Integration of the Congolese

Community of Australia:
Why? How? Where we would like to be?
 Situation in the Congo
 The history of the Congo has
been one of civil war and
corruption

 After independence in 1960, a

series of coup attempts and
violence lead to changing
leadership and regimes

 Despite hosting the largest

United Nations Peacekeeping
force in the world today –
violence continues unabated

 A peace deal was reached in

2003 - BUT civil war remains
 What we have experienced
 Congo is the worst emergency to unfold in Africa in recent decades

 Approx 1,000 people die every day from war-relates causes

including disease, hunger and violence – even today

 Women and children are the majority of victims. Rape and sexual
violence are endemic in the region

 Every Congolese person (in Congo and here in Australia) has been
be directly affected by the war which has lasted over 50 years
 War and Refugees
 Approx. 7 million people have died from causes associated with
the conflict.

 Approx 1.4 million

people remain internally
displaced

 There are approx

350,000 Congolese
refugees in neighboring
countries

 The crisis in the Congo and the number of death is as

significant and as devastating as the Holocaust and the
Rwandan genocide…yet the world is ‘blind’ to the plight of
our people
 The Congolese Community of Australia:
Figures
 In 2008 there were approx 1,368 Congolese in Australia – the
majority arriving as refugees

 Most have settled in WA, SA and NSW

 In the last 5 years, we are one of the top 10 groups who arrive as
humanitarian entrants (refugees)

 We are a diverse community speaking 552 different dialects and

having different customs and cultures

 Not many Australians know of the situation in Congo so we face

significant challenges when coming to Australia
The value of our contribution to Australia

 We bring ethnic and cultural

diversity

 We have a willingness to learn and

contribute to the economy

 We are fluent in more than one

language

 We are ‘ambassadors’ and teach

Australians about Africa and the
Congo

 We bring new music, food and

culture to Australians
 Challenges to Integration: Torture and Trauma
 We need to address the effects of torture and trauma, loss, fear and
guilt and acknowledge our women have suffered rape and sexual
violence
Solution
 We need to address the issue of mental illness and the effects of
trauma and torture experienced by our people

 Many Congolese live with this trauma and do not seek help

 We need to talk as a community and with counsellors, psychologists

and service providers

 We need to understand our past, seek rehabilitation and have help to

overcome our problems

 When we do this, we can move forward together in our new lives in

Australia
 Challenge to Integration: Housing

 Many Congolese come from

big families and because of
this, it is hard to find suitable
housing

Solution
 We can fix this problem by
asking the Department of
housing to allocate some
properties for very large
families or if they can give
special consideration to
Congolese families
 Challenge to Integration: Unfamiliarity
 Some service providers are unfamiliar with our needs as we are a small
community and new to Australia

 Government and service providers could not plan for our arrival

 We may have limited English language skills because we come from a

French speaking background
Solution
 We need to get together to determine our own future. We need to have
one Congolese ‘voice’

 The Australian Government needs to involve and consult with us on

planning issues to find solutions that will work and ‘fit’ with our culture

 We need to concentrate in one place and be united to develop our own

jobs and support services. If we are together as a community, we can
achieve more in collaboration with government and service providers
 Challenge of Integration: Social Adjustment

 Many families come here as one unit but sometimes these family
ties are broken
 For example, when Australian children are 18 they are expected to move out of home and be
an ‘adult’
 The way we educate our families in Congo about freedom, money, life etc is different to what
young people learn here and this causes conflict in families

Solution
 There needs to be a process of learning this new culture but not
forgetting our own culture

 When service providers or government design these processes,

Congolese people must be involved

 We have a number of Congolese working in community welfare

organisations and we should use their expertise
 Challenge to Integration: Employment
 Many Congolese find it hard to get a job in Australia

 It is difficult because we are an emerging community and we don’t

have an established network of contacts

Solution
 We would like initiatives, or support from government to create our
own jobs within our community

 For example, The African Food project in Blacktown. A Congolese

refugee has set up a vegetable farm to create income, training and
employment opportunities

 We need opportunities to expand businesses like this and others as

we have many skills within our community
 How we can unite
 On Saturday 4th July the Congolese Community of Australia Inc. hosted
celebrations to mark anniversary of Congolese Independence Day.
Congolese from Adelaide, Melbourne, Shepparton, Wollongong, Newcastle
and Wagga Wagga came to our event.

 It was attended by over 400 community members and others

 Professional film maker recorded event

 We have also visited all the states and consulted with the Congolese
community in Adelaide, Brisbane, Wagga Wagga, Melbourne and
Shepparton and Wollongong, Newcastle

 We are planning to visit Perth, Darwin and Tasmania Congolese community

to explain the benefits of working as one big community

Aim was to assist and support members of the Congolese community in

Sydney, enhance integration and promote our strengths and cultures.
It was a way to show the Federal Government how the Congolese
community can come together and communicate in one voice, as one body
 How we can unite
 Soccer game at the Impedance
Day celebrations

 Soccer is a way to unite our young

people. Our young people have
travelled to SA and Vic to play
other teams and we want to
expand this

 The young people are the future of

our community
 We are trying to set up a
teleconference system

 A teleconference will allow us to

see each other and chat and act
as one even though we are in
different places
 Unity
 Successful integration of
Congolese community into
Australia requires: Unity

 This is our time to work like

one body, one family and one
community to strengthen
ourselves

 A united community is a
powerful community
 Our Future
 As Patrice Emrie Lumumba says, we want to
make Congo the centre of the sun’s radiance and “We are going to make the
today is the start of his prophecy Congo the centre of the
 I am named after this great man and was born at
sun's radiance for all of
the place where he lost his life. I want to continue Africa” Patrice Lumumba, first Prime
his dream Minister of the Congo 30th June 1960.

 It is not a coincidence that today we come

together in the Sunshine State – this conference
marks the beginning of strengthening the
Congolese community in Australia

 We hope that the light from the goodwill and hope

here today will shine on Congo

 Coming together as a community we can voice

the challenges facing the Congolese people in
Australia and in Congo

 As the sun rises over Australia to the world, we

hope it will take with it our voice from Australia to
Congo and all over the world