1948 and 1968 Czech refugee settlers in Australia : a comparison of the settlement and integration processes among two waves of settlers

Nearly eighteen years ago when I first became interested in the history and sociology of Australian immigration, I was particularly attracted by the fact and opportunity to incorporate immigration settlement, experience and accomplishments in my history teaching in secondary school. In particular it was the area of the settlement of Australia that needed a fuller understanding in the teaching of Australian history. By that I mean it was needed to show that there were many other ethnic groups besides the Anglo-Saxon group which had participated in the development of Australia since 1788. Since the end of World War II, the Australian population has doubled, the population structure and characteristics have changed and knowledge about the diverse groups forming the Australian nation is now sought. Sane ethnic groups, mainly the numerically large, have been studied and numerous reports are available. But many of the smaller groups have attracted little interest among Australian scholars. This was one of the reasons that I decided to research the behaviour of one of the smaller groups - the Czechs - to find out about their immigration history to Australia; their immigration processes such as re-settlement and re-establishment; and their community life since World War II. Because of the scarcity of written materials on Czechs in Australia, I had to rely on interviews, personal reminiscenses, letters and documents translated from the Czech language. I should like to express my gratitude to all people and officials of Czech ethnic organisations and clubs in Australia, who agreed to be interviewed and who provided me with documentary material so important for my work. Respecting the wishes of my interviewees their anonymity had to be preserved. In the course of my research, I have received substantial help and the encouragement from the Editor of the now extinct Czech language paper Newspaper Hlas domova, Mr. F.V., whose co-operation is gratefully recognised. I am also grateful to Associate Professor William D. Rubinstein for his help and encouragement in all stages of my work. The introductory part of the study is covered in Chapter One. She reasons for the need to increase Australia's population after World War II and an analysis of the development of settlement in Australia between 1947 and 1984 are discussed. The emigration of Czechs into Australia and their place in the post-war immigration scheme is introduced. To obtain an overview of how Czechs have emigrated around the world, the literature describing their settlement is compared. Also discussed in the literature on Czech settlement in Australia from an historical point of view. The studies on the concept of ethnicity and settlement in Australia are used to document the theoretical issues for an understanding of Australian society. This chapter also contains aspects of sources and research, shewing the processes of documentary research, interviews and related matters. In Chapter Two the history of Czech emigration is discussed, covering the period from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. The first contacts with Australia are highlighted, continuing into the inter-war period and finally the re-settlement of Czechs after World War II. To understand why Czechs left their ancestral country after World War II, the political situation in Czechoslovakia is analysed. The third chapter concentrates mainly in the 1948 wave of settlers, who left Czechoslovakia after the communist take-over in 1948. Their means of departure from their homeland, selection of Australia as a new homeland and their re-settlement and re-establishment are discussed. Their attitudes after their arrival and their later stages of their settlement are analysed. The formation of numerous Czech ethnic organisations which mushroomed between 1950 and 1954 led to an active community life which began to change about five years after their arrival. These charges led to disorganisation of Czech community's life. The causes of these changes which were influential for the failure of the 1948 group to establish a viable community in Australia are analysed. In Chapter Four the wave of 1968 is viewed, their arrival and settling is covered. The study of their group attitudes and formation of group institutions is the main part of this section. A comparison of my data of the two waves, 1948 and 1968, reveals the information that these two groups did not develop the harmonious relationship expected of them as members of the one ethnic group. Chapter Five discusses immigration typologies and concentrates on the differences between legal and illegal emigrants from the Czechoslovak point of view. The integration processes of Czechs and their incorporation into Australian society are discussed. The sixth chapter sums up the findings of this disertation and states the influences which were responsible for the divisions in Czech ethnic life in Australia in the 1980s.

Over the border and under the radar : can illegal migrants be active citizens?

Active citizens can become a powerful driver of development by holding to popular account those who traditionally wield decision-making power at the local and national levels. Active citizenship draws from a long history of understanding the importance of community participation and ownership of development interventions. However, in spite of its inherent strengths, active citizenship may not be a possible (or optimal) outcome in all circumstances. This article argues for the realistic expectation of active citizenship (and indeed participation) of one specific sub-population in Thailand, where the overwhelming majority of illegal migrants (of an estimated total of 800,000-1.5 million) are Burmese. Their precarious existence as illegal migrants compounds the development needs that confront any poor community. This in turn hinders their ability to engage actively in the development process. This article reviews the lessons learned by a Thai-based NGO that has