June

Post Election Community Gathering at Dandenong (recordings available through SIG Membership)

Post Election Debrief (Notes available through SIG Membership)

For Victorian colleagues, The Asylum Seeker Vocational Education and Training (ASVET) initiative allows people seeking asylum on Bridging Visa E and refugees with Temporary Protection Visas and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas to access Skills First VET courses at the subsidised domestic concessional rate.

Please support the Living Support Fund (LSF)

July

Engineers fleeing war and persecution are finding a fresh start in Australia

We congratulate Tina Donaghy and colleagues at Griffith University for implementing the Humanitarian Internship Program at their institution.

Nursing students on TPV who apply for graduate positions are blocked by computer systems that would not allow for their applications to be accepted. An important discussion thread on the forum revealed that those with experience helping these students had overcame this barrier by being forced to contact the relevant person in HR of the clinical placement.

August

Resource: AUSTRALIA'S ENGLISH PROBLEM. How to renew our once celebrated Adult Migrant English Program

Another valuable resource: People from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds: an open access annotated bibliography

Well done to SIG member Tebeje Mekonnen on this great article in The Conversation in late August!

Reminders:

November Conference - United Voices for Change. “This year’s conference... will be unique, because a full day (18th November) has been dedicated to both current and prospective students from different universities and TAFE to interact and learn from each other."

We are sill looking for a Social Media Officer and a Membership Officer. Contact educationsig@refugeecouncil.org.au or send the secretariat your expression of interest.

"At USC we talk a lot about our role in providing access to higher education; we are a regional university in communities that historically have had limited access to higher education. And USC staff are proud of the difference we make."

RESIG Interviewed Professor Joanne Scott, Pro Vice Chancellor (Engagement) at University of Sunshine Coast, where they have recently implemented a scholarship program for asylum seekers with support programs. Prof. Joanne Scott spoke powerfully about how strong leadership, community engagement, advocacy and strategic vision has enabled USC to implement these changes

Can you tell us a little about your role and how you came to working in this role at USC?

I’ve worked at USC for more than two decades. I’m currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) and the Chair of my university’s Equity and Diversity Committee. In those roles, I get to focus on how my university can best lives its values, including engagement and social justice, and how USC can meet its Strategic Plan commitment to be ‘an unsurpassed community asset’, working with and for our communities.

What are the current programs or initiatives that you have at USC to help Refugee and Asylum Seeker Students?

In late 2018 USC announced it would offer two Asylum Seeker Scholarships each year. Our first two recipients began their studies at USC this year, and we are about to advertise our next two scholarships. The scholarships are available for any of our undergraduate or postgraduate programs, undertaken full-time or part-time, at any of our campuses. Each scholarship covers international student fees, a stipend of $4000 per year (pro-rata for part-time), and a one-off payment of $1000 at the start of the first year.

How did you identify there was a need to help students from Humanitarian background at USC? What made you and others see that there was a need?

At USC we talk a lot about our role in providing access to higher education; we are a regional university in communities that historically have had limited access to higher education. And USC staff are proud of the difference we make. Part of my role is to think about where the gaps are – and support for asylum seekers was a gap. Like other universities, USC offers financial support for students in need. Our standard eligibility requirements specify that a student must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, permanent Australian resident, or a permanent humanitarian visa holder – so people on asylum seeker visas are excluded.

Did the community around the Sunshine Coast and others external to USC help you see this need? Did you work with the community and how did the relationship started?

The USC community and the broader community in the Sunshine Coast and across south-east Queensland were great. One of my concerns as I moved into this area was ensuring that what we did as a university would actually be helpful, rather than just a rhetorical flourish. I also wanted to ensure that we didn’t unwittingly create risk or harm for asylum seekers. Additionally, I wasn’t sure how to promote the scholarships effectively, if we were able to get them approved. A lot of colleagues at USC got involved, as well as external community members including our Graduate Women Qld – Sunshine Coast, Buddies Refugee Support Group, and the Sunshine Coast Multicultural Network. Those networks connected me with inspiring school teachers and principals who have asylum seeker and refugee students.

What are some of the biggest challenges Humanitarian Students at USC face? And how have you helped them cope with these challenges?

USC’s humanitarian students have already demonstrated resilience and determination to access higher education. I’m also very aware of the value they bring to our university, enriching our community. Our humanitarian students face the typical challenges our university students experience, combined with the ongoing impacts of past experiences and a sometimes precarious present and future. We know, for example, that for some of our students, enrolling at university may put any government income support at risk.

