Refugees in Western Australia

Discrimination and Well-Being: Perceptions of Refugees in Western AustraliaAuthor(s): Farida Fozdar and Silvia TorezaniSource: International Migration Review, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Spring, 2008), pp. 30-63Published by: The Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27645715 .

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Discrimination and Well-Being: Perceptions of Refugees in Western Australia

Farida Fozdar

Sociology and Community Development, Murdoch University

Silvia Torezani

Murdoch University

This paper reports the apparent paradox of high levels of discrimination

experienced by humanitarian migrants to Australia, in the labor market and everyday life, yet simultaneous reporting of positive well-being. How can people feel discriminated against, yet still be relatively satisfied with life? The study draws on quantitative and qualitative data from a study of 150 refugees from the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East, and Africa. Possible reasons for the level of well-being are explored, including "relative

deprivation theory," as well as various resiliency and mitigating factors, including personal and social supports. The notion of eudaimonic well

being ?

whereby experiences of difficulty produce positive well-being - is

also applied to the findings. The negative experiences and perceptions appear to map onto low-level dissatisfaction or

disgruntlement, and

specifically directed or contained disappointment, rather than serious dissatisfaction with life generally, orientation to Australia, or

negative

subjective well-being.

REFUGEE PERCEPTIONS OF DISCRIMINATION AND LIFE SATISFACTION1

The Australian Context

Australia is often seen as privileged in that despite increasingly diverse settler

intakes, it has, more than many other immigrant nations, avoided ethnic

conflict and extreme anti-immigration and racist ideologies (Jupp, 2002). Australia is an attractive destination for immigrants due to its economic

This research is funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant. Chief investigators on the project, entitled "Refugees and Employment: The Effect of Visible Difference on

Discrimination," are Val Colic-Peisker, Farida Fozdar, and Nonja Peters. The three-year project ran from 2004 to 2006.

? 2008 by the Center for Migration Studies of New York. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1111 /j. 1747-7379.2007.00113.x

30 IMR Volume 42 Number 1 (Spring 2008):30-63



Perceptions of Refugees in Western Australia 31

prosperity, political stability, and temperate climate. Its permanent migration program, currently about 130,000 and rising, consists of three main streams:

skilled, family, and humanitarian immigration. While historically it has

preferred White European migrants, over the last three decades the intake has diversified (DIAC, 2007), although echoes of the "White Australia policy" are

still clearly audible (Hage, 1998; Jupp, 2002; Jayasuriya, Walker, and Gothard,

2003). At the beginning of the 21st century the main source countries were

New Zealand and the UK (both about 12,000 migrants), China (about 6,600), India (about 6,000), and South Africa (about 4,600). From the 1970s Asia

was the main source for humanitarian entrants, many coming from Vietnam,

and in the 1980s and 1990s countries of the Middle East also provided such entrants. The most recent humanitarian intakes have been from African

nations.

Australia aims to be tolerant of the diversity produced by its immigration program

? for example, a government Web site identifies the following as rights associated with multiculturalism in Australia:

all Australians have the right to express their own culture and beliefs and have a

reciprocal obligation to respect the right of others to do the same. . . . All Australians are entitled to equality of treatment and opportunity. Social equity allows us all to contribute to the social, political and economic life of Australia, free from

discrimination, including on the grounds of race, culture, religion, language, location,

gender or place of birth. . . . All Australians benefit from productive diversity, i.e. the

significant cultural, social and economic dividends arising from the diversity of our

population. Diversity works for all Australians. (DIMA, 2006)

Legislation exists which is designed to guard against racial discrimination in

immigration policies, employment and other local practices. The Australian

Racial Discrimination Act (Commonwealth) of 1975, for instance, entitles

Australian residents to equality of access to facilities, housing, and provision of

goods and services, as well as access to employment, regardless of a persons

race, color, or national or ethnic origin.2 While policies attempt to ensure equity and acceptance, it is clear

that some migrants

encounter a warmer welcome than others. Most com

mentators agree that in the last ten years, under the conservative Coalition

government, the country has retreated from the overt and celebratory

multiculturalism of the late 1980s to early 1990s Qupp, 2002; Jamrozik, 2005),

although Goot and Watson (2005) suggest that this perception of negativity is

2Section 15; see <http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/rdal975202/>.



32 International Migration Review

overstated.3 Negative attitudes toward asylum seekers and discrimination against

"those of Middle Eastern appearance" demonstrate the ongoing xenophobia among Australians (Ang, Poynting and Noble, 2004; HREOC, 2004; Jupp et al, 2007). Recent evidence includes a Sydney academic publicly warning against accepting Black African refugees since they are less intelligent, violent, and crime prone (Fraser, 2005; Roberts, 2006) and racial violence between "Lebanese Muslim youth" and the "surfing community" (White Anglo-Australian) on Sydney's southern beaches in December 2005. Negative attitudes have lately been focused around skilled migrants being brought in from the Philippines and other countries to meet the trade skills' labor shortage. Challenges to the

value of diversity have increased over the past decade, especially in connection with "the terrorist threat," with those "of Middle eastern

appearance" the target

of street discrimination and vilification (Humphrey, 2002; Castles and Miller, 2003:108, 204-205; Ang, Poynting, and Noble, 2004; HREOC, 2004).

Humanitarian migrants are often the focus of this negativity, due to the

perception that they are less likely to assimilate into "Australian" life because of their cultural distance in terms of language, values, and practices. We have

argued elsewhere that refugees to Australia, despite high levels of work-relevant

skills, and despite legislation designed to eliminate discrimination, experience both personal and institutional discrimination in the employment market

(Tilbury and Colic-Peisker, 2006; Colic-Peisker and Tilbury, 2007; 2006). The result is pockets of "niche" employment in the secondary labor market, low income levels, lack of opportunity, and perceptions of discrimination. Thus we

might expect refugees to feel relatively dissatisfied with their lives in Australia.

However, we found that reported life satisfaction or well-being, though lower than the national average, and that reported in other studies of migrants, is not

as low as one might expect. Before exploring the dimensions and possible reasons for this, it is relevant to explore aspects of well-being as defined through the various constructs used by social scientists, in order to understand how high levels of discrimination and well-being can coexist. After discussing quality of life research generally, we briefly explore the literature on well-being and

discrimination, generally and among migrants, and the relationship between

employment and well-being.

3Most recent evidence for the retreat from multiculturalism comes from the change in name in

early 2007 of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to the Department of

Immigration and Citizenship, indicating a new direction focusing on citizenship and

integration, rather than celebrating diversity. Implementation of a new citizenship test has also

been seen as a retrograde step.




FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY OF LIFE/LIFE SATISFACTION/ WELL-BEING - RESOURCES AND RELATIVITY

Well-being is a popular notion increasingly used by psychologists and policy makers to measure

quality of life and to argue for social or economic

interventions for various populations (Veenhoven, 2000; Sointu, 2005). It is

usually measured quantitatively, through a number of different constructs,

including "well being," "quality of life," and "life satisfaction."4 These are

"umbrella terms" (Veenhoven, 2000; Young, 2001) which are treated as measures of individual or social "happiness." Life satisfaction is usually referred to as an indicator of quality of life.

There are two basic approaches to measuring quality of life: the individual oriented measurement "subjective well-being," determined through questions such as "how satisfied are you with your life as a whole?" or statements such as

"I feel happy most of the time"; and the population-oriented approach, which

focuses on material well-being using objective measures such as access to the

necessary resources to secure one's welfare ?

