Humanitarian immigrants and refugees face multiple adjustment tasks and post-settlement support services concentrated in metropolitan areas play an important role. As part of an ongoing commitment, the Australian Government has increasingly supported resettlement in rural and regional areas of the country. Drawing on the experience of Iraqi migrants in Victoria, Australia, we examine some of the conditions that characterize regional resettlement and raise key questions for public health policy. Structural vulnerabilities and discriminations impact upon physical, mental and social wellbeing, leading to further exclusion, with negative long-term implications. The discussion throws light on the issues that migrants and refugees may encounter in other parts within Australia, but are also germane in many countries and highlight the resulting complexity for policy-making.
References
[1]
Allotey, P.; Manderson, L.; Reidpath, D. Addressing cultural and linguisitc diversity in Australian health services. Health Promot. J. Aust. 2003, 13, 29–33.
[2]
Murry, S.; Skull, S. Hurdles to health: Immigrant and refugee health care in Australia. Aust. Health Rev. 2005, 29, 25–29.
[3]
Vasey, K.; Manderson, L. The social and cultural context of immigration and stress. In Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees; Sher, L., Vilens, A., Eds.; Nova Science Publishers: New York, NY, USA, 2010; pp. 295–311.
[4]
Miklavcic, A. Canada’s non-status immigrants: Negotiating access to health care and citizenship. Med. Anthropol. 2011, 30, 496–517, doi:10.1080/01459740.2011.579586.
[5]
Cartwright, E. Immigrant dreams: Legal pathologies and structural vulnerabilities along the immigration continuum. Med. Anthropol. 2011, 30, 475–495.
[6]
Johnston, V. Australian asylum policies: Have they violated the right to health of asylum seekers? Aust. N. Z. J. Public Health 2009, 33, 40–46.
[7]
Cartwright, E.; Manderson, L. Diagnosing the structure: Immigrant vulnerabilities in global perspective. Med. Anthropol. 2011, 30, 451–453.
[8]
Quesada, J.; Hart, L.; Bourgois, P. Structural vulnerability and health: Latino migrant laborers in the United States. Med. Anthropol. 2011, 30, 339–362.
[9]
Zarrugh, L. The latinization of the central shenandoah valley. Int. Migr. 2008, 46, 19–58.
[10]
Lusis, T.; Bauder, H. Provincial Immigrants: The Social, Economic, and Transnational Experiences of the Filipino Canadian Community in Three Ontario Cities; CERIS Working Paper No. 62; The Ontario Metropolis Centre: Toronto, ON, Canada, 2008.
[11]
Walton-Roberts, M. Regional immigration and dispersal: Lessons from small- and medium-sized urban centres in British Columbia. Can. Ethn. Stud. 2005, 37, 12–34.
[12]
Larsen, B. Becoming part of welfare scandinavia: Integration through the spatial dispersal of newly arrived refugees in Denmark. J. Ethn. Migr. Stud. 2011, 37, 333–350.
[13]
Fonseca, M. New waves of immigration to small towns and rural areas in Portugal. Popul. Space Place 2008, 14, 525–535.
[14]
Andersson, R. Settlement Dispersal of Immigrants and Refugees in Europe: Policy and Outcomes; Working Paper Series No. 03–08; Vancouver Centre of Excellence Research on Immigration and Integration in the Metropolis: Vancover, BC, Canada, 2003.
[15]
Boswell, C. Spreading the Cost of Asylum Seekers: A Critical Assessment of Dispersal Policies in Germany and the UK; Anglo-German Foundation: London, UK, 2001.
[16]
Hugo, G. Immigrant settlement outside of Australia’s Capital Cities. Popul. Space Place 2008, 14, 553–571.
[17]
McDonald-Wilmsen, B.; Gifford, S.M.; Webster, K.; Wiseman, J.; Casey, S. Resettling refugees in rural and regional Australia: Learning from recent policy and program initiatives. Aust. J. Public Adm. 2009, 68, 97–111.
[18]
Richardson, S.; Lester, L.A. Comparison of Australian and Canadian Immigration Policies and Labour Market Outcomes; Report to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs; Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, Australia, 2004.
[19]
Piper, M. Evaluation of Shepparton Humanitarian Settlement Pilot for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship; Department of Immigration and Citizenship: Canberra, Australia, 2007.
[20]
Piper, M. Evaluation of Mount Gambier Humanitarian Settlement Pilot, for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship; Department of Immigration and Citizenship: Canberra, Australia, 2008.
[21]
McDonald, B.; Gifford, S.M.; Webster, K.; Wiseman, J.; Casey, S. Refugee Resettlement in Regional and Rural Victoria: Impacts and Policy Issues 2008; Victorian Health Promotion Foundation: Melbourne, Australia, 2008.
[22]
Taylor, J.; Stanovic, D. Refugees and Regional Resettlement: Balancing Priorities; Brotherhood of St. Laurence: Melbourne, Australia, 2005.
[23]
Vasey, K.; Manderson, L. The paradox of integration: Iraqi women and service support in regional Australia. Int. J. Migr. Health Soc. Care 2008, 4, 21–32.
[24]
Australia’s Humanitarian Program—Information Paper; Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC): Canberra, Australia, 2011.
[25]
Victorian Community Profiles 2006 Census: Iraq-Born; Victorian Office of Multicultural Affairs (VOMA): Melbourne, Australia, 2007.
[26]
Kampmark, B. Spying for Hitler’ and ‘Working for Bin Laden’: Comparative Australian discourses on refugees. J. Refug. Stud. 2006, 19, 1–21.
[27]
Robinson, V.; Andersson, R.; Musterd, S. Spreading the ‘Burden’. A Review of Policies to Disperse Asylum Seekers and Refugees; Policy Press: Bristol, UK, 2003.
