Afghan refugees shun Australia’s bright lights for a life in the bush
Some immigrants find the fast pace of cities difficult, making small towns a more comfortable fit
Ali, a Hazara refugee who now calls the Australian outback home, named his new venture the Afghan Friendship Restaurant, a tribute to the welcome he received after moving to the town of Griffith five years ago.
The father of three, 44, is among a growing number of refugees and migrants to Australia who have opted to live in the bush rather than among the bright lights, hustle and bustle and astronomical prices of Sydney or Melbourne.
The word friendship hovers over Ali’s head in bright red lettering while he cooks lamb on skewers, his face a picture of concentration as the rich wafts of fragrant smoke lure in hungry customers.
It is the first Afghan eatery in Griffith – a six-hour drive west of Sydney – and a far cry from the pie-and-chips staples of the Australian bush.
“I suggest to all my friends, especially Afghan people, to come to Griffith, because here’s very friendly,” says Ali, who asked that his surname not be used to protect his family who are still in Afghanistan.
“Also we can find a job as well, because the population is not too much.”
Australia is a nation of immigrants, nearly half its 25-million population was either born overseas or has at least one parent born abroad.
The country takes in about 14,000 refugees a year, with one-off exceptions to allow additional asylum seekers, such as a recent scheme for 12,000 Syrians and Iraqis.
But harsh anti-asylum policies against boat arrivals and high-profile incidents of racism have given the country a reputation of being inhospitable to non-white immigrants.
There has been an increase in anti-immigration sentiment, according to the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney, despite the overall intake of migrants – capped annually at 190,000 – remaining stable.
Lowy’s annual poll found that for the first time this year, more than half the Australians surveyed said the number of migrants was “too high” – up from 40 per cent last year.
The poll’s authors said the changes could reflect a lurch to the right as conservative politicians call for intake cuts amid urban pressures.
Rapid demographic changes in Australian cities in the past decade have caused disquiet as residents grapple with congestion and high house prices.
Yet at the same time many regional towns are “crying out for more people”, according to population and cities minister Alan Tudge.
His government is proposing that new arrivals live in smaller towns for a few years, in the hope they put down roots.
Critics say the policy is not enforceable and that migrants would struggle to integrate into rural populations because of language and cultural differences.
But that is not what Jock Collins at the University of Technology Sydney, who is surveying 250 recently arrived families from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, has found. Prof Collins says many migrants have positive feedback to share after being settled in smaller towns.
In addition to job opportunities and a supportive environment – “where the town goes out of its way to welcome refugees” – the presence of other migrant communities can ease the transition, Prof Collins says.
“A lot of regional and rural towns are losing populations and in particular, the young people are leaving, so immigration can help fill that gap.”
Some immigrants also find it difficult to adjust to the busy rhythms of city life, making smaller towns an easier fit.
Incentives such as extended family visas, which the conservative government has been cutting back on in favour of younger, working-age migrants, could also attract and keep refugees in the bush.
One success story is Mingoola, a small rural township in New South Wales, on the border with Queensland, that was dying as its population aged.
Desperate for an injection of new blood, the town finally found a match with refugees from rural east Africa who were struggling in Sydney.
Similar praise has been heaped on Nhill, a town four hours’ drive from Melbourne that has boomed since poultry company Luv-a-Duck found a Karen community, a minority group persecuted in Myanmar, willing to move there.
Eight years on, business is booming and the Karen now make up 10 per cent of Nhill’s 2,000-strong population.
“From a position of decline, these towns are now thriving,” says Jack Archer of the Regional Australia Institute, which is pushing for a national strategy instead of isolated efforts to match needy towns with job-seeking migrants.
Back in Griffith, refugee entrepreneurs are boosting local jobs. Ali’s restaurant employs another refugee and a migrant from Malaysia, while his wife also helps with the cooking.
In more than one way, Ali is altering visitor flows between cities and rural towns.
One couple have travelled from Sydney three times to eat at the restaurant. It’s “for the soup”, he says.“They like my soup and because of that they come here.”
I suggest to all my friends, especially Afghan people, to come to Griffith, because here’s very friendly ALI Hazara refugee