"money, property, knowledge,

psychic and physical energy, social relations, security and so on" (Rapley, 2003:5)

? or lifestyle indicators such as life expectancy, mortality rate, crime

rate, unemployment rate, GDP, poverty rate, school attendance, suicide rate,

access to health, safety, and so forth (Trewin, 2001). Critics of the subjective

approach argue that individual evaluations are related to aspirations, and are

therefore not reliable. The counter to this is that ultimately this is a measure

of happiness, and happiness is a subjective notion. Certainly, the relationship between material resources and well-being is complex, and evidence does not

indicate a simple positive correlation between the two variables (Veenhoven, 2000; Cummins etal, 2005).5

The problem with the subjective measure is that notions of satisfaction or subjective well-being are culture bound (Kleinman and Good, 1985; see

Keith, Heal, and Schalock, 1996; Uchida, Norasakkunkit, and Kitayama, 2004, for reviews), and like the study of the conceptual equivalence of

emotions across cultures (Wierzbicka, 1999), qualitative and quantitative researchers have found both uniformities and uniquenesses in studies of well

being. Differences have been found between individualist and collectivist

4These terms will be used interchangeably throughout the paper, to indicate both the

ambivalence of the terms, and the various ways in which different authors use them.

5For example, happiness varies with personal wealth in poor countries, but less so in rich ones

(Veenhoven, 1997:12; Rapley, 2003:17).




cultures ? subjective well-being is related to personal achievement in North

American cultural contexts, for example, whereas in East Asian contexts, it is

more closely related to interpersonal connectedness (Uchida, Norasakkunkit, and Kitayama, 2004:223). The meanings, motivations, and predictors of

well-being differ across cultures.

There is also some contention about the comparability of results from

measures of satisfaction or well-being across cultures. Young (2001) found that

Salvadoran refugees in Canada had consistently lower general quality of life

than the mainstream population, and Lau, Cummins, and McPherson (2005)

suggest cultural response bias to explain the consistently lower levels of life

satisfaction in their sample of Hong Kong Chinese compared to Australians.

However, in an attempt to account for the relative stability of their well-being measures across cultures, times, and objective material circumstances,

Cummins et al. (2005:1) offer the concept of "subjective wellbeinghomeostasis,"

something they argue is biologically determined, which produces relatively fixed levels of well-being

? generally 75 points on a 100-point scale (variation

between 60 and 90 is standard).6 It might as easily be argued that rather than a biological effect, this is a methodological artifact - people will generally see

themselves as average, and equate this to about the three-quarter mark on any

scale ? and it is this that accounts for its relative stability. White and Pettit (2004) recognize that

well-being is a complex notion with many different dimensions whose definition is

disputed. The "well" qualifier makes the concept irreducibly normative, concerned with values and assessment. Its focus on "being" suggests attention to states; not only of body and material endowments, but also of mind and subjective perceptions. [It also includes] a third, social or process dimension, which shows how subjective perceptions and objective welfare outcomes are constituted through social interaction and cultural meanings.

Increasingly, researchers have come to agree that life satisfaction, as a subjective

measure, will be dependent upon relative comparisons. "Relative deprivation"

theory recognizes that satisfaction results not from absolute characteristics but

subjective, relative comparisons: "people's reactions to objective circumstances

depend on their subjective comparisons" (Walker and Smith, 2002:1), in relation to past experiences, the objective circumstances of others, individual

aspirations, and expectations (Clark, 2001). Relative deprivation requires not

only that people perceive differences but that they perceive such differences in

6Well-being measures usually use a 10-point scale, which is then multiplied to produce a

percentage.




material circumstances as being unfair and resent them (Pettigrew, 2002:368).

Pettigrew notes that it is necessary to pay attention to "relative gratification"

(2002:354), the situation where people compare themselves with those worse off, and feel relatively gratified as a result.

DISCRIMINATION AND WELL-BEING

Received wisdom has it that experiences of discrimination produce low levels

of well-being, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, or worse, actual anxiety or stress.

Harrell eloquently states that "racism can traumatize, hurt, humiliate, enrage,

confuse, and ultimately prevent optimal growth and functioning of individuals

and communities" (2000:42), leading to negative physical, psychological, social, functional, and spiritual health.

Early sociological work explored the negative psychosocial effects of

being constructed as "other" by the dominant group. Gunar Myrdal (1944) demonstrated how the notion of "separate but equal" encouraged feelings of

inferiority among African Americans. Franz Fanon (1970) took a psychoanalytic stance toward this inferiority, arguing racism generates harmful psychological effects that both blind Blacks to their subjection and simultaneously alienate

them from self-consciousness.

A recent review of 138 empirical quantitative research reports on the

effects of self-reported racism and health found negative health outcomes were

related to self-reported racism (Paradies, 2006; see also Williams and William

Morris, 2000). Further, Williams etal (1997) and Williams and Harris-Reid

(1999) demonstrated that for Blacks, Mexican Americans, and Asian Americans, racial discrimination and psychological distress are linked.

A positive effect that is counterintuitive is that reported by Ryff, Keyes, and Hughes (2003). They found a consistent positive relationship between

minority status and "eudaimonic well-being." This is a form of well-being associated with human potential and functioning (or humanistic and existential

well-being) ?

such as purpose in life, personal growth, autonomy, environmental

mastery, self-acceptance, and positive relations with others. They argue that

adversity and challenges, such as discrimination, may contribute to a deeper sense of meaning and purpose. Those with higher levels of education have

higher eudaimonic well-being compared with equal-status Whites. They argue "educational attainment . . . may contribute differentially to the life purpose or

autonomy of those with assigned minority status" (Ryff, Keyes, and Hughes, 2003:286), by providing cognitive and emotional skills to help deal with

racism, but they argue this is a complex relationship which needs further




exploration. In a review of the evidence, Vega and Rumbaut (1991) conclude that the link between discrimination and various positive or negative psycho logical consequences remains unclear.

DISCRIMINATION AND WELL-BEING AMONG MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

Few studies explore the effects of discrimination on migrants and refugees specifically. Studies by Williams et al. (1997) and Williams and Harris-Reid

(1999) found that Mexican Americans and Asian Americans, as well as Blacks,

experience psychological distress as a result of racial discrimination. Earlier works which are directed at more serious mental health effects include Liebkind's (1996) study of Vietnamese refugees in Finland, which found a

correlation between discrimination and stress symptoms, and Rumbaut's

(1995) study of a large sample of immigrant children in the US, which found

perceived discrimination correlated with depressive symptoms. A study of educated Iranian refugees in the Netherlands (Werkuyten and Nekuee, 1999) found that ethnic identification, "acculturation attitude," self-esteem, life

satisfaction, and perceptions of discrimination are complexly related. The authors report that positive affect and life satisfaction are predicted by sense of

mastery, not by identification with minority status, perceived discrimination, or acculturation attitude. The authors point out that whereas most research on

life satisfaction of refugees tends to focus on the traumatic contexts from which

they have come, the refugees themselves tend to focus on their lives in the new

contexts and want to move on.

EMPLOYMENT AND WELL-BEING

Research indicates a complex relationship between employment and measures

of well-being. Work is often regarded as the means by which to make a major contribution to society, as well as enhancing skills, social networks, and identity (Trewin, 2001). Using cross-sectional data, Judge and Watanabe (1993) demonstrate that there is a relatively strong positive relationship between job and life satisfaction, and that the causal direction appears to be reciprocal, i.e.,

life satisfaction and job satisfaction significantly influence each other. Levels of

expectations were also found to be important.

Employment has long been considered vital for successful settlement of

migrants and refugees (McSpadden, 1987; Valtonen, 1999; 2004; Rydgren, 2004), and certainly migrants and refugees identify gaining a job within their




level of expertise and skills as a high priority (McSpadden, 1987; Valtonen, 1999; 2004; Rydgren, 2004; Tilbury, 2007). Valtonen (1999) found that economic aspects of resettlement were given the highest priority by Vietnamese

refugees in Finland and Canada, as they helped fulfill collectivist obligations to the wider family and kin network ? reflected in higher levels of well-being. Self-identified resettlement goals included financial stability, a stable live

lihood, and a good job. McSpadden, in a study of Ethiopian refugees in the

US, found employment was seen as hugely important for life satisfaction -

"almost 100% of the refugees put jobs as the most important factor, in a

satisfying, happy life for themselves" (1987:809-810). Discrimination was not identified as a factor influencing life satisfaction.

