The opportunity for tertiary study is what attracted Nataly Soto to move from Peru to Newcastle, halfway across the world, four and a half years ago.
The university appeal is one of many reasons migrants like Soto have moved to the regional city. Once known as an industrial powerhouse of industries such as brick, steel and gasworks, it is now transforming into fame for its beaches, distinct architecture and burgeoning arts scene.
Now, add to that, a growing reputation for emerging multiculturalism. For migrants new to Australia, Newcastle’s cheaper cost of living, visa opportunities and friendly community are equally enticing.
“When you study in regional areas, the government is giving you more chances to stay a bit longer,” Soto said.
Soto is an international student ambassador at the University of Newcastle, helping students with her firsthand knowledge of how challenging it can be for international students to move abroad.
“When we arrive to a new country, we can feel a bit lost. We don’t have many friends,” Soto said.
Fellow international student ambassador, Sarthak Birani, also understands what “the first few months can be like for international students.”
“It’s difficult to find accommodation, it’s difficult to find a part time job, to support yourselves. It’s also really hard to basically balance your studies,” Birani said.
Nataly Soto and Sarthak Birani, University of Newcastle international student ambassadors, at the Hunter Multicultural Communities fiesta day. Photo: Jessica O’Bryan.
MIGRANTS ‘FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD”
Given the challenges that migrants may encounter, experts say it’s more important than ever for support groups and networks to be easily accessible.
Federal MP for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon, says such support services are crucial, adding she is excited about the growth of multicultural communities and emergence of different cultures in the area.
“I’m really pleased to see now we’re getting people coming to live in Newcastle from all across the world,” Claydon told Central News.
“And sometimes it’s for reasons of work and reuniting with family who are here, and sometimes it’s about needing refuge from places that have been unsafe in the world.”
Census data from the periods 2001-2010 and 2011-2020 in regard to a person’s country of birth and the year that they arrived in Australia, highlighted the communities with growing populations in Newcastle.
The number of people who were born in Afghanistan who arrived in Newcastle between 2011-2020 has increased twentyfold from the previous decade, according to the census data.
Likewise, there has been significant increases between the decades in the number of people born in Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who now live in Newcastle.
Humanitarian settlement in Newcastle also continues to grow as people seek “new horizons from countries such as Syria, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan,” according to Hunter Multicultural Communities (HMC).
Claydon is proud of the “properly resourced” services available to support “people’s needs on arrival”.
“If we don’t have those right and in place, people tend not to stay, because it’s too much of an isolating experience,” Claydon said.
‘DO I BELONG TO THE AUSSIE SOCIETY OR AM I STILL AN ARAB?’
The HMC youth program, led by Marwa Alkasim, supports migrants and refugees arriving in the region.
Marwa Alkasim, program officer, at the HMC fiesta day. Photo: Jessica O’Bryan.
“There’s a large number of young people arriving to Newcastle every single week,” Alkasim said.
She works with over 75 young people aged 14 to 25 to write resumes, apply for courses and ultimately “build their future in a new country”.
“I would hope for them to get into the workforce as soon as possible rather than waste years just not knowing how to get in or how to start,” she said.
It’s the kind of support that Alkasim lacked when she arrived in Newcastle with her family from Jordan eight years ago.
Through her work, she hopes that young people “feel settled” and “proud of who they are as people.”
“I worked with Western Sydney Uni on research where we looked at all the struggles that young people face when settling into a new society, and a big part of it was that identity crisis of, ‘Who am I?’ ‘Do I belong to the Aussie society or am I still an Arab?’”
“It takes a lot of work to find yourself in a new community.”
Alkasim said the Newcastle community is “great”, with “very welcoming” and “friendly” people.
She particularly likes “how quiet it is but also how multicultural it is.”
‘RICH HISTORY OF MULTICULTURALISM’
Claydon said while the cultural demographics of migrants to Newcastle are always growing and evolving, the area has “a really rich history of multiculturalism” too.
Newcastle and the Hunter Region attracted significant migration of Eastern European migrants after World War II, when several army camps around the country transformed into migrant camps.
Alek Schulha was born in the Greta camp, near Maitland, which became the second largest migrant camp at the time.
Alek Schulha, author and HMC member who wrote about the Greta migrant camp. Photo: Jessica O’Bryan.
“We had 100,000 migrants go through Greta camp between 1949 and 1960 when it closed on 19 January 1960,” Schulha said.
He has been a part of HMC, formerly known as the Ethnic Communities’ Council, for six years.
Through researching and writing about the Greta camp, he has become familiar with the organisation’s history of helping migrants to settle into the area.
“In the early days, we were helping them find a job, help them with education, helping them accommodation. All those sorts of necessary things to set up in a new country,” he said.
As reflected in the HMC youth program, the organisation continues to offer valuable support and foster strong relationships with new migrants in the region.
“We in turn, are helping them and they’re helping us.”
Main image by Jess O’Bryan.
*The Constructive Journalism in Communities (CJIC) project has been made possible by the philanthropic support of AGL for regional communities. UTS has maintained full editorial control and independent journalistic standards.
