The Critical Bridge of Refugee Community Leadership to Enhance Belonging in Australia

Refugee community leadership enhances social cohesion by focusing on belonging, inclusion, participation, recognition, and legitimacy, presenting an open door to freedom and social justice for underrepresented communities, including refugees (Dandy & Pe-Pua, 2015). As a person from a refugee background, with lived experience of resettlement challenges that need to be resolved (Lumb & Ndagijimana, 2021), I know how critical leadership is for refugee communities (Clarke, 2018). As an African-Australian, born and raised in Burundi, a country wedged between Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda, I lived in a refugee camp in Tanzania for 7 years. During that time I worked with diverse refugee communities through different United Nations organizations, including teaching at a high school for 4 years (2003–2007). When I arrived in Australia, learning the English language alongside the Australian “ways of doing things” was significantly challenging for me. Upon obtaining technical training in the community services sector (i.e., community services work, Mental Health and Case management), I completed my Bachelor of Social Science degree and Master of Social Change and Development at the University of Newcastle. These experiences support my current role at the University of Newcastle in the Centre for Excellence for Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE), where I work with students from refugee or refugee adjacent backgrounds, supporting them in successfully navigating higher education (Lumb & Ndagijimana, 2021).

In a country like Australia, refugee community leadership is required in order to reconsider the politics of knowledge and the importance of advocacy to ensure “social justice” (or participation parity) (Charmaz, 2011; Fraser, 2008; Power, 2012). Social justice leadership frameworks examine whether individuals labeled as “non-traditional” or “refugees” are socially treated un/fairly within their host community (Fraser, 1999). Thus, refugee community leaders are instrumental in implementing and enhancing advocacy for the refugee community they represent. Community leaders advocate restlessly, aiming to achieve possible socioeconomic environments where refugees' choices of access and participation are prioritized (Power, 2012). However, on both sides of refugee communities and community representatives, there are many challenges and struggles that need to be explored before experts come up with adequate and durable solutions.

Since Australia signed the Refugee Convention and Protocol in Geneva in 1951, refugees have traveled from third world/global south countries, aiming to re/settle (temporarily or permanently) in Australia for a wide variety of reasons (Palmer, 2009). This resettlement is accompanied by challenges as refugees try to align with the local lifestyle and culture in Australia. Some of these challenges have been linked with unfamiliar education systems, the expectations imposed on newcomers, an oppressing/colonizing culture, and neo-liberal practices (Pusey, 2010).

Due to individual circumstances, refugees move away from developing/third countries (their first asylum countries) to Australia on humanitarian visas (Boubakri, 2021) under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) arrangement and support. The resettlement process starts in countries where individuals take refuge (i.e., refugee camps or cities where they are assisted by UNHCR) away from their hometowns. People who flee their countries live in harsh conditions without access to a multitude of fundamental resources and basic human rights (e.g., shelter, food, health, and safety). In refugee camps, education—one human need that enlightens intellectual capability—is offered for primary and secondary instruction only (Lyby, 2001). The implication of this deficit gives further insight into the slow adaptation process to new living standards and adoption of cultural practices once refugees are offered resettlement in developed countries.

Life of newly arrived refugees in a developed country can be challenging (Waxman, 1998). The process of building survival stepping stones takes time. The wait to feel comfortable and confident in one's new home depends on an individual's ability to cope with previous traumas and current challenges, as well as the degree to which the context for resettlement is supportive. In the same vein, newly arrived refugee perspectives can conflict with cultural expectations related to adapting/adopting new practices in their host community. Adjustments must be made daily, such as memorizing addresses, new banking systems and money value, the use of the house content, shopping, transportation, navigating a healthcare system (e.g., having a General Practitioner), the renting process, crossing the street, etc. This challenging journey can drive newly arrived refugees into a situation full of uncertainties, which causes many to lose hope and trust in supporting institutions (Hek, 2005). Many refugees are not used to or aware of diversified support service systems (social, financial, well-being, emotional, etc.) simply because such resources require a certain awareness/education level (use of technology, self-services facilities, knowing time and dates, etc.). In addition, newly arrived refugees must work out ways of interacting, communicating, and networking beyond the ways they used to engage with others prior to resettlement, until they are able to successfully adjust to the local/traditional community.