The research outlined above indicates that there is a complex relationship between well-being, discrimination, and employment, and that the assumption that lack of discrimination and secure employment are associated with higher levels of well-being may be inaccurate.

THE RESEARCH

The current study sought to ascertain the degree to which, if any, poor

employment outcomes for "visibly different" migrants from refugee backgrounds could be attributed to racism and discrimination in the West Australian job market. It targeted refugee communities who are "visibly different" to varying

degrees (through accent, name, physical features, religion, and culture) from

the mainstream population and who were the main groups to arrive in

Australia under its humanitarian program during the 1990s and early 2000s

(DIMIA, 2005), and their potential employers. The data presented in this paper were collected in 2004 through a survey

of 150 refugees. Fifty questionnaire-based face-to-face interviews were

conducted by bicultural interviewers with people of working age who had

professional or trade qualifications, and reasonable English. Due to difficulties of accessing the sampling frame, participants were snowball sampled from each

of the three broad refugee groups.7 The sample was designed to be indicative rather than representative, enabling a focus on refugees with relatively high levels of human capital who should therefore be more likely to have positive

7More detailed information on sample characteristics can be found in the project report,

"Refugee and Employment: Investigating the Effect of Visible Difference on Discrimination

Research Project Report, December 2006," available at <http://www.cscr.murdoch.edu.au/

visible_difference_report.pdf> (Colic-Peisker and Tilbury, 2006). There was some internal




employment outcomes. The respondents in the current study had been in Australia for an average of seven years. The questionnaire covered respondents'

demographic characteristics, job-seeking practices, and their experiences within the job market. It also included questions concerning general satisfaction with settlement and social and emotional well-being. Quantitative responses were supplemented by qualitative comments, provided by three-quarters of

respondents, and a series of seven follow-up interviews and four focus groups

to clarify some of the issues raised. Data are presented which indicate respondents' experiences of negative

life events associated with employment and discrimination, which might lead one to predict negative effects on life satisfaction generally. These are difficulty in gaining employment, discrimination in employment, and discrimination

generally.8 Of the total sample, 62% reported experiencing difficulties in finding

work in Australia, with Middle Easterners the most likely to report difficulty (78%), followed by Ex-Yugoslavs (58%) and Africans (52%). These difficulties included requirements for local work experience (62%) or local referees (41%)

variation in the samples, as follows: Age (ex-Yugoslavs average age 44 years; African and Middle

Eastern, 37 and 38 years respectively); Gender (ex-Yugoslavs female 58%; Africans and Middle Easterners 28% each); Education (32% ex-Yugoslavs university-educated; Africans and

Middle-Easterners 68% and 66% respectively, often with postgraduate degrees - 26% and

20%); self-assessed written English-language proficiency (ex-Yugoslavs 66% very good or fluent; Africans 68%; Middle Easterners 88%); and self-assessed English good enough to do the same

job as before coming to Australia (ex-Yugoslavs 52%; Africans 84%; and Middle Easterners

80%). Thus the African and Middle Eastern samples were far more similar, more educated, and with better self-assessed English than the ex-Yugoslavs. Two-thirds of the ex-Yugoslav sample were from Bosnia, over three-quarters of the Middle East sample were from Iraq, and over half

the African sample were from Somalia.

8The questions asked and the choice of answers were phrased as follows:

Question 38. "Have you experienced difficulties finding a job? i. No; ii. Yes (please provide examples)."

Question 44. "Have you had experiences in the job market (while working, while looking for

work, or while applying for promotion) where you think you have been discriminated against? i. Yes (please circle as many answers as appropriate): a. difference in language ability; b. difference in accent; c. difference in name; d. difference in appearance; e. difference in religious customs

such as dress or prayer requirements. Please describe your experiences; ii. No (any comments?)."

Question 45. "Have you experienced any of the following barriers to employment? a. problems getting qualifications recognized; b. requirements for work experience in Australia; c. require ments for work referees in Australia; d. lack of opportunities for work experience in refugee camps; e. break in working life; f. difficulties in getting promoted; g. necessity of having a car; h. other (please specify). If you circled any of the above, please provide examples."




TABLE 1 Proportion of Sample Who Experienced Discrimination in the Job Market (Percentages)

Ex-Yugoslav African MidEast Total

(N = 49/50) (N = 46/50) (N = 47/50) (N = 142/150)

in Language Ability 42.0 8.0 16.0 22.0 in Accent 40.0 29.0 28.0 32.0

Yes 48.0 40.0 52.0 46.7 Due to Difference i Due to Difference i Due to Difference in Name 18.0 24.0 28.0 23.3 Due to Difference in Appearance 8.0 28.0 28.0 21.3 Due to Difference in Religious Customs 0.0 22.0 12.0 11.3 (Dress or Prayer Requirements)

No 50.0 52.0 42.0 48.0

and problems with local recognition of qualifications (31%). Lack of transport, breaks in working life, and inability to work while in refugee camps were less important.

Many also reported discrimination as a barrier to employment. Table 1 indicates that around half the sample reported experiencing discrimination in the job market, most commonly because of accent (a third), followed by name,

language ability, and appearance (all between 21% and 23%), with a smaller

proportion identifying religious practice as a form of discrimination experienced. Language ability

was a particular problem for ex-Yugoslavs, but was

reported as barely an issue for Africans and those from the Middle East. It is difficult to

know the extent to which this is simply a difference in attribution by respondents, or a real difference in discrimination. For Africans and Middle Easterners,

appearance was significantly

more important than for ex-Yugoslavs

- physical

difference being an obvious point of concern.

Religious customs were also more

problematic for African and Middle Eastern respondents than ex-Yugoslavs. A feature of the questionnaires completed by the participants was the

individual stories of discrimination provided in response to the open-ended questions. A simple

content analysis of qualitative answers to the question

which focused on employment and discrimination revealed that of 150

respondents 78 commented that they had been discriminated against in the

workplace and/or while looking for work, and these were spread evenly between the three groups. For the question which asked about difficulties

finding a job, there were 80 negative comments (28 ex-Yugoslavs, 21 Africans, and 31 Middle Easterners), many of which also focused on discrimination; and for the question about general barriers to employment there were 86 negative comments (24 ex-Yugoslavs, 26 Africans, 36 Middle Easterners). The slightly higher levels among the Middle Eastern sample reflect issues related to Muslim

religious practice, names, and appearance. For the Africans, accent was a

common problem. So significant numbers of refugees felt they had been




discriminated against in the employment market, with each group experiencing difference not so much in the quantity of discrimination, but the type.

These comments provide detailed evidence of the ways in which structural and individual factors producing discrimination are interconnected, both in the workplace and in the employment market. A thematic content

analysis of this qualitative data indicated the following themes as most significant: nonrecognition of qualifications; lack of local experience; lack of recognition of overseas experience; lack of local referees; accent and language ability; stereotyping; inappropriate workplace practices which stigmatize particular ethnic groups or individuals, resulting in the need for migrants to doubly prove themselves; the perception of a lack of will by employers to recognize skills and abilities and help migrant workers; and outright racism in interactions with the

public in workplaces (most often, taxi driving). The evidence is of both overt and covert discrimination, and personal

as well as structural discrimina

tion. A selection of direct quotes about discrimination in employment is provided below as illustration.9

During my work experience in real estate industry I was verbally abused by my

colleagues in front of the other staff. Even my juniors took liberty to make remarks about my accent. I was told I do not suit enough and was given wrong instructions

intentionally to look that I underperformed. I had to work twice harder than others and still was not equally treated as English speaking staff. When I complained to my

manager, he told me, "I am giving you first warning." I have realized that only if you work twice as hard as the rest you can survive. Meanwhile you have to be quiet. If you try to stand up for yourself, you will make it worse. - Croatian woman

I felt that employers do not trust I have abilities. Simply they do not want to try or

help. It hurts all the time. ? Bosnia-Herzegovina woman

I was made uncomfortable in very subtle ways. I was shunned by colleagues, reported for small things and for tasks that I am not in any way responsible. I was even called names by colleagues.

