So I want to do a working holiday for the summer your winter and I'm just curious to see how race relations are in Australia, particularly in Sydney. I'm a 4th generation American with Mexican heritage. I'm the embodiment of an American when it comes to accent, style, and expression. Moreover, I'm a mestizo so I think I might stand out within the population.
Will I be accepted? I don't think you'd have any particular problems, with the stipulation that you can run into stupid people everywhere. Originally Posted by philopower. Familiarity breeds contempt. In Australia you'd just be interesting and different. Just maybe stay away from Americans while you are there.
They may bring their prejudices from home to their adopted country. You got nothing to worry about dude! I'm also a American who is of salvadorean descent. I have been doing a working holiday visa for almost a year and now in sydney to finish it off. In general, Australians are pretty laid back and friendly. Yes there are some bad eggs but you rarely deal with them. People here in Sydney dont really blink a eye here because the city is pretty much multicultural and most of the immigrants are from Asia.
However you will meet people from Columbia, Brazil, Spain, and Argentina. Plus Australians will find you interesting because you are an American and they rarely care about race. It is generally assumed that employment is strongly correlated to the level of qualifications. If this is the case, the new Latino communities have a clear advantage over the old ones. But in relation to employment status other variables such as length of settlement , may be as or more important than the level of qualifications.
In Australia only four per cent of people with postgraduate degrees were unemployed in Two of the old Latino communities with postgraduate qualifications were just below this unemployment rate: Argentina, at three per cent, and El Salvador—2. However, it appears that the few Salvadorians at the top of the qualification ladder have managed to insert themselves successfully into the Australian employment sector.
Ecuador displayed the highest employment rate among its postgraduate members. However, this figure has to be taken with caution because the absolute number of postgraduate Ecuadorians is very low, at Venezuelans also have an employment challenge among their most qualified compatriots, with an unemployment rate of more than nine per cent. The postgraduate members of the Chilean community have adapted healthily to the employment market. People from El Salvador and Argentina, with postgraduate qualifications, are inserted into the job market on a better footing than those born in Australia.
The Census paints a clear picture of the industries in which most Latinos are employed. It seems that each community targets specific industries. For instance, Mexicans and Venezuelans are over-represented in the professional, scientific and technical services industries, with 16 per cent each, in relation to a national average of seven per cent. At 14 per cent of people working in the manufacturing sector, Chileans have a much higher percentage than the national average of nine per cent.
Brazil is high in the accommodation and food services industry with 16 per cent, more than double the national average of seven per cent. Mexico and Colombia with 13 per cent are also considerably higher than the national average for the hospitality industry. Fully 21 per cent of people from El Salvador work in the health care and social assistance industries, which is nine per cent more than the national 12 per cent average.
The Chilean and Peruvian communities also both register a high proportion of their workforce in these industries—17 per cent. On the other hand, there are industries in which Latino workforce participation is minimal in relation to the rest of the Australian population.
Among these are agriculture, forestry and fishing; mining; electricity, gas, water and waste services, as well as information media and telecommunications, rental, hiring and real estate services, arts and recreation services.
Electricty, gas, water and waste services. Infomration, media and telecommunications. Rental, hiring and real estate services. As stated earlier, the Latino communities tend to concentrate in specific occupational areas. Venezuela and Mexico are more represented in the professional category and they have 38 and 36 per cent respectively in relation to the national average in this occupation category of 22 per cent. Chile is also well represented with 17 per cent in the technicians and trade workers category in relation to the 14 per cent rate nationwide.
Sixteen per cent of Brazilians worked in community and personal services, as compared with ten per cent in the overall Australian population. Uruguayans, with ten per cent, have a strong presence as machine operators and drivers, compared to seven per cent nationwide. Conversely, people from El Salvador, with six per cent, are under-represented as managers compared to 13 per cent Australia-wide. Mexico and Venezuela are also under-represented in the technicians and trades workers category, with eight per cent compared to 14 per cent for the rest of Australia.
This data again indicates that settlement groups tend to prefer specific occupations, possibly as a result of their networks, and again indicating a strong ability to integrate.
Community and personal services workers. Note: We exclude from this table the inadequately described column. The OECD does not regard the need for assistance as an indicator of social participation and therefore a factor towards integration.