Newly arrived refugees are usually unfamiliar with the cultural communication styles of their host community—for example, having a conversation about the day, what happened during the weekend, appropriate clothing to wear in each season, or understanding the content of the current news on television or a local news article. These resettlement trajectories can make some refugees consider repatriating back to their countries of origin due to difficulties of coping. Consequently, during the first couple of years of resettlement, choices/possibilities of returning to their countries of origin are limited. Firstly, newly arrived refugees are keen to taste new life in a developed country believed as different and possibly more hopefully than their departure country. Secondly, during the pre-departure period, refugees receive cultural orientation training, where they are told about the new country they are going to be resettled in and sign UNHCR agreements about resettlement to Australia (Frelick et al., 2016). Upon resettlement to their host country, however, refugees experience a significant amount of turmoil in terms of transitions into a new life in a new country. In these spaces, the role of the community leader cannot be ignored; these individual leaders are essential role models and advocates who have previously experienced similar difficulties and can provide guidance in overcoming such challenges.

When refugees arrive in Australia, governmental services provide a variety of support, such as free English language literacy programs to build needed skillsets to work, live, and accumulate the resources that Australia automatically disposes to their citizens. Considering that community leaders have experienced and overcome resettlement challenges and hold key knowledge from having previously received social support from their government and other entities, they play an important role in welcoming and supporting new arrivals. Being privileged to be in a wealthy country full of opportunities, community leaders serve other refugee communities by addressing the direct and imminent socioeconomic issues to sustain lives. Community leaders fulfill these commitments via different paths, such as building community networks and connections to supportive services, bridging their use of the English language and other refugee languages, and by leveraging their recognition by community organizations and other professionals. Community leaders' efforts provide several advantages and opportunities for their refugee community members, such as increased confidence in navigating their daily lives and practicing what the general population of Australia do or expect from their citizens. For instance, through the supportive efforts of refugee community leaders, refugee members gain confidence in making an appointment with the family doctor, accessing welfare services, following up with the education of their children, their awareness and knowledge of laws and regulations in Australia, successfully navigating the use of money in Australia (i.e., budgeting), and obtaining employment.

It is not easy to become a refugee community leader. The role can be difficult because most of leaders must be aware of the cultural differences of daily life in Australia (i.e., rules and regulations, modern life standards, use of the English language, and the emersion in new culture). Considering these many challenges, an important question is: From where does this leadership capability sprout? In my experience, refugee leaders sprout from those with the capability to discover and understand hidden and concealed knowledge that catalyzes them to advocate on behalf of their refugee communities, build a sense of belonging, and empower the formation of new identities in Australia.

Australians live and compete in an open market-based capitalist society, building their own self-dependency (Hawkes et al., 2020), which is one element that distinguishes the developed world from the rest. Australian resettlement programs attempt to teach approaches to refugee communities about self-dependency and reliance by utilizing available resources and instilling strategies of working hard to develop less reliance on government-provided social security (Stewart et al., 2008). Refugee resettlement programs offer free trainings supplied by job network or educational institutions (e.g., TAFE, Vocational and Educational Training or Universities), alongside materials (e.g., access to computers, laptops, uniforms, transport vouchers, etc.), accessible classes, and even supportive scholarships. However, self-dependency can be a complicated expectation for individuals from cultures that instead embrace social dependency, which is a sense of human or religious underlying belief that leaning on the free support of other people can be the source of most solutions.

Self-dependency requires that individuals are aware of and know how to access resources. It also requires that refugees must learn the mechanism of their utility (i.e., complex communication technology, such as the use of apps, mobile phones, laptops, online searches, and navigating websites). Imagine asking someone who has never attended school to learn how to use a computer, or someone who has never owned a mobile phone, to use a particular application to access an online service or resolve an issue. Imagine someone who has never heard in their life about the “Internet,” “electricity,” “gas,” “setting up an account on a website,” “reading and comprehending the instructions on a website for privacy and confidentiality purposes”—how might they feel living in executing these procedures? These prescribed Australian living standards and cultural expectations for self-sufficiency put refugees in a desperate position, where the hope of an easier life significantly diminishes. Regardless of where refugees are coming from, Australian culture dictates everyone to live and practice Western cultural standards (Babatunde-Sowole et al., 2016). Contemporary Australian resident's mode of living lines up with the 21st century, which is full of innovation and dictated by consumerism (Albertazzi & McDonnell, 2008). Thus, community leaders need to have a minimum level of knowledge of contemporary Western living standards for them to provide the best support to refugee communities. Community leaders should also provide constructive mediation between refugees and Australian service agencies; these individuals should lead through a lens of open-mindedness in order to stand in between cultures and deliver a message that speaks to both (Hind et al., 2009).

My own experience as a community leader has led me to assert that knowing or perceiving the beneficial impacts of the leader's support to their community plays a significant role in validating the leader's efforts, as well as enhancing their leadership confidence and agency. For example, it was significant to me when I dined in a local restaurant and was served by a person whom I previously helped obtain employment by writing a resume for their job application. This example empowers community leaders like me to continue supporting the refugee community by providing a bridge between knowledge and access wherever the support is required. Additionally, while appointed as “Cultural Support Officer” during the Covid-19 pandemic (2020–2022), I bridged the gap between culturally and linguistically diverse persons and their corresponding support services. In this leadership position, I ensured that the provider offered appropriate services that met all the client's needs. In the end, when the client's critical health concern was addressed or their financial situation was alleviated through the delivery of appropriate, quality services, it was empowering—it made me a happier individual.

Hence, when refugees maintain the same home and cultural practices in Australia as they did previously in their home country, there arises the potential for conflict or cultural tensions in their host community. Contrarily, in Australia, the development of social connectedness is significantly different than those from Burundi. In Australia, social connections serve as way to learn, allow time to be heard, and strengthen each other toward personal development (Walker et al., 2022). The concept of self-reliance/-dependence represents the neo-liberalism agenda (Béland, 2007; Lane, 2003), where individuals are believed to not expect anything from anybody; instead, individuals are encouraged to work hard and obtain what they need independently. This Western approach to life implies that people must work, study, and then comply with market forces. Individuals must work in order to get/be where they desire.

With multi-oppressing cultural and systemic forces in Australia, refugees need to build resilience to adapt to the challenges of their new life (i.e., self-reliance culture, the use of technology, the use of a new language, conforming to a new Western culture). To overcome some of these challenges, it is imperative for refugees to develop knowledge and skills of today's technologies, especially the use of the mobile phone or computer, to communicate and connect to the world around them (Henttonen & Blomqvist, 2005; Ling, 2004). Most of today's daily tasks are digitized, such as booking an appointment, shopping, communicating with community members (i.e., virtual communication with families overseas or getting instructions from a friend in a different state for a specific need), business, studying, and more. Thus, as previously mentioned, the refugee community leader should have baseline knowledge of current technologies so they can serve the community to model or teach those who do not possess said knowledge. Previous refugee research has confirmed that mobile phone technologies are critical for sharing information that increases well-being and makes tasks easier (i.e., increase awareness of current affairs, enhance socializing, make learning accessible, and studying) (Cummings et al., 2013; Van Noort & Van Reijmersdal, 2019). It is important to also note that refugee learning abilities may differ due to variations in highest level of educational upon arrival to Australia (i.e., none, primary, secondary, and university), which may impact their rate of adaptation and adoption. In my experience, the more a person from refugee backgrounds learns and adapts to new technologies, the more likely they are to become an instrumental role model in their community, supporting those with learning difficulties.

In summary, the refugee community leader strives to raise awareness of the vulnerability that their refugee community undergoes when resettling in another country. Leaders illustrate how a global concern such as refugee rights (access to resources and community participation) translates into localized spaces where advocates desperately work to improve the circumstances of individual refugees and advocate for greater recognition of refugee rights in the resettlement and integration process. Due to the barriers refugees face when resettling into their new Australian host community, community leaders are at the forefront of bridging between refugee community members and local support services. Refugees are also encouraged to adapt to and adopt today's technologies in order to access resources. The pre- and post-Covid-19 pandemic period taught refugees in Australia about the critical need to be able to understand and effectively utilize technology in different sectors (health, education, legal processes, commerce, and transportation). Service providers must be collaborative in educating newcomers about Australian cultural practices and effectively preparing and empowering them toward social transformation in their host community. In these types of spaces, community leaders continue to be the critical eyewitness and bridging link to both parties by facilitating the coherence of activities, establishing trust, and supporting implementation processes.