- Somali man

In one occasion, I applied for factory job and was turned down because was told my Islamic traditional dress was not appropriate for this kind of job.

- Somali woman

When I applied for jobs many times, I was asked to change my name if I want to get the job. Sometimes I was asked in the interview if I pray five times a day, which is not

part of the interview. - Somali man

9Qualitative responses quoted in this paper come from open-ended questions and from interviews or focus groups. Interviews and focus groups were transcribed verbatim, and written

English has not been corrected. Pauses in speech are indicated with ..., and where sections have been removed from transcript or written quotes for brevity, these are indicated with [ ].




A feature of the responses was that respondents described a suspicion that

they were being discriminated against, but acknowledged that they had no real

proof or definitive evidence to support this suspicion. Thus it remained a vague sense rather than an absolute fact.

It is very difficult to substantiate, but failing to secure a single job out of all the

applications leaves one suspecting discrimination. - Ethiopian man

They can not be ruled out. There may not be explicit discrimination, but all of the above factors are there implicitly.

- Liberian woman

I have not experienced explicit discrimination while looking for work, but I believe not recognizing overseas qualifications is an implicit discrimination. -

Ethiopian man

... it is hard to recognize them, but I felt left out. - Bosnian woman

Many jobs I did apply, but I feel that I fit for that job, but they don't give me chance. ?

Iraqi woman

In the questionnaire, relatively high proportions of respondents also reported they had been treated unpleasantly

as a result of their refugee status, the measure

we used to indicate general "in the street" racism, rather than workplace or

employment market discrimination.10 While this seems to be more of an issue

for Africans, with 56% within the "sometimes" or "often" categories, it was also of concern for around a third of the other groups (ex-Yugoslavs 32%, Middle Easterners 34%). Only a quarter of the total sample reported never having experienced such treatment, although this was significantly higher for ex

Yugoslavs than the other groups ? 68% had rarely or never been treated

unpleasantly as refugees. Once again this indicates that physical and cultural

similarity may protect ex-Yugoslavs from some of the discrimination those more "visibly" different experience (Table 2; see also Colic-Peisker, 2005).

TABLE 2

_Proportion Treated in an Unpleasant Way as Refugees (Percentages)_


(N = 50) (N = 49/50) (N = 49/50) (N = 148/150) Yes, Often 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0

Sometimes 24.0 48.0 26.0 32.7

Rarely 28.0 26.0 44.0 32.7 Not at All 40.0 18.0 20.0 26.0

10This was covered by question 53: "Were you ever treated in an unpleasant way because you are

a migrant/refugee? a. yes, often; b. sometimes; c. rarely; d. not at all."




While we did not include a qualitative response section for this question,

follow-up interviews indicated the types of everyday prejudice encountered. From the numerous stories, which were often examples of Islamophobia,11

two

illustrative examples have been selected. The first comes from an Iraqi woman

who described harassment on public transport due to her religious dress, and

her husband's advice to simply ignore such events.

Respondent: One day, when I get off from the train, [ ] there was a very well dressed

man, business suit, holding his bag, business bag and was in his middle-age; he wasn't

young, very young. And he says, "excuse me," I thought he wants to pass because it was so crowded. [ ] He said, "are you from Al Qaida? I'm doing a survey, are you from

Al Qaida?" And he passed very quickly [she laughs], oh my goodness! I was so angry. I'm laughing now, but I was so angry. ... I was in a bad mood all the day that day.

You can't believe, I was SO angry. I couldn't say anything because he passed so quick, [ ] And when I, you know, got back to the home in that night, in that evening, I was telling my husband what happened to me, I was so angry. And he was saying, "oh, just ignore them." He's always saying that when I, you know, when I have

something or experience something outside. He's always saying, "Just ignore them.

Just, don't say anything and don't be angry. Just pretend that nothing happened," you know.

But it wasn't just this experience, so many things. Once, I was walking in the shopping centre. [ ] And there is some people passing and saying, "oh there is a lot those shit

people here these days." [Laughing] He was looking at me. I'm sure that he was like, he meant me and not other people because I'm putting the scarf and he was like

looking at me and talking to his friends.

Interviewer: So, were you angry then?

Respondent: I was but there is nothing to do.

The second example is from a Southern Sudanese man who completed his training in Australia as a commercial pilot but cannot find a job in his field. He has held many jobs, including driving a taxi, which is the context in which he describes the various forms of verbal abuse he has received. He notes that he has simply learned not to let these events affect him.

I have obviously been there, you know, "You black swine. Why don't you go back to

your country?" And you know, "Now you came down here at least you have a job" or "Why don't you go back?" And you know, all these sort of things but at the end of the day one thing you have to think of, you know, to put some food on the table first. You leave alone all these insults because they don't cut the wounds on your body.

All you have to do is just, you know, there is that feeling whereby you can just block it out and let whatever is said to you just bounce back and don't worry about it.

11 See also HREOC (2004) for many similar examples.




GENERAL SATISFACTION WITH LIFE

Given these experiences of discrimination in everyday life and in the

employment market, one might expect refugees to feel that life in their adopted homeland is less than satisfactory, that they are alienated and disconnected from mainstream society, that they

are not made to feel welcome and are

not valued (in fact, disvalued), cannot reach their potential in terms of work

opportunities, and are relatively poorer off than the rest of the population, and thus that their levels of life satisfaction/quality of life/well-being would be significantly lower than the general population's. We found that indeed satisfaction was lower, but not as low as

might be expected.

Despite close to 40% of respondents reporting experiencing general discrimination (in the form of unpleasant treatment as a refugee), and almost

47% reporting discrimination in the job market, respondents reported generally positive quality of life, based on the following questions: "Are you

generally satisfied with your life at the moment?" and "Do you feel your life is 'back to normal'?" On a

4-point scale, over three-quarters reported being

entirely or mostly satisfied with their lives (76.7%), with only 4% reporting not

being satisfied at all. Most of our respondents also reported that life was "back to normal," a

significant feature of a return to well-being for those in migrant

and refugee resettlement situations who have undergone often protracted

periods of disruption in their lives, with 72.6% agreeing entirely or mostly, and

only 8.7% not at all. Table 3 shows the means occur around the 3-point mark

{i.e., "mostly") on a

4-point scale.

To produce a

"refugee satisfaction score," the two items (general satisfac

tion and life being back to normal) were aggregated. On a 4-point scale the mean hovered around the "mostly satisfied" mark (2.94), which if converted to a percentage equates to 64.7%, somewhat lower than the standard quality of life score for most Western countries, which stands at 75% (Rapley; 2003; Cummins et ai, 2005). Other research has produced variable results regard ing satisfaction among various categories of migrants. Richardson etal. found

TABLE 3

_Refugee Life Satisfaction (N = 150)_


Range Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD)

General Satisfaction 1-4 3.12 (0.98) 2.92 (0.73) 2.93 (0.52) 2.99 (0.77) Life Back to Normal 1-4 3.06 (1.07) 2.80 (0.68) 2.80 (0.68) 2.89 (0.87)

Refugee Life Satisfaction

(Composite Score) 1-4 3.09 2.86 2.865 2.94




that 93% of humanitarian migrants who arrived in Australia in 1999/2000

reported being "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their lives (2004:76), and Ang et al. (2002:45) found that 79% of those from non-English-speaking back

grounds were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their lives (close to the general Australian average of 81%). The conversion in our research of a 4-point scale

to a percentage is problematic, due to the bluntness of the original measure, so

it is difficult to determine the significance of the 16 percentage point differ ence between our

sample's "refugee life satisfaction" and the Australian average, or even to begin comparison with the unusually high finding of Richardson and

colleagues. Thus it is more meaningful to focus on the mean of 2.94, which indicates a reasonable level of satisfaction with life, close to 3 on the 4-point scale, which was the "mostly satisfied" mark.

