Small towns fight xenophobic stereotype

A study from the the University of New England has found the return to the community was immeasurable in shifting attitudes and restoring a town's local economy.

In Bendigo a community of Karen refugees, an ethnic group from Myanmar, is thriving.

Karen is now the second most commonly spoken language in Bendigo, according to the 2021 census.

In Nhill, a town in north western Victoria, the arrival of 160 Karen refugees in 2010 had contributed $41.5 million to the local economy, breathing new life into an ageing and financially depleted community.

The postcard-worthy, leafy university town of Armidale in NSW's northern tableland's region, has become a bellwether in refugee resettlement.

Armidale was chosen as a regional settlement location for Australia's refugee program by the federal government in 2017.

Since 2018 the town has welcomed 650 Ezidi refugees. Ezidis, also known as Yazidis, are a religious minority from northern Iraq, Turkey and Syria who have faced historical persecution for centuries.

University of New England associate professor and the study's lead researcher Susan Watt said the Armidale case was not an outlier.

"It is fantastic that the refugee resettlement went so well, and that the attitudes have been so increasingly positive towards the refugees," she said.

"But there's nothing to say that this is atypical, if other towns were to have similarly good settlement processes, and a similar good match of refugees to town.

"I don't see a reason why you wouldn't be able to repeat that success in other locations.

"Rural Australia isn't really what a lot of urbanites would imagine."

Initially, residents' main concerns focused on whether there would be enough jobs to accommodate the new arrivals and whether local services were adequate. Eventually, these concerns eased as the community began to benefit from more workers.

Settlement Services International (SSI) general manager of settlement and integration Yamamah Aga said Armidale's success showed that most locations could become a home for new refugees.

"The success of Armidale goes back to the community, they were all welcoming, and the volunteers and the services, everyone really wanted the refugees there," she said.

"But also the approach that we have taken is a whole community approach.

"Everyone was involved, was up to date with information or looking forward and planning and preparing to receive these refugees in Armidale.

"So it was the community approach that made it successful," she said.

The Rotary Club of Armidale donated land to enable Ezidis to grow and sell traditional foods.

Two vegetable gardens were established on the outskirts of the city with land donated by local farmers.

This year the Ezidi farmers are harvesting from 2.5 kilometres of linear garden beds.

The Rotary Club trained Ezidi refugees to grow crops in New England soil and helped sell their produce at the local farmers market.

"When the resettlement happened, we found out lots of the refugees had agrarian backgrounds," the project's lead Peter Lloyd said.

Mr Lloyd said selling fruit and vegetables at the markets had encouraged Ezidi farmers to strike up conversations and build friendships with locals.

"We've seen a huge change in the confidence of a lot of these farmers," he said.

Mr Lloyd estimated the Rotary Club of Armidale had invested $150,000 worth of time and resources into the project with around $60,000 funded with NSW government and Rotary Club grants.

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Ezidi food culture was taking Armidale by storm. The town now boasts a food truck and three supermarkets.

Armidale's Cafe Patisserie owners Nathan Walker and Enora Chanterperdrix hosted a dinner service featuring food from five Ezidi families.

The night showcased unique Ezidi cuisine filled with Asian, European and Middle Eastern influences.

"Food gets people talking, it's a common language," chef Nathan Walker said.

The café owners understand language barriers. Mr Walker met his wife while working in French restaurants.

"When I moved to France and didn't understand anyone for about three months," he said.

"We both appreciate how difficult it is to work in a country where you don't speak the language," Mr Walker said.

A culturally appropriate burial ground was also quickly established in the town to allow for mourning traditions given their recent experiences with trauma and loss.

"As the local community became more aware of the experience of Ezidi refugees and started communicating with them, they saw behind that label, the refugee label and could see that these are real people and families with the same dreams and aspirations as any other community member," Ms Aga said.

Professor Watt found that attitudes were more positive when the Ezidis were perceived to adopt Australian ways.

In 2018 the Lowy Institute found that 47 per cent of Australians believed that immigrants are a burden on our social welfare system while 67 per cent said immigration had a positive impact on the economy of Australia.

Ms Aga said it was important to counter narratives of job loss and demand on social services in Armidale and stress the economic benefit of new arrivals.

"We mitigated this through strong formal and informal communication mechanisms with local agencies, service providers and community members," she said.

"For example, we can take the employment argument by sharing examples of the work we are doing with local employers in skills shortage industries, to channel workers into those industries.

"So that then shifted the narrative from refugees taking our jobs to refugees helping local employees stay in business," she said.