The affected members would tend to focus on solving their individual problems rather than focusing outwards. Included in this category are older people, and people with disabilities or who are disabled for health reasons.
In Australia, five per cent of the population comprised this category in Spain had the highest rate with ten per cent, which is double the national average, closely followed by Uruguay, with eight per cent. The new Latino communities of Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela had the lowest need for assistance with a rate of just one per cent. This data is consistent with the argument that the new Latino communities have fewer barriers to integration, as their need for assistance is minimal—one per cent or less—in comparison to the national average of five per cent.
Analysis of relevant data reveals that Latin American communities have settled successfully in Australia compared to other OECD countries; and compared to other ethnic immigrant groups and the national Australian average.
For the more established arrivals in the Latino community, the changed political and economic circumstances in their respective countries of origin encouraged them to refocus their attention on Australia.
As a result some of them have participated more actively in the political, economic and academic life of their new country. Their members shifted their position, from being outward-looking communities in the s and s, to becoming inward-looking from the mids onwards.
For the new Latino communities the process of settlement in Australia has been faster than that of the earlier wave, largely because they possess a sound command of English and strong qualifications on arrival, which they have expanded with local education. Most of the indicators analysed describe a Latino community that is comfortable with itself and which has achieved a high level of integration see Table 7.
Out of 12 integration indicators, the Latino community rated high in five, medium in four, low in two and very low in one, namely political participation. For both the old and the new Latino migrants, integration into the economic and educational sectors of Australia is on the right track. A sense of permanency: The old and new Latino migrants have a clear purpose and the relevant skills to settle in Australia permanently. Factors that inhibited integration in the past have been left behind, including nationalism, detachment from the new country, lack of English proficiency, low levels of education, transplantation from rural to urban regions, and full and exclusive political commitment to their own countries of origin.
A high level of language skills and qualifications acquired locally: The old and new Latino settlers have high levels of vocational and educational qualifications, most of which were acquired in Australian tertiary institutions or vocational education and training institutes; hence, their contribution to Australia has been substantial and immediate.
In the ladder of the integration process, political participation and policy-making participation are at the top. In these areas Uruguayans have excelled, but other Latino communities are lagging behind. The Latino community needs more political representatives, and increased involvement in political parties and non-governmental organisations.
Comparative purpose only Minor differences in definition. Low volunteer participation in Latin American countries. Representation in Australian parliaments. Based on the population size, the Latino communities should have 0. Equivalent to four parliamentarians. Bachelor degree or above. Advanced diploma or below. Latino unemployment rate is 1. Unemployment for people with postgraduate qualifications.
The lack of networks and targeted employment programs by government or business initiatives may also be a factor slowing the speed with which new waves of Latinos are joining the labour market.
The section below identifies a number of opportunities that would reduce the political and economic integration gaps in the quest to hasten the integration process, so that Latino communities can fully contribute their skills and experience to help build a stronger Australia.
There is a clear opportunity to increase engagement in political, economic and academic matters, policy implementation and institutional and capacity building, in order to reposition and integrate Latinos into Australian society in areas such as:. Developing strategic partnerships between Australia and the Latino community: There is a wealth of experience and human and intellectual capital among the Latino communities.
This wealth of knowledge and experience could be used by government and the private sector in Australia to enhance the economic and social relationships with the wider Spanish-speaking world. Policy-making: The Latino communities can play a vital role in the formulation and implementation of policies and the development of strategic papers aimed at improving the political, economic and educational relationships with Latin America.
There is a clear opportunity to strengthen these organisations by:. Institutional services delivery: There are opportunities to increase the participation of the Latino community in the delivery of key services. This novel idea could provide new impetus to the educational sector by increasing demand for the provision of English-language courses and the delivery of training in languages other than English in Australia.
It could also promote the learning of second languages in the country. The Latino communities could play a strategic role in such an educational enterprise. The strategic need to speed our mutual understanding: The speed of settlement of Latinos into Australia can also be assisted by increasing the knowledge and understanding of Latin Americans about Australia, and of Australians about Latin America. For instance, Australia has strategic interest in its relationship with the United States.
The influence of the Spanish-speaking communities in that country is growing rapidly, and may have an impact on future government priorities. Australia has the opportunity to develop its understanding of the Latin American people by looking at the aspirations and motivations of the Latino communities in Australia: it is a local window of opportunity. There are other things that could improve this understanding.