There are some differences between groups. Ex-Yugoslavs scored 3.09

(69.7%), around 0.2 or 8 percentage points higher than Africans, at 2.86

(62%), and those from the Middle East, 2.865 (62.2%). While this group had on average been here longer, and had a higher proportion of women respondents and slightly older age profile (both factors tend to produce higher levels of

reported life satisfaction; see Tran and Nguyen, 1994; Ogasawara, 2004; Cummins et al., 2005), it may be that this once again reflects the effect of visible difference. Indeed, although ex-Yugoslavs experienced the greatest downgrading in their jobs (^^Colic-Peisker and Tilbury, 2007), they reported less "street" discrimination and higher life satisfaction than those from the

Middle East and Africa, indicating that perhaps lower levels of racial and cultural "visibility" may result in higher general satisfaction. Alternatively, it

may be that the African and Middle Eastern refugees, having arrived more

recently and perhaps with different expectations, still have higher expectations than the ex-Yugoslavs, who appeared from the qualitative evidence to be more

accepting of their lot in life. Another possibility is that the finding is related to

employment status ? of our sample, ex-Yugoslavs had an

unemployment rate

of 14% compared to 32% for those from the Middle East and 38% for

Africans; and for ex-Yugoslavs, well-being was found to be correlated with

employment status.12

Table 4 summarizes the means for a number of domains indicating general levels of satisfaction with life in Australia (the scales for the last three

12Elsewhere, one member of the team has demonstrated that predictors of life satisfaction were job satisfaction, financial satisfaction, and social support, each as subjectively measured

(Colic-Peisker, 2006), although job satisfaction was only a predictor of general life satisfaction for the ex-Yugoslav sample.




TABLE 4 Descriptive Statistics for Life Satisfaction Indicators, including

_Discrimination Experiences (N = 150)_ Indicators of Life Satisfaction Ex-Yugoslav African MidEast Total and Discrimination Range Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD)

Aus Are Friendly 1-4 3.04 (0.77) 2.88 (0.67) 3.04 (0.68) 2.99 (0.70) Aus Are Fair 1-4 3.02(0.90) 2.78(0.71) 3.19(0.67) 2.99(0.78) Different as Refugee 1-4 2.76(1.12) 2.40(1.01) 2.96(0.73) 2.71(0.99) Aus Is Home 1-4 2.78(1.06) 2.48(0.82) 2.88(0.70) 2.71(0.88) Don't Regret Coming to Aus 1-4 3.08 (1.04) 3.48 (0.89) 3.51 (0.86) 3.35 (0.94) Don't Plan to Return 1-4 3.50(0.89) 1.96(1.02) 3.06(1.02) 2.84(1.17) Don't Exp Discrimination 1-4 3.02(1.00) 2.55(0.84) 2.63(0.91) 2.74(0.94)

TABLE 5 Correlation Matrix: General Discrimination Score and Eight Variables (Seven Dimensions of

Satisfaction and "At-Hqmeness," and Education Level) for the Total Refugee Sample (N = 150)

General Discrimination

Unlikelihood of Return 0.167* Aus Are (Not) Friendly 0.215** Aus Are (Not) Fair 0.026 Difficult to Be Refugee 0.146 Aus Is (Not) Home 0.034

Regret Coming to Aus 0.130

Refugee Life-Satisfaction Score 0.088 Education Level ?0.092

Notes: * significance at p < .05 level; **p < .01 level; ***p < .001.

domains have been reversed). Most are close to 3, indicating reasonable levels of satisfaction and "at home-ness" in Australia.

The following correlation table indicates that very few life-satisfaction factors are predicted by discrimination, with only the (un)likelihood of return to one's home country and perceptions that Australians are friendly being significantly related to lower levels of discrimination experiences. However, the

relationship is close to significance for the measures of "difficulty being a

refugee in Australia" and "regret in coming to Australia" (Table 5). It is important

to note the counterintuitive finding that there was no

correlation between general experiences of discrimination and life satisfaction

(0.088),13 a result this paper seeks to explore.14

13Once again, caution should be used in making too much of the statistical data, due to the

sampling factors outlined.

l4However, using a t test, a relationship was found between job discrimination and both general satisfaction (0.031) (i.e., discrimination in one's job is related to lower levels of satisfaction) and

"refugee life satisfaction" (0.006) (p < .01), and a sense of regret about coming to Australia

(0.013) (p < .05) (those reporting discrimination were more likely to want to return).




TABLE 6 _Proportion Who Feel Australia Is a Fair Country (Percentages)_


_(N =

50/50)_(N =

49/50)_(N =

48/50)_(N = 147/150)

Entirely 38.0 8.0 30.0 25.3

Mostly 32.0 68.0 56.0 52.0 Somewhat 26.0 14.0 8.0 16.0

Not at All 6.0 8.0 2.0 5.3

Clearly, experiences of general discrimination did not influence the

perception that Australia is generally a fair country, indicating that refugees interpret discrimination as

specific, contextual, personal events, rather than

reflecting general national attributes. While a quarter of respondents felt it was

entirely a fair country, over 75% saw it as mostly or entirely fair. Only 5% felt it was not at all fair, despite many more providing examples in their qualitative responses of ways in which they had been treated unfairly in the job market or

generally. Not surprisingly, general refugee life satisfaction correlated highly with the perception that Australia is a fair country (0.329***) (p < .001) (Table 6).

As outlined, the literature indicates that those who feel a sense of mastery or control over their lives have higher levels of well-being, particularly where

they are members of minority groups which experience discrimination

(Werkuyten and Nekuee, 1999; Ryff, Keyes, and Hughes 2003). This sense of

mastery is implied in a number of measures we used in the current study. For

example, the degree to which refugees feel they understand and can adapt to the Australian way of life, as well as the extent to which they feel Australia is a

fair country, where they can feel at home, and where it is not too difficult to be a

migrant or

refugee, all measure sense of comfort and connection to

Australia as a new home and imply self-efficacy, thus impacting overall

well-being. The first two of these measures, acculturation and adaptation, have

been dealt with elsewhere (Colic-Peisker, 2006). Only 12.6% of the sample reported that they "entirely" or "mostly" had problems adapting to the

Australian way of life, with 26.6% reporting that they had some degree of

difficulty understanding the Australian way of life. However, almost 40% of the total sample felt it was difficult to be a refugee, and this did have a

significant impact on their quality of life (0.261***), although it was not

statistically significantly (p < .1) related to experiences of discrimination

(r = 0.146) (Table 7). The African sample reported finding it difficult to be a migrant or refugee

significantly more frequently (66%) than ex-Yugoslavs (36%) and Middle Easterners (16%). This may be the result of greater cultural differences which




TABLE 7 _Proportion Who Feel it is Difficult to be a Migrant or Refugee (Percentages)_


(N = 50/50) (N = 48/50) (N = 49/50) (N = 147/150)

Entirely 22.0 14.0 6.0 14.0

Mostly 14.0 52.0 10.0 25.3 Somewhat 34.0 8.0 64.0 35.3

Not at All 32.0 22.0 18.0 24.0

require day-to-day negotiation or greater "visibility" due to racial difference from the White majority, which is not explicitly seen as discrimination.15

MITIGATING FACTORS

It appears that there are a number of mitigating factors which soften the

potentially negative effect of discrimination on refugees' well-being. Below we

discuss these under the following sections: personality factors; social support factors; and relativity effects.

Personality Factors

Personality factors which provide resilience may be important for refugee well

being ? a combination of "indomitability" and stoicism. These factors may be

associated with refugee status, and include a lust for life, positive outlook, and

ability to overlook things over which one has no control (Jayasuriya, Sang, and

Fielding, 1992; Ingleby, 2005). As outlined in the literature review, those who

refuse to see themselves as victims tend to have higher levels of well-being

(Ruggireo and Taylor, 1997; Williams and William-Morris, 2000), and it is

likely that refugees who have made it this far refuse to see themselves as victims.

