JAKARTA – Hazara immigrants coming from Afghanistan have helped transform the government areas of Adelaide and Enfield, South Australia socially, culturally, and economically.
That fact is based on a report by the University of South Australia and Charles Sturt University in collaboration with the Multicultural Communities Council of SA.
Immigrants from Afghanistan Provide Many Benefits
Hazara migrants who have lived in the region for the past 15 years are known to bring many benefits. Although they are still faced with challenges when integrating into foreign lands.
Port Adelaide and Enfield are among the regions with the largest non-English speaking communities in South Australia. There are about 2,000 Afghan Hazara immigrants who have settled over the past two decades.
Reporting from the Official Website of the University of South Australia (UNISA), Dr. David Radford, a sociologist from UniSA who co-authored the report, said all the evidence showed Hazara immigrants were highly entrepreneurial.
According to Dr. Radford, immigrants have even managed to revitalize Port Adelaide and contribute to a rapidly growing local economy through construction, real estate, food outlets, bakeries, carpet shops, and other specialty businesses.
The efforts made by immigrants in building the city despite significant cultural and linguistic barriers, social isolation, and discrimination.
"Negative media reports portray refugees and asylum seekers as a burden, a loss, or a threat to the Australian community, but all the research shows the opposite fact," Dr. Radford said.
Hazara Immigrants Transform Adelaide
"Port Adelaide experienced a decline 15 years ago, but Hazara migrants have helped turn the area into a dynamic, multicultural, and thriving center," Dr. Radford said.
Based on interviews with Hazara migrants and residents in Port Adelaide-Enfield, there are many challenges they face. However, there is also support offered to them.
Sports and education centers are known to have played a major role in helping integrate Hazara immigrants by forging new friendships to foster a sense of belonging.
Afghan Hazara Immigrants Challenge
Job discrimination remains a challenge. This is because many immigrants start their own businesses, although education and language skills development help address discrimination.
"The Hazara community members we interviewed all shared the motivation to build a new life, to find work and to be independent, and to contribute to their community," explains Dr. Radford.
Finally, Dr. Radford explains the challenges of assimilating immigrants into society because they tend to be communal.
"But this reflects the fear of losing their identity, rather than a reluctance to integrate," he added.
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