Even now, in the 21st century, Latin American-born immigrants have to fill an out-dated immigration form that geographically defines South America as any country south of the US border—although this error is understood by the immigration authorities, they are reluctant to correct it for economic and statistical reasons. Promoting the teaching of the Spanish and Portuguese languages: Teaching of these languages would encourage mutual understanding, and increase economic and educational exchanges.
The Latino community is qualified to support this endeavour. Development of local networks: As the above analysis shows, the key to making sure there is faster integration into Australian society is to develop networks and increase the understanding of Latin America by Australian-born people. For instance:. These chambers allow cross-fertilisation between Australian-born and Latino people. A person like Victor brings a wealth of knowledge and strong local networks to the Mexican business world in Australia.
Researcher to researcher networks: Researchers in Australia have developed their own field-specific networks. It is important to learn about these enterprises and, whenever possible, build upon them. Student networks: One of the strongest student networks in Australia is the one developed by Zoe Dauth at Melbourne University.
It offers an effective model for future inter-university student networks. Social media networks : Linkedin and Facebook and specific interest blogs could assist to connect both the early and new Latino settlers in order to further their chances of gaining employment.
These networks alert their members to new employment opportunities. Developing professional profiles: Many migrants have occupied high professional and executive positions in their own countries of origin. It would be in the interest of the wider Australian community to collect information concerning the working experience gained by Latinos while living in their own countries of origin.
This information will help identify more precise ways to capitalise on this expertise from a policy-making and implementation perspective.
Establishing links with employment organisations: On the one hand, there is a clear need in Australia for highly qualified people, as demonstrated by the 83, people working with temporary visas as at 31 December None of the top 15 countries sourcing the Visa are from Latin American countries.
Out of the 33, holders of visas in —12, 83 per cent were classified as having Skill 1 and 2 levels. Interestingly enough, the skill levels required by Australian employers match those from the Latino community. There is an opportunity to explore further the extent to which some of the 1, unemployed Latinos with skill level 1—post-graduate qualifications and Bachelors degrees—could fill part of this employment gap, thereby reducing the number of workers having to be sourced from elsewhere.
Self employment: It would be desirable to have assistance programs linking new migrants in general, and the Latino community in particular, to micro-financing and self-employment opportunities.
The profile of the new Latino communities indicates a strong inclination to start self-employment businesses. Therefore, there is an opportunity to create information channels to facilitate the creation of businesses and access to capital. For example, there are successful stories of microfinance programs initiated by NAB and Westpac, which are targeting this new wave of business immigrants.
Mentoring economic and political participation: The old Latino communities could play a mentoring role for the new ones. The oldest settlers, represented by Uruguay and Spain, have already adjusted. Uruguay, in particular, can be singled out as the Latino community which has integrated most fully.
The unemployment rate of members of this community is lower than their Latino counterparts and that of the rest of the country, and they earn the highest weekly income average. It also has strong political engagement. Although members of the new communities also hold the advantage of being better qualified to fill highly skilled jobs, they lack cultural and political skills to participate actively in the Australian political system; in this regard there would be value in connecting the established Latino community with emerging immigrant groups.
These communities are growing most quickly, and at current trends will be paramount on the Latino population ladder, sooner rather than later. This analysis provides the evidence to affirm that both the first- and second-wave Latino communities are generally well integrated into Australian society but still have more to offer. They each have advantages and disadvantages that can be worked with to build stronger communities, which contribute more fully to the wider Australian society.
The first-wave communities are savvy, with strong networks, and the second-wave communities are smart, with strong qualifications. Working together and with the right government policies these groups can help to develop a stronger Australia internally, but also to develop stronger external ties with the growing economic powerhouses of the Latin American region.
This is a side of the multicultural agenda that has not been fully explored. Chiswick, Barry R. Chiswick ed. Immigration Research in Labor Economics , Volume 27, , pp. DOI: Finifter, Ada W. Jupp, James ed. ISBN: Source: not available. Format: mov Quicktime ; File size: Length: 05min 43sec. Victorian Parliament Speech, Hansard, 20 March Victorian Parliament Speech, Hansard , 14 September Victorian Trades Hall Council. For Argentinians, p. Language is important, too, as there are several countries in Latin America which have English and French as their official language.