The high levels of acculturation and adaptation, as well as education and

English proficiency, of the sample are also protective. Each of the comments below illustrates the mechanism by which this

resilience may work, indicating that while discrimination has been encountered it is either not seen as

general, or it is seen as

something to be overcome

positively, which should not be allowed to "get you down." The extracts demonstrate

how refugees "learn to ignore or not take to heart" people's "difficulty accepting

15However, such differences may also reflect cultural norms in terms of responses to such

questions, particularly a politeness imperative that sees Middle Easterners reluctant to criticize

and more likely to provide positive responses (discussed further shortly).




multiculturalism as a reality." They

see themselves as "tolerant," and consciously

"do not want to give the opportunity

to some people

to have a negative impact

on

their life happiness." They see the discrimination as a challenge to be overcome

by working harder, one which they meet with "time and dedication" to "prove their abilities." They recognize it is a "survival" mechanism to "learn not to worry

about it." A further protection is offered by balancing the negative experiences with a

general recognition that "there are many who do appreciate me for who I am."

As a taxi driver, I have been meeting all sorts of people, and yes, I have been treated in unpleasant way as a migrant with accent, many times. The fact that I am a migrant or have an accent is the first thing that my customers notice and ask questions about. I have learned to ignore it or not to take it to my heart, as I do understand that some

people find it difficult to accept multiculturalism as a reality and still see migrants as

a working class only. I do not pay much attention to them. I know they do not see me as an equal member of this society to themselves, but I know there are many who do appreciate me for who I am. - Bosnian man

In 12 years of my life in Australia, I have had a few unpleasant experiences with people who deliberately hurt me as a person who can barely speak English and have a better

position or job, so I am paid more than they are. Or the other example: "How on earth

you can be JP?" I am grateful for what Australia gave me ? freedom and life with my

family in safe country, opportunity to live a normal life. I do not want to give the

opportunity to some people to have a negative impact on my life and my happiness. I am a very tolerant person, I can take people's comments, however some people cannot. It can have a huge, negative impact in self confidence. ? Bosnian woman

I did not take "comments" seriously because was prepared for that and waited to prove my practical skills. - Bosnian woman

I have to work hard to prove my abilities; nobody even suggested promotion in my case. I accepted it as survival method and learnt not to worry about it. - Bosnian woman

Note that all of the quotes come from Bosnians. Africans and Middle Easterners were less forgiving. Few African respondents rationalized their situations in a positive way, and were far more likely to attribute difficulties to discrimination. Only one made a general comment about the difficulties in the labor market, noting that he chooses not to focus on the negatives.

Oh with the taxi thing you know, you get nice people, you get bad people, but I've,

you know, with that one, also one good thing with me I, after living in a foreign land for a while, I've learned not to absorb whatever is said to me and not to go and start

analysing it because it would probably disturb me more than what, you know, what I have at hand to do. - South Sudanese man

It may be that the ex-Yugoslavs were more likely to accept this discrimination

stoically because they have been in Australia longer and therefore are more able




to adjust

to or rationalize their situation, or that their expectations were lower

to begin with. Social factors may be more important for maintaining quality of life for the African and Middle Eastern samples.

Social psychologists have demonstrated the amazing ability of people to recover from negative life events (Branscombe, Schmitt, and Harvey, 1999).

People protect their self-esteem and well-being by externalizing the causes of

negative events. If one can maintain one's sense of self-worth, despite being treated as a

"nonperson" by society, one demonstrates a remarkable resilience

(Franklin and Boyd-Franklin, 2000). These positive outlooks reflect the "eudaimonic well-being" which is associated with human potential and

functioning (Ryff, Keyes, and Hughes, 2003). It may be that refugees use their

experiences of discrimination in a positive way, to develop this resiliency. This approach was evident in some of the qualitative responses of

participants. Some recognized institutional or structural barriers as being

frustrating but not the personal responsibility of employers, and therefore they held little ill-will or personal upset in response. They seem able to understand their experiences of discrimination from the point of view of Australian

employers, recognizing that not having Australian qualifications or work

experience would be an objective and reasonable disadvantage. Those from the former Yugoslavia were particularly notable in this respect. Such recognition

may serve to rationalize experiences of discrimination and the challenges of

finding work as not necessarily the result of their own personal inadequacies or

of individual employer prejudices but as fair requirements on the part of

employers, enabling them to maintain a sense of "mastery" in their lives.

My main barrier is English, which is not good enough at the moment to work as an

accountant. The other obstacle is my age. I find it difficult and time consuming to

reach English proficiency to the level required to do the job I am qualified for. I do not see it as discrimination. ? Bosnian woman

An employed Bosnian man, when asked if his job was appropriate, above or below his qualifications, wrote, "I realized that in Australia the most important

thing is to prove that you can do the job you are paid for regardless to what

qualifications you have. I appreciate that very much."

Similarly, a Bosnian woman, when asked if she had had difficulties

finding a job in Australia, commented, "I considered it as a normal thing in a

new country with no experience. Work experience is important and without

it, it is hard to get a job." Respondents from Africa and the Middle East also recognized the require

ments of the employment market, and often justified their experiences as




legitimate exclusions due to their lack of local experience, qualifications, or cultural

knowledge. The following extracts indicate both acceptance and pragmatism.

I think that my overseas experience seems to be unrecognized by the Australian

companies. I assume they prefer people with local experience and Australian degree. -

Iraqi woman

Due to the cultural, language, and other factors many employers have the right to re

ject my application especially when you deal with arts subject. In one interview, I felt

that I need to understand the art culture in Australia before I apply for job. -

Iraqi man

Australia is a very competitive market, so I experience that and I continue because as

self-employed you need to build a good network of client, business, retailer to gain

stability in business, therefore I need time to do so. - Iraqi man

When the job is advertised many people apply it and employers take the best

candidate who have suitable qualification and experience and they prefer the

Australian white candidate. ? Somali man

I realized that getting a job in Engineering would be difficult as senior graduates were

still looking when I graduated. I therefore took up taxi driving to support myself and

my partner. - Tanzanian man

Some suggested that discrimination is simply a normal part of life, and to be expected, given their experiences back home. For example,

an Iraqi settle

ment service worker said, "Iraqis sort of expect discrimination ?

they come

from a country where this is rife."

The examples provided indicate a certain approach to negative life

events, including discrimination. Respondents appear to choose either to

ignore the discrimination and focus on the positive aspects of their experiences, or they choose not to "see" the discrimination as

something unfair, or as being

directed at them personally. These approaches would protect well-being.

Social Effects

Social support is significant for refugees. Cummins (1996) has argued that

intimacy is the most significant determinant of quality of life, and community and safety are also important in making the world meaningful and manageable.

More recently, in a study of well-being around Australia, he found that

community connection determines well-being (Cummins et al, 2005:2). Uchida, Norasakkunkit, and Kitayama (2004) report a number of studies which indicate that the well-being of those from "collectivist" cultures is determined by their interpersonal connectedness and the well-being of others.

Brough et al (2003) recognize the importance of social networks for young

refugees, suggesting that they combine personal resilience factors (including a




TABLE 8

_Proportion Who Are Happy with Their Private Social Network (Percentages)_

Ex-Yugoslav African MidEast Total (N = 50/50) (N = 49/50) (N = 49/50) (N = 148/150)

Entirely 34.0 24.0 16.0 24.7

Mostly 38.0 68.0 58.0 54.7 Somewhat 22.0 4.0 22.0 16.0

Not at All 8.0 2.0 2.0 4.0

TABLE 9 _Proportion Who Find Australians Generally Friendly and Accepting (Percentages)_


(N = 48/50) (N = 49/50) (N = 49/50) (N - 146/150)

Entirely 30.0 14.0 24.0 22.7

Mostly 40.0 60.0 54.0 51.3 Somewhat 26.0 22.0 20.0 22.7

Not at All 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.7

sense of optimism about the future) with strength taken from their community to overcome stress and ensure positive well-being. McSpadden (1987) similarly found social networks significant indicators of well-being for refugees. Likewise, Young (2001 ) reports personal and social resources mitigate against the negative effects of migration

stress among Salvadorean refugees in Canada.

