Summary Report

Quota Refugees Ten Years On Series

Because [New Zealand] helped me, it made me feel like I belong to it - made me feel like I wanted to be a part of it.

Introduction

The Department of Labour commissioned Gatt Consulting Ltd to undertake an exploratory study as part of the wider Quota Refugees Ten Years On: Perspectives on Integration, Community and Identity research programme.

The aim of this exploratory study was to hear the views and experiences of former quota refugees who have lived in New Zealand for more than ten years.  The findings from the study fed into the development of questions for a nation-wide survey of people who had arrived in New Zealand through the Refugee Quota Programme between 1993 and 1999. 

As part of this exploratory study, forty-one former refugees attended focus groups and thirteen participated in individual interviews.  The focus groups and interviews were held across the country’s main centres – Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.

Research questions

The participants were asked three main questions:

• What factors have helped or made it difficult to settle in New Zealand?
• What does it mean to be well settled for former refugees?
• What are the most important questions to include in a survey of former refugees?

The most important factors in the settlement process

The three factors that participants found to be most important for being well settled were:

English language ability

If you’ve got a good language, you are the queen.

The core role of family

You can ask anybody - say to them, “how do you like New Zealand, how do you settle?”  They say “it’s our family”. 

Being separated from family

My body is here, but my mind is there. I can’t say I’m settled because my parents, extended family are over there.

Other important factors were: being safe from war and violence; a reasonable level of income; having paid work; access to education; low cost or free quality health care; and being treated fairly, including having access to the same services as other New Zealanders.  These and other factors are described in more detail below.

Factors in the settlement process

The practical factors

English language fluency was very important because it helped people to access paid work, education, higher incomes, wider personal relationships, and provided a feeling of belonging. Being fluent in English was a sign of being well-settled.  Lack of English brought isolation and reliance on others.

[The] most difficult problem is language.

Education helped to increase language ability, improve skills, and build stronger networks with people. Post-school education was a sign of successful settlement.  Difficulties included having little previous education, being older, no recognition of overseas qualifications, and caring for family which reduced learning opportunities.  Post-school courses provided some participants with their first connection to the local labour market and employment.

You have no experience in this [new] country… This work experience [on my course] was important.

A common sign of being well settled was having paid employment and a reasonable standard of living.  This happened through gaining paid work, a fair job market, and government income support.  Barriers included low paid work and low levels of income support, poor English language ability, and limited personal networks.

If you have the job, if you have the money, you can have everything.

Health and wellbeing helped people settle.  This meant having low-cost, quality health care, and being safe from war.  These, and a positive outlook, less stress and feeling safe, were signs of being settled.  Mental health issues due to trauma, family separation, and adjusting to a new society were identified as barriers.

I feel safe here.

Access to secure, low cost and quality housing helped settlement.  Owning your own home was seen as a sign of being a well settled person.

…this house is three bedroom, and nice, I have been here 14 years.

Family, communities and agencies

Families played a very important role as they provided strong emotional relationships, practical support, local knowledge, and guidance for young people.  Having close family in New Zealand was a sign of being well settled.  Links with overseas communities helped. Women felt settled if their children were settled, yet supporting children and tensions about change in a new society were difficulties.  Family separation and concern about family living overseas created significant emotional and financial costs.  Immigration policy related to family reunification was a major issue as it was seen as unfair and costly, and providing financial support to offshore family was a challenge.

The immigration system doesn’t help [us] feel settled because it stops families coming together.

A link with their own community was important for many refugees. However, small communities, not feeling part of a community, and the negative behaviour of some community members created problems.  Links to other refugee and migrant communities helped settlement as they provided friendships, practical support and more tolerant attitudes.  Having these kinds of relationships was often seen as a sign of being well settled.  Communities of similar ethnicity offered friendships, practical support, and familiar cultural structures. 

They go to the same church, they have sometimes evening prayers, and she was really happy when they were together.

Other New Zealand communities supported settlement as volunteers, neighbours, and professionals, and government and non-government agencies provided a range of valued support services.  However, there were difficulties gaining this support because of language difficulties, poor access to education, and discrimination.

The neighbours helped when we needed the telephone for two to three days…

Citizenship, Culture and Belonging

Citizenship supported settlement because it provided freedom to travel and a feeling of belonging.  Ethnic and cultural identity, including maintaining and practising one’s own culture was a support.

I feel proud to still have my culture, but I still wonder how I did it. If it wasn’t for my family…

In contrast, being part of a very small community and having a culture quite different from New Zealand society was a barrier.  Differences between older and younger people about culture and social behaviour were sometimes a problem.  Younger refugees indicated that having a changed appearance and looking like they ‘belonged’ was a sign of being well settled.

You can tell someone who’s come straight out…they’re out of fashion. After they’ve been here a while that changes…. They have a new look… fashion / clothing, (the) way you act, different hair....

Religious organisations offered practical support, community relationships, and a way of passing on their culture.  The personal attitudes and beliefs of each person were identified as a factor in settlement and a well-settled person was seen as positive, organised and assertive.  Religion helped people with life issues, provided a balance to other influences and was a source of pride.

Every day I say, ‘God, thank you, you give me nice country’…Because this is a gift from Allah.

Belonging was a result of factors such as English language ability, access to quality support services, achieving citizenship, the time resident in New Zealand, and the number of visits to their country of origin.  Barriers to belonging included being separated from family, a lack of links to country of origin, cultural differences, and the perceptions of other New Zealanders towards former refugees.

Because [New Zealand] helped me, it made me feel like I belong to it.

Laws, rights and attitudes to former refugees

There were many different views on racism and discrimination, including how often it occurs and its effects on former refugees. 

Some people respond differently to an accent, applying for a job or house…

Clear rights and laws in New Zealand helped to provide a sense of fairness and reduce feelings of discrimination.  Signs of a community being well settled were feeling safe, having access to social services, having a range of freedoms, and people from the community being involved in politics and working for government.  Refugees not being seen in the media or inaccurate stories about former refugees made it more difficult to feel settled.

Children, older people and women

Those who arrived as children, older people and women had their own particular settlement issues.  Those who arrived as children had greater English language fluency, were less affected by events in their country of origin, knew their rights, and found New Zealand society less stressful.  However, they faced being part of a small ethnic group at school, often having to support other former refugees to settle, and experiencing conflict with older family members about how to live in New Zealand.

It was hard growing up as a kid trying to mix the best of both cultures.

Older people found settlement more difficult due to strong ties to their country of origin, having difficulties learning English, having fewer work opportunities, or having unrecognised overseas qualifications or little former education.

Women were often more independent in New Zealand due to access to education, support services, employment, and greater legal rights. However, they had more childcare responsibilities and for some, faced discrimination related to their dress.

The most important questions for the survey

People suggested the survey should include questions about people’s goals and achievements over the past ten years, including the reasons why some goals had not been achieved.  Participants felt that it was important for people to be able to voice their own issues and to say how satisfied they felt living in New Zealand.  They suggested that similar questions to those used in this study could be included.

Conclusion

Participants gave a rich picture of what helped and what made settlement difficult in New Zealand over ten or more years.  They also described what being well settled as a former refugee meant for them, and suggested some key questions to include in the Quota Refugees Ten Years On nation-wide survey.