In this thesis I adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to explore the experiences of African humanitarian migrants in Australia. I argue that effective integration and positive settlement outcomes for this group would be enhanced by a clearer understanding of their originating circumstances and culture(s). I employ a combination of ethnography, autoethnography and narrative styles to articulate different aspects of the lived experience of flight and settlement of twelve individual African refugee women. These stories were collected through semi- and unstructured personal interviews over a period of two years. They emerge out of my evolving relationships with the participants, and highlight the importance of friendship and active listening in promoting positive cross-cultural interaction. The narrative accounts are supplemented and augmented by documentary chapters that examine the broader socio-political aspects of culture, war and refugees in Africa. The fine detail of the individual experiences of flight, settlement and relationships converge with these contextual accounts to open a window on the social world of humanitarian migrants. Together, they provide a layered and multi-faceted account of the life and times of African refugees and the challenges that they face in Australia in the 21st Century.

The Iraqi women in this study have made Australia their ‘home’ in the years following the Gulf War in 1991, and are the first generation to move to a small rural town in Australia. The experiences documented in this thesis are based on 15 months of ethnographic research, between March 2003 and June 2004, with twenty-six Iraqi women, sixteen service providers and members of the communities of which they are a part. The focus of the study is on Iraqi women’s experiences of resettlement, their sense of emotional wellbeing and belonging. By and large, studies of refugee mental health attribute ‘refugee suffering’ to pre-migration experiences, rooted to the cultures of peoples’ home countries, principally through war, persecution and trauma, and how this legacy impacts upon women’s emotional wellbeing and ability to belong in resettlement. In many ways, it is convenient for host countries to ascribe refugee mental health problems to pre-migration experiences because the power dynamics of integration, the complex micro politics and the consequences of encounters with the Australian system are made indiscernible. The emergent discourse not only obscures the economic, historical and social conditions that lie at the heart of processes of displacement, but also ignores, silences and speaks on behalf of refugees. / This thesis demonstrates that Iraqi women’s articulations of their experiences of displacement and resettlement are anchored in and deeply affected by the material, legal and cultural circumstances of the local and national places they inhabit. Accordingly, their accounts of emotional suffering are in part framed within the experiences of war and persecution, both past and present, but they are also entangled and embedded in their contemporary realities resulting from multiple social barriers in resettlement, including cultural and religious racism, social invisibility, exclusion and being ‘othered’ in their daily lives, which impacts upon their wellbeing and sense of belonging in Australia. The experiences documented in this thesis not only privileges Iraqi women’s own understandings of displacement and resettlement and the ways in which they frame the reality of their lives, but also implicates the Australian system and structural axes of inequality in their resettlement experiences, in an attempt to move beyond western epistemological explanations that define the form and content of refugee lives as well as their illness and wellbeing.

This study explores the use of a critical literacy approach in a class of language learners who had low levels of literacy. The particular focus was on the teacher‟s role in the process and how she could implement this approach in such a way that the students would benefit. The study records the exploration of the relevant literature, the planning and implementation of the lesson, and her reflection on the process. The students had all arrived in New Zealand as refugees. They had limited English proficiency and were enrolled on a Training Programme at the Auckland University of Technology. The aim of this programme is to help students enter gainful employment or continue with their studies. To this end great emphasis is placed on students improving their English proficiency and entering the workforce or engaging in further study. Many of the texts employed in the classroom context underline the desirability and praiseworthiness of these goals. In this study 15 students drawn from a variety of sociocultural backgrounds were asked to deconstruct a text of a type often employed in the classroom and explore their reaction to it. Two experienced observers provided feedback on the lesson and the way in which it was implemented. The students worked in groups, where possible in their first language, and answered a series of questions on the text. They were also asked to write individual texts in response to the teaching text. The researcher then conducted interviews with the students which afforded them the opportunity to expand on and clarify these responses. The study concludes that classroom exercises such as these can be meaningful and empowering particularly when students assume the roles of narrators and advisors. However such lessons need to be carefully designed and structured if students are to gain real benefit from such as approach.

This study explores the use of a critical literacy approach in a class of language learners who had low levels of literacy. The particular focus was on the teacher‟s role in the process and how she could implement this approach in such a way that the students would benefit. The study records the exploration of the relevant literature, the planning and implementation of the lesson, and her reflection on the process. The students had all arrived in New Zealand as refugees. They had limited English proficiency and were enrolled on a Training Programme at the Auckland University of Technology. The aim of this programme is to help students enter gainful employment or continue with their studies. To this end great emphasis is placed on students improving their English proficiency and entering the workforce or engaging in further study. Many of the texts employed in the classroom context underline the desirability and praiseworthiness of these goals. In this study 15 students drawn from a variety of sociocultural backgrounds were asked to deconstruct a text of a type often employed in the classroom and explore their reaction to it. Two experienced observers provided feedback on the lesson and the way in which it was implemented. The students worked in groups, where possible in their first language, and answered a series of questions on the text. They were also asked to write individual texts in response to the teaching text. The researcher then conducted interviews with the students which afforded them the opportunity to expand on and clarify these responses. The study concludes that classroom exercises such as these can be meaningful and empowering particularly when students assume the roles of narrators and advisors. However such lessons need to be carefully designed and structured if students are to gain real benefit from such as approach.

Refugees come from diverse backgrounds and the issues they face depend on their particular circumstances. Some of the issues refugees face include cultural shock, language difficulties, lack of established networks and often discrimination. Christchurch has a growing refugee community with their own social needs. The survey detailed in this dissertation was undertaken in response to the Canterbury Refugee Council identifying the lack of comprehensive data available for refugee resettlement outcomes in Christchurch. The aim was to gain a better understanding of the living conditions experienced by the refugee community in Christchurch. The participants were from the four main refugee groups resettled over the past decade, namely people coming from Afghanistan, Kurdistan area, Ethiopian, Somalia and Eritrea. This survey was undertaken at a time when international literature concludes that refugees are one of the most vulnerable groups in society and emphasises the vital role that housing alongside other factors have on positive resettlement outcomes. A quantitative approach was adopted to gather information rather than test hypotheses; it was designed to investigate housing, neighbourhood and sources of income. It also included what, if any, social support is available from the wider community, and explored some of the main current problems faced by the refugee families. The survey concludes that despite good intentions and some successes, there are still many obstacles for refugees resettling into their new environment. Refugees continue to experience chronic unemployment and struggle to access suitable housing for their families. The issues raised in this survey highlight the importance of acknowledging and responding to refugee diversity.

Thesis (M.St.Wel.)--University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education, 2001. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-124).

Thesis (M.T.S.)--Associated Canadian Theological Schools, 1992. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-133).

Thesis (Ph.D.) --University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, Discipline of Anthropology, 2008. / "July 2008" Bibliography: leaves 228-250. Also available in print form.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-142). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 571-591)