Thus we can assume that social support may mitigate against the possible negative

effects of discrimination. Over 75% of our sample was entirely or mostly satisfied with their private

social network {see Table 8), presumably finding a sense of support and

intimacy from them. Very few (less than one in twenty overall) felt completely dissatisfied with their social network, indicating that most refugees who have lived in Australia for more than two years have managed

to develop relation

ships which provide the necessary emotional, material, and social supports

required to live a fulfilling life. It is likely that these social networks are a

positive factor in refugees' lives and affect their well-being. In addition to their personal support networks, our

sample appeared to

believe that Australians generally are good people, who try to give others "a fair

go." Thus while they agree that some discrimination exists, they appear to

believe that it is not widespread. As Table 9 indicates, of the total sample, 74% found Australians entirely or mostly friendly and accepting, with only one

person from the African sample (and none from the other groups) finding them not at all friendly and accepting. However, a quarter of the sample found

Australians only "somewhat" friendly and accepting.




TABLE 10

_Proportion Who Feel at Home in Australia (Percentages)_


_(N =

50/50)_(N =

48/50)_(N =

49/50)_(N = 147/150)

Entirely 30.0 4.0 16.0 16.7

Mostly 34.0 54.0 56.0 48.0 Somewhat 20.0 22.0 24.0 22.0

Not at All 16.0 16.0 2.0 11.3

With a mean of 2.99 it is clear that most of our sample find Australians

friendly. This was significantly correlated with a sense that Australia is "home"

(0.427**), with life satisfaction generally (0.259**), and with not finding it difficult to be a refugee (0.352**). Those more likely to see Australians as

friendly and accepting were less likely to report experiencing discrimination

(0.215**), but the descriptive statistics in Table 10 clearly demonstrate

that at least a quarter of the sample had experienced discrimination but also

found Australians friendly and accepting. The fact that general experiences of discrimination are not correlated

with whether refugees feel Australia is home nor with a sense of regret in

coming to Australia again indicates an apparent relative lack of importance of

discrimination in the resettlement process.

Of our sample, those who feel "at home" in Australia are more likely to see Australians as friendly (0.427***) and to see Australia as fair (0.527***), and

were less likely to have experienced difficulty as a refugee (0.414***), are less

likely to plan to return (0.287***), reported fewer problems understanding the Australian way of life (0.364***), and had fewer problems adapting to

the Australian way of life (0.456***). However, "at-homeness" was once again

not correlated with experiences of discrimination or education level.16 The high proportions of the African and Middle Eastern sample who

do not regret coming to Australia (Table 11) indicate a relativity effect - a

recognition that they are better off than friends and family back home or in

refugee camps, and recognition of the relative opportunities in Australia. How

ever, the fact that these same groups, particularly the Africans, are far more

likely to consider returning than the ex-Yugoslavs is interesting (Table 12). It indicates they are not so settled in Australia as to feel unable to move, and

possibly that they don't quite belong, or at least feel they belong better elsewhere. Likelihood of return was related to education level (0.252**), and

16See also Ang et al. (2002), who found that while 35% of Somalis did not consider Australia

home, they had the highest levels of well-being.




TABLE 11

_Proportion Who Regret Coming to Australia (Percentages)_


(N = 49/50) (N = 46/50) (N = 47/50) (N = 142/150)

Yes, Often 8.0 6.0 2.0 5.3

Mostly 24.0 6.0 16.0 15.3 Somewhat 18.0 16.0 8.0 14.0

Not at All 48.0 64.0 68.0 60.0

TABLE 12

_Proportion Considering Returning to Home Country (Percentages)_


(N = 50/50) (N = 48/50) (N = 48/50) (N = 146/150) Yes, I Plan to 6.0 38.0 6.0 16.7

Probably, If the Situation Improves There in the Near Future 8.0 40.0 28.0 25.3

Perhaps Later on When I Retire 16.0 6.0 16.0 12.7 Not Considering Returning 70.0 12.0 46.0 42.7

qualitative data indicate that the highly educated hope to return to their home countries ultimately to help to rebuild them.

Social networks and a coherent meaning system provided by religious commitment also act as resilience factors (Berger and Luckmann, 1996;

McMichael, 2002; Forman, 2003) which may dampen the negative effect on

well-being of discrimination. General well-being protection or resiliency may also be provided by particular cultural or religious approaches to acceptance of

one's lot in life - certainly those from Muslim backgrounds emphasized this as

a feature of their belief system in their qualitative responses {see also Tilbury, 2007).

Additionally, participants felt a sense of satisfaction and pride attendant

upon being able to provide financial assistance to relatives in need back home or elsewhere (56% ex-Yugoslavs, 86% Africans, and 60% of the Middle East sample

? thus 67.3% of the total sample ? sent remittances to family

overseas, and 43.3% supported relatives in Australia). Their ability to provide this type of support may be a significant mitigating factor against the effects

of discrimination on their well-being.

Relativity Effects

The notion of relative gratification (as opposed to deprivation) provides another insight into the surprisingly high levels of well-being. Obviously those




fleeing bullets may see discrimination as annoying, but not life-threatening, and a low price to pay for perceived freedom and opportunity. They may thus

feel relatively satisfied with their lives overall. Instead of comparing themselves to the general population, and finding themselves relatively poorer off, they appear to measure their life quality in relation to that of those back home or

their life before coming to Australia. To explain a similar finding, Ang et al.

(2002) suggest that the reason their Somali sample had the highest reported satisfaction with life in Australia is because they have relatively recent memories

of exile and compare their life here with that in their war-torn country of

origin ? a relative gratification effect. Richardson et al (2004) also found

humanitarian entrants more satisfied than other migrant streams due to

comparisons of their current situations with those of their past or those of their

compatriots elsewhere. Refugees certainly place more value on

opportunities for their children, so their current conditions may be less important determinants of well-being than prospects for future potential. Expectations and aspirations are also a significant influence ? those refugees who did not expect to be able to work in the same

occupation and at the same level as in countries of origin were less likely to feel dissatisfied with their lives in Australia.17

Safety was my priority when I applied to come to Australia. I did not have high expectations about getting a job in my field, but I believed I would not have many

problems to find a laboring job as Australia is a rich and developed country. ? Bosnian

man

I came here to save my kids and myself from war; we ran away to safety with no ex

pectations or plans beforehand. . . . Refugees are not thinking of that. If someone is

running away from bullets to save your life - you do not have time to think or ask for

anything. Another day another dollar. - Bosnian woman

Though I don't want to push myself so hard with the taxi thing. I just try to, you know, and what can put food on the table and pay my rent and the rest I am putting it on, you know, the community thing. We just help here and there. - South Sudanese

man (interview)

Interviewer: And still, why do you think that people will declare their level of satisfaction as being quite high in Australia, and yet, you know, feel discriminated

against or. . . ?

17Some of the comments correspond to answers to questions 24 and 25 of the survey. These are:

24. "Before coming to Australia did you expect to find a job in your area of expertise? i. yes,

quickly; ii. yes, but possibly with a significant delay; iii. no; iv. I didn't know"; and 25. "Before

coming to Australia did you have adequate information about the job market in Australia? i. yes; ii. no."




Respondent: Maybe because Australia is very peaceful, that's why people are satisfied,

you know. But if you live in other place, maybe, you may have everything but yet [are] not sure of what's going to happen; the next minute they going to come and kill

you. Then if you compare to a place where at least there is security, then people will definitely be satisfied with that. That's one reason, I think, that people would declare; they're going to be satisfied compared to where they come from. ? Sierra Leonean man

CONCLUSION AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

This paper began with a discussion of well-being measures and issues around

objective versus subjective measures. The above analysis indicates the utility of

combining a qualitative approach with a quantitative one, with the transcripts revealing something of the manner in which discrimination is understood and dealt with, and the mitigating factors which may soften its influence on well

being. However, they also indicate the ways in which refugees do perceive a

relationship between discrimination and their well-being, a relationship which does not show up in correlational analyses of the quantitative data.18 This

relationship was made explicit in a follow-up interview with an African lawyer who hopes ultimately to return home. He suggests that the longer refugees stay in Australia, the more their health and well-being will be affected by discrimination, by being made to feel different, and by the presumption that

they have come here to "make it rich."

