). The Inquiry into the History of the Hazara Mongols of Afghanistan. Southwestern

Journal of Anthropology 7, pp. 230-247.

Human Rights Watch (2018). Afghanistan: Events of 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2019 from

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/afghanistan

Ibrahimi & Maley (2018). Afghanistan: the Hazaras are not safe. The Interpreter , published by the Lowey

Institute

Ibrahimi, N. (2017). The Hazaras and the Afghan State: Rebellion, Exclusion, and the Struggle for

Recognition, Hurst & Co, London

Maley, W. (2018). On Return of Hazaras to Afghanistan. Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy, Coral Bell

School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University

9 | Page Kateb Hazara Association Inc

40 Adderley Street Lidcombe 2141 ABN 28 553 244 239

Marie, F. (2013). Confronting Misconstrued Histories: Creativity Strategies in the Hazara Struggle toward

Identity and Healing. Arizona Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Volume 2, spring 2013.

Mehraby, N. (2017, March). Engaging and Negotiating with the World of Afghans: The Interface between

Culture, Religion and Therapy. The Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma

Conference. Sydney, Australia.

Monsutti, A. (2005). War and Migration: Social Networks and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of

Afghanistan. New York: Routledge,

Multicultural NSW (2018). The Multicultural NSW Community Profile. https://multiculturalnsw.id.com.au/

Poladi, H. (1989). The Hazaras. Stockton, CA: Mughal Pub. Co., Distributed by Avenue Books, 1989.

Refugee Council of Australia (2018). Australian Hazara community fears massacre as Taliban attack Hazara

districts in Afghanistan. https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/hazara-community-attacks/

The Afghanistan-born Community | Department of Social Services, Australian Government. (n.d.).

https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/settlement-services/programs-policy/a-multicultural-

australia/programs-and-publications/community-information-summaries/the-afghanistan-born-

community

UNAMA (2018). Afghanistan: Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual report 2018.

https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/afghanistan_protection_of_civilians_annual_repor

t_2018_final_24_feb_2019_0.pdf

10 | Page