For this reason a restricted definition of Latin America is used here: mention of Latin America indicates countries where either Spanish or Portuguese are spoken as the official language. But it is a widely accepted concept in the United States and less controversial than others such as Hispano-American, Ibero-American, etc.
Latin American countries are intrinsically linked to Spain by history, which is therefore an important selective characteristic to take into consideration. Spanish people have also played an important role in the Latin American settlement process in Australia, both politically and academically.
For instance, the first political links between Latin American communities and Australia emerged from the Spanish community—see detailed discussion in the section related to political participation.
It was funded by unions that recognised and understood the needs and problems of migrant workers, and by various state and federal government funding programs during its existence.
By the late s the Centre had lost a component of its government funding and affiliation fees from trade unions were insufficient to maintain its previous staffing levels and programs. See: Victorian Trades Hall Council. Created: unknown. Date Added: 18 February Finifter, and Bernard M. Chiswick, and Paul W. Immigration Research in Labor Ec onomics , Volume 27, , pp. Latin America: Changing political realities and trends — 2. Australia—Latin America Education Relations 3.
Australia, Latin America and the Environment 5. Australia and Latin America: Shared experiences and prospects for a new partnership 7.
Latinos in Australia 8. Print and Electronic Media 9. Latino communities: Definitions and categories For the purpose of this chapter the concept of Latino includes anyone from the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking peoples from Latin America living in Australia. If the country was immoral he thought he could turn round to the people of England and Ireland who send all their criminals to this colony, and they say they wonder that there were thieves here; who send out thousands of street walkers to this colony… 8 Freire was not to be the last high-profile Chilean living in Australia.
The historical perspective According to the Colonial Census, in the late s there were people from at least 14 Latin American countries living in Australia see Table 7. The s immigration wave Before the s there were so few Latin Americans that the census did not individually register any community from this region. This bipartisan immigration program for Chile marked: a break from previous refugee programs that tended to support refugees who were fleeing Communist governments.
The Latin American population in In December , there was a Latin American first generation population of , people—this figure excludes Spain—living as residents or citizens in Australia. Latino age profile The age profile of the Latino Community confirms the demographic differences between old and new Latino settlers.
The future—migration trends The composition of the community has changed dramatically in the last ten years and will continue to do so.
Integrating into the new motherland The goal for governments is that migrants adjust rapidly to their adopted country. Civic engagement: Volunteer work The OECD Report, Settling In , includes volunteer work as another important indicator of civic engagement: Dimensions to gauge the extent to which migrants feel involved in society include involvement in broad voluntary societal activities, which might include membership and participation in associations, volunteer work, and, if by choice, enrolment in trade unions or political parties.
Civic engagement: Political participation The OECD points to the inclusion of participation in voting in political elections, union and political party memberships and participation in the political system as indicators of integration.
Successful migrant political participation In Australia there is strong evidence of success in first and second generations of Greek and Italian communities in voting popular representatives into the federal and state parliaments and local union movements. The role of the established migrant communities Spanish and Greek The Spanish and Greek communities played a central role in advancing the Latin American political resettlement process within the Australian system.
The path from union engagement to the Labor Party The Labor Party also supported the human rights and democratisation agendas of new migrants, in particular those from Latin America. Political participation: The Latino community in the 21st century Political participation of the Latin American community in Australia in the 21st century may be substantially different to that experienced by migrants in the s and the s.
Education participation: English-language skills A number of studies have concluded that immigrants fare worse in the labour market when their language skills are poor. For Mexican-Australians, watching the disintegration of their homeland has been nothing short of excruciating. Mr Galindo's father is a doctor in Juarez, also known as the murder capital of the world, where the homicide rate is per , Sydney's is less than 1 per , But in the past couple of years things have really gone crazy.
There were murders last year in Juarez. My dad got robbed at gunpoint in his surgery. His house and clinic are now barricaded. I tell him, you have to get out, come here, I'll sponsor you, but the old-school Mexicans like him have this no-quitting attitude - they don't want to leave it behind.
When I first came here I wasn't expecting to see so many nationalities, but there were people from everywhere. And it's so safe. People tend to take that for granted a bit. Mexicans seek sanctuary in Australia.
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