Yes, Africa is full of life. Had it not been for the war, most Africans would have not

come here. [ ] Discrimination affects the health. If you compare the Africans that come here, you know, [?recently?] they tend to have better health than those who have

been longer and stayed here. The more your health deteriorates, that's because

[ ] of discrimination. Because when you feel discriminated and you don't feel

part of the society, you don't feel you belong. [ ] I mean, people think we come

here to look for, there's nothing, in terms of money. There's nothing. We have

everything. The only thing we don't have is peace. That's what we want to create

there.

Certainly qualitative results indicate a fairly high level of bitterness

among refugees resulting from their experiences of discrimination.19 Since the

18However, the influence of sampling constraints on the quantitative findings cannot be

overstated.

19Again, it is important to acknowledge methodological influences here. The bitterness of the

stories told may be related to the questions the researcher was asking. We have no indication of

the degree to which such stories are a significant part of their lives, or the manner by which they

might influence their well-being. See also Tilbury, 2007.




well-being measures are quantitative and relatively blunt, they are unlikely to

capture the various dimensions of experience refugees encounter. But even

qualitative data cannot shed light on the influence of cultural factors in

respondents' answers to quantitative questions. Measures of well-being

across

cultures are problematic, and research indicates that we cannot assume equiv

alence. Additionally, our Middle Eastern respondents clearly took a particular approach to answering the questions. They brought culture-bound rules of

politeness to the research process (see Tilbury, 2006). Consider the following findings from the same project. When asked about their experience of the

government-funded services which are tasked with helping them to find

employment, respondents provided massively different appraisals, with 52% of Middle Eastern respondents evaluating these as excellent or

good, when only

8% of ex-Yugoslavs and 10% of Africans used these categories. Only a small

proportion of such differences could be explained by actual differences in services provided (given that participants were using the same service providers); therefore these findings indicate the propensity of those from the Middle East to rate their experiences,

on numeric scales at least, more highly than those

from Africa or the former Yugoslavia, who show much more similar response

patterns.

We have further evidence of this cultural "politeness imperative" which sees those from some cultures not

wanting to

openly criticize others. In a focus

group with the bicultural assistants after they had conducted the survey interviews, one of the Middle Eastern researchers who works in the area

of Iraqi refugee settlement gave the following insight into his approach to the research:

[When conducting the questionnaire] I did not even mention the word "research."

They have to answer everything positively, that's what they are used to: "everything is excellent." They are afraid if they criticize Centrelink [the government welfare

agency] they will somehow find out. Iraqis do not want to criticize anyone. They think if you're seen as positive, it keeps the relation alright. Negative means [having] a critical position.

Happiness for me is different from employment. I need to go home and find my

family happy and then I'm happy. Even if I do not have job but have enough to secure

my family for a month, 2 months, 3 months, I'm happy. If I ask them about

employment but they talk about general things. And they would never say anything against the government.

This extract also indicates the gratitude factor, evident in many of the

tables above, and probably relevant to some extent for the entire sample, which sees

refugees grateful to the host country for being given refuge and provided with




services (Richardson et al, 2004), which may produce more positive responses. It must be acknowledged, however, that while some of their quantitative responses seem anomalous, the Middle Eastern sample

were very forthcoming with critical comments in the open-ended questions.

Finally, in terms of methodological issues, the question which we have

interpreted as general discrimination (and which did not correlate with levels of well-being) was based on asking whether people had "been treated in an

unpleasant way as a refugee." It may be that respondents were

thinking of other

aspects of their life, apart from discrimination. However, given that we asked a separate question about whether it was "difficult to be a refugee in

Australia," we are reasonably confident that this did measure

perceptions of discrimination?which leads us back to the question why this is not correlated with levels of well-being.

Harrell (2000) argues that the impact of discrimination is variable and influenced by a number of factors, and Cummins (2000) and Rapley (2003)

have warned against simplistic cross-cultural applications of measures of

quality of life. Therefore it is vital that the complexity of the position of the

refugee who is living in conditions of relative advantage compared to compatriots back home, but who experiences discrimination, be studied in a more holistic

way. Ryff, Keyes, and Hughes (2003) have provided some evidence that not all those exposed to negative life events, such as discrimination, will be damaged by the experience, and that many may actually flourish despite (or even because

of) these experiences, developing resilience which manifests as eudaimonic

well-being. Factors which may influence such outcomes include personality factors, social support, religion, intelligence, relative comparisons, and so forth,

factors we have also found to be related to positive well-being. Refugees who have survived difficult circumstances and managed to find their way to a country which ostensibly provides opportunities may be more likely to carry the personality features which enable this ironically positive effect. Since our

sample were relatively well-educated, it is likely that they were able to make

positive use of their experiences of discrimination ?

such an outcome may be

less likely for a less-educated sample. Thus more research is necessary.

It may be that refugees who experience discrimination manage the

negative affect or feelings which it might be expected to produce through a

number of strategies including perceiving the discrimination as an individual aberration rather than widespread,

or as something directed at the group of

which they are a member rather than to them as an individual (Crocker and

Major, 1989), or as something which is structural and therefore unfortunate,

but not requiring of action. Alternately it may be that discrimination is seen in




relative terms, as a relatively low price to pay for living in a safe environment,

and that other factors, such as social support, stability, and security, are of

greater relative importance in determining quality of life. This reflects a

"relative gratification" effect (Pettigrew, 2002) which sees refugees being satisfied with their lives because the points of comparison are so much worse.

At a more personal level, fundamental "satisfaction dispositions" (Judge and

Watanabe, 1993) or "well-being homeostasis" (Cummins et al, 2005) may mean that regardless of negative life events, refugees maintain levels of

well-being around the average three-quarters mark. Alternatively it may be

that refugees are simply appreciative and happy to be part of a process they see as beneficial (e.g., processes designed to aid settlement), regardless of the particular outcome for them as individuals (White and Pettit, 2004); or that a sense of mastery or level of control over their lives is sufficient to

produce positive well-being, despite discrimination (Ryff, Keyes, and Hughes, 2003).

A major concern is the policy implications of the findings outlined above. These findings may give support to arguments that since neither lack of

employment opportunities nor experiences of discrimination have a strongly negative impact on the general well-being of refugees, no policy action should be taken to

improve either of these social realities. However, we would argue otherwise. Firstly, we know that the effect of racism is variable depending on a number of antecedent factors including race/ethnicity, gender, age, language,

psychical characteristics, sociopolitical context, location, SES, family char

acteristics, and racial socialization; the sources of stress such as individual or

group racism, other status-related stresses such as sexism, religious discrimi

nation, and generic Stressors; the effect of mediators such as personal char

acteristics (e.g., self-esteem), sociocultural factors such as identity, cultural

values, and coping styles; perceptions of racism; and external resources such

as social supports (Vega and Rumbaut, 1991; Harrell, 2000). It is therefore difficult to determine precisely the interaction of these factors with the par ticular experiences of the refugees in our

sample. Further research is necessary. Given that the qualitative data indicate very clearly that discrimination is felt

negatively by respondents, it is difficult to know what this lack of correlation in the quantitative measures means.

Secondly, it may be that refugees would

have even higher levels of well-being, over and above the Australian average, if not for the effects of discrimination. Even if we are to discount effects on

well-being, there are arguments for ensuring improved employment outcomes

for refugees which revolve around the effective use of human capital and

ensuring social cohesion.




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Refugees in Western Australia