As a university we definitely still have more to do in ensuring we have effective, accessible and timely support for humanitarian students, which recognises their particular needs. Our Student Services and Engagement area came on board early. I think one of our next steps is to consider best practice support for students in relation to placements and internships.

"It was still very important, of course, to bring a well-developed, thoughtful and robust proposal to my Vice-Chancellor, and to have socialised that proposal beforehand so that various parts of USC had an opportunity to become familiar with the proposal."

Were there any major barriers or challenges to getting your ideas for Refugees and Asylum Seeker Students accepted

I’m in the fortunate and privileged position of being a member of my University’s executive and having a Vice-Chancellor who cares about diversity, inclusion and social justice. I’m very aware that my position meant that I could get my ideas onto USC’s agenda. It was still very important, of course, to bring a well-developed, thoughtful and robust proposal to my Vice-Chancellor, and to have socialised that proposal beforehand so that various parts of USC had an opportunity to become familiar with the proposal. There were some concerns, including from some external stakeholders – I found getting on the front foot was a good tactic.

Can you see this happening at other Queensland Universities and what advice can you give others wanting to get real change happening at Universities for students from Humanitarian backgrounds?

It’s great to see that more universities are stepping into this space, and I look forward to a time when every Queensland university is actively involved. My advice is that strongly aligning support for students from humanitarian backgrounds with your University’s strategic plan can provide a strong platform from which to advocate for change. It’s also helpful to remind your University’s leadership that many other Australian universities now provide some level of scholarship support for refugees and asylum seekers. Do take advantage of the existing structures at your institution – for example, get a proposal or a discussion paper to your Equity and Diversity Committee. Especially if you are at a university where effecting change in this area is proving challenging, perhaps even disheartening, do reach out to colleagues and networks within and beyond your university for support.

Refugee Education Special Interest Group thanks Professor Joanne Scott for the time and effort taken to participate in this interview and share with us inspiring examples of the power of advocacy, strong leadership and community engagement. We congratulate her and all at University of Sunshine Coast, and we hope that others can see their shining example.

By Jovana Mastilovic

The so-called ‘European Migration Crisis’ made the front page of Australian newspapers in 2015 and Australian politicians were readily giving advice to European leaders to ‘turn back the boats’. It was reported that 856 723 people had crossed the Aegean sea from Turkey to the Greek islands (Lesvos, Samos, Kos, Leros, Kalymnos, Rhodes, Symi, Chios, and Agathonisi) to seek asylum in the European Union (EU) throughout 2015. While framed as the ‘European’ migration crisis, the majority of people in need of international protection who came to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea were from Syria (50%), Afghanistan (21%), and Iraq (9%) while most people had been in Turkey for some time before 2015. A number of factors contributed to this influx in Europe; in addition to persecution and the on-ongoing war in Syria which showed no signs of coming to an end in 2015, a normal life and access to education for children was a crucial factor for people fleeing to Europe.

In my research, I avoid the phrase ‘European migration crisis’ due to the Eurocentric connotation as well as the disproportionality of displaced people around the world. The lack of security offered to people in need of international protection did result in a crisis however – a crisis of mismanagement and the domino effects of EU governments unwilling to work together resulting in barbered wire fences being constructed. My research addresses the official EU responses to people seeking asylum in the EU since 2015, their consequences, and why such measures have been implemented.

From the Greek islands, people continued by ferry and then by foot, overpriced taxis, trains, and later organised government public transport from mainland Greece through the non-EU member states of the Republic of North Macedonia (Macedonia) and Serbia, to re-enter the EU again through Hungary, and later Croatia, and then continue to northern EU countries such as Germany. In response, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel responded with ‘Wir schaffen das!’ (We can do it) promising to give asylum to all Syrians and any other person in need of international protection.

While the official EU discourse is framed around humanitarian principles, the EU member states eventually made a political agreement with Turkey which foresees that all new ‘irregular’ migrants crossing from Turkey into the Greek islands will be returned to Turkey. Furthermore, for every Syrian being returned to Turkey from the Greek islands, another Syrian will be resettled from Turkey to the EU and Turkey is urged to take ‘all necessary measures to prevent irregular migration’. In addition, EU member states agreed to ‘close’ the migratory route between Macedonia and Serbia, commonly referred to as the Western Balkans route.

The year 2015 brought the plight of millions of people displaced around the world to Europe’s doorstep. In order to ‘save lives,’ European governments, institutions, and agencies mobilised to secure the borders to prevent people from drowning at sea. Since 2016, the media covering undocumented migration into Europe has been relatively quiet with an emphatic assertion being that the ‘crisis’ is under control. Stronger border security, however, has resulted in adverse consequences: an increase in smuggling (particularly along the Western Balkans route); more dangerous alternative pathways, ‘prison-like’ conditions in the EU’s established ‘hot spots’ (reception and identification centres) in Greece and Italy; detention centres being established outside of Europe; the strengthening of the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) as well as its expanded mandate to now include operations in non-EU countries; the criminalisation of humanitarian aid workers; and a reliance on political (not legal) agreements such as the EU–Turkey deal.

The European Commission, however, describes the decrease of arrivals since 2015 and the lower death count as ‘tangible’. A type of ‘humanitarian securitisation’ has been established in which people seeking asylum have been portrayed as being a threat even to themselves by drowning at sea and thus, ‘humanitarian’ EU policies have been implemented to ‘save them’ by securitising the EU external borders. The interviewees I spoke to during my fieldwork—government officials and staff of non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, and Hungary—did not portray people seeking asylum arriving to Europe as an actual threat, nor do the statistics point to linkages between refugees and increased crime, particularly terrorism, despite outbursts from prominent EU politicians.

Regardless, official EU responses to the 2015 influx have placed undocumented migration ‘out of sight and out of mind’. A contradictory situation has emerged where refugees are guaranteed rights and protection under the Common European Asylum System; but, in order to access these rights, they need to risk their lives and sidestep military and border guards because they are restricted from accessing European territory.

Despite the EU’s efforts, nearly 30 000 people still managed to arrive to Greece by sea throughout 2017, over 30 000 throughout 2018 and nearly 21 947 as of August 2019 using unsafe and undocumented ways of migration, usually with people smugglers. The number of first-time asylum applications in the 28 EU member states was 580 800 people in 2018 with Syrians still constituting the number one nationality seeking asylum in Europe. The ongoing ‘migration crisis’ shows that the only way to end unsafe and undocumented migration—or reduce it—is by addressing the root causes of why people flee in the first place. Europe has had to implement a number of integration measures considering both the number of arrivals and the fact that over one million people were granted some type of international protection in just two years (2015-2016).

The International Monetary Fund has said that the 2015 refugee influx could be economically beneficial for Europe assuming refugees are properly integrated in the job market. Responses to integrating people seeking asylum have differed significantly across Europe. The German Institute for Employment Research shared that the integration of refugees into the labour market in Germany has been quite successful with approximately 50% of refugees in the work force working in a skilled profession. This is very high considering approximately one in five refugees leave for Europe with a vocational qualification or completed University degree.

People seeking asylum who are still having their applications processed or who hold a ‘tolerated’ status are allowed to study at a German University or other higher education institution just like other international students. German is usually the language of instruction; however, there are also opportunities in English and special programmes providing support to refugees and people seeking asylum which are in most cases free of charge. German Universities have free tuition or charge low tuition fees and while there is not a single place online where all the scholarships for people seeking asylum can be found in Germany, people seeking asylum are encouraged to contact advisor services of individual Universities and also the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees which also provides guidance in terms of scholarships and course fees.

Despite low tuition fees, people seeking asylum still struggle to access higher education in Germany due to legal and financial barriers, but the situation is much more accessible than in Greece. Access to even primary school education on the Greek islands is difficult adding to a lack of protection in other aspects and why people continue their journeys from Greece through the non-EU member states of Macedonia and Serbia. Under law, however, education is compulsory for all children in Greece (including refugees and asylum seekers) aged between 5 and 15 years and those that complete secondary education in Greece can access tertiary education under the same conditions as Greek citizens.

In Hungary, the situation has been particularly difficult for people seeking asylum. The Central European University (CEU) had been providing free education and support to people seeking asylum and refugees in Budapest in partnership with the University of East London and the University of Vienna through the Open Learning Initiative (OLIve) initiative established in January 2016. However, Hungary has imposed numerous anti-immigrant measures which have affected academic institutions as well, forcing the CEU to not only suspend its OLIve program, but also to transfer its headquarters to neighbouring Austria.

Setbacks and anti-immigrant measures have however not discouraged the work of academics, activists, artists, concerned citizens and people seeking asylum who continue to fight for their rights, including access to education. Universities have and continue to present places of hope and a space for promoting evidence-based advocacy, knowledge production, and solidarity.

Jovana Mastilovic began her PhD journey in April 2015 after working in the NGO sector in Serbia and Croatia (and briefly in Australia). At the time, she had no idea that her PhD research would hit so close to home – an European Union funded asylum centre was actually established in her hometown in the north of Serbia in 2016 – close to the Hungarian and Croatian borders.

Background photo credits: Sarem Oh