[28]
Fact Sheet 97—Humanitarian Settlement in Regional Australia; Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC): Canberra, Australia, 2007.
[29]
Menz, G. The Political Economy of Migration Management; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 2009.
[30]
Process for Establishing New Regional Humanitarian Settlement Locations; Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC): Canberra, Australia, 2010.
[31]
Schubert, M. Off the boat, into the bush. The Age, 16, October, 2011.
[32]
Piguet, E. Economy versus the people? Swiss immigration policy, policy between economic demand, xenophobia, and international constraint. In Dialogues on Migration Policy; Guigni, M., Passy, F., Eds.; Lexington Books: Oxford, UK, 2006; pp. 67–89.
[33]
Castles, S.; Miller, M. The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World; Palgrave MacMillan: New York, NY, USA, 2009.
[34]
National Framework for Settlement Planning; Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA): Canberra, Australia, 2006; p. 2.
[35]
Fact Sheet 61—Seeking Asylum within Australia; Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC): Canberra, Australia, 2009.
[36]
Refugee and Humanitarian Entrants 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 by Local Government Area; Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC): Canberra, Australia, 2007.
[37]
Refugee Status Report: A Report on How Refugee Children and Young People in Victoria are Faring; State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development): Melbourne, Australia, 2011.
[38]
Newman, L.K.; Dudley, M.; Steel, Z. Asylum, detention, and mental health in Australia. Refug. Surv. Q. 2008, 27, 110–127, doi:10.1093/rsq/hdn034.
[39]
Manderson, L.; Kelaher, M.; Markovic, M.; McManus, K.A. A woman without a man is a woman at risk: Women at risk in Australian Humanitarian Programs. J. Refug. Stud. 1998, 11, 267–283.
[40]
Taylor, J.; Stanovic, D. Services and entitlements: Refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. Migr. Action 2004, XXVI, 32–35.
[41]
Carr, J. Given the chance: Creating employment and education pathways for refugees. Migr. Action 2004, 26, 33–40.
[42]
Waxman, P. The economic adjustment of recently arrived bosnian, afghan and Iraqi refugees in Sydney, Australia. Int. Migr. Rev. 2001, 35, 472–505, doi:10.1111/j.1747-7379.2001.tb00026.x.
[43]
National Climate Centre. Six Years of Widespread Drought in Southern and Eastern Australia, November 2001–October 2007 (Special Climate Statement 14); National Climate Centre: Canberra, Australia, 2007.
[44]
Marangos, J.; Williams, C. The effect of drought on uncertainty and agricultural investment in Australia. J. Post Keynes. Econ. 2005, 27, 575–594.
[45]
Withers, G.; Powall, M. Immigration and the Regions: Taking Regional Australia Seriously; prepared for the Chifley Research Centre by Applied Economics: Sydney, Australia, 2003.
[46]
Carrington, K.; Hogg, R. Benefits and burdens of the mining boom for rural communities. Hum. Rights Def. 2011, 20, 9–12.
[47]
McGrail, M.; Humphreys, J.; Joyce, C.; Scott, A.; Kalb, G. Rural amenity and medical workforce shortage: Is there a relationship? Geogr. Res. 2011, 49, 192–202, doi:10.1111/j.1745-5871.2011.00690.x.
[48]
Moore, T.; Sutton, K.; Maybery, D. Rural mental health workforce difficulties: A management perspective. Rural Remote Health 2010, 10, 1519:–1519:10.
[49]
Refugee Council of Australia. Economic, Civic and Social Contributions of Refugees and Humanitarian Entrants—A Literature Review; Refugee Council of Australia: Sydney, Australia, 2010.
[50]
Carrington, K.; McIntosh, A.; Walmsley, J. The Social Costs and Benefits of Migration to Australia; Centre for Applied Research in Social Science, University of New England, Commonwealth of Australia: Armidale, Australia, 2007.
[51]
Flanagan, J. Dropped from the Moon: The Settlement Experiences of Refugee Communities in Tasmania; Social Action and Research Centre: Anglicare Tasmania, Australia, 2007.
[52]
Hawthorne, L. The refugees. The National Times, 27 April 27–3 May 1984, 25–27.
[53]
Grillo, R. An excess of alterity? Debating difference in a multicultural society. Ethnic Racial Stud. 2007, 30, 979–998, doi:10.1080/01419870701599424.
[54]
Multicultural Australia United in Diversity, Updating the 1999 New Agenda for Multicultural Australia Strategic directions for 2003-2006; Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, Australia, 2007.
[55]
Costa, D. Health care of refugee women. Aust. Fam. Physician 2007, 36, 151–154.
[56]
Kirmayer, L.; Narasiah, L.; Munoz, M.; Rashid, M.; Ryder, A. Common mental health problems in immigrants and refugees: General approach in primary care. Can. Med. Assoc. J. 2011, 183, 959–967.
[57]
“Trading Action for Access”: The myth of meritocracy and the failure to remedy structural discrimination. Harv. Law Rev. 2008, 121, 2156–2177.
[58]
Gilbert, L. Immigration as local politics: Re-bordering immigration and multiculturalism through deterrence and incapacitation. Int. J. Urban Reg. Res. 2009, 33, 26–42.
[59]
Galligan, B.; Horvath, D. Regionalizing settlement policy: The Victorian case. In Proceedings of APSA Conference, Sydney, Australia, 27–30 September 2009.
[60]
Gray, J. Political representation and rural and regional Australia—Editorial. Hum. Rights Def. 2011, 20, 1.
[61]
Harrell-Bond, B. The Economic and Social ‘integration’ of Refugee Populations in Host Countries in Africa; Stanley Foundation: Entebbe, Uganda, 2002.
