Sudanese in Australia: Renewal and hope Murray, Kate Elizabeth

User activity

Send to:
View the summary of this work
Author
Murray, Kate Elizabeth
Subjects
Refugees - Sudan.; History, Asia, Australia and Oceania.; Sudanese - Australia - Social conditions.
Summary
The country of Sudan has experienced violent conflict for much of the past 50 years, killing and displacing millions of Sudanese and generating widespread diaspora. In recent years, international humanitarian resettlement programs have increased the numbers of Africans entering third country resettlement programs; however, very little has been written about the experiences of African adults in resettlement as compared to other refugee groups. The current study used quantitative and qualitative methods to enhance understanding of the refugee experience among a specific group of refugees, adults from Sudan resettled in Brisbane, Australia. Ninety Sudanese adults (Mean age = 34.19) participated in the quantitative study, with 10 participants from that group purposefully selected to complete the semi-structured qualitative interview. Participants represented 20 different ethnic groups and reported disparate backgrounds and experiences both in Sudan and Australia, highlighting the incredibly heterogeneity of the Sudanese community. Quantitative participants reported an average 5.54 traumatic experiences on the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and approximately one-quarter of the sample meeting recommended cut-off criteria for significant psychological distress on the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL) and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the HTQ. Individuals with higher rates of prior trauma, younger adults, and people who had spent time in a refugee camp reported higher levels of psychological distress. These groups also reported higher frequencies of discrimination, with one-third of the sample reporting experiences of discrimination several times per month. During data collection in 2007, there was significant public debate regarding the integration of the Sudanese community, mirroring debates worldwide as nations struggle with public discourse surrounding changes in global migration. In the current sample, the majority of participants (54.4%) reported integration as their method of acculturation, with individuals who had been in Australia longer, having higher levels of education and greater social connectivity within both the Sudanese and Australian communities being more likely to endorse integration. The ten qualitative participants emphasized opportunities for advancement such as through education and employment opportunities as a highlight and experiences of discrimination as a low point in resettlement, suggesting the importance of social context and opportunities for advancement in resettlement.
Bookmark
http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/38235305
Work ID
38235305

1 (out of 2) editions of this work

Find a specific edition

Limited to : Thesis, Online, Online/Access conditions, 2000-2009, English. Remove limits to show all 2 editions

Thumbnail [View as table] [View as grid] Title, Author, Edition Date Language Format Libraries

User activity


e.g. test cricket, Perth (WA), "Parkes, Henry"

Separate different tags with a comma. To include a comma in your tag, surround the tag with double quotes.

Be the first to add a tag for this work

Be the first to add this to a list

Comments and reviews

What are comments? Add a comment

No user comments or reviews for this work

Add a comment


Show comments and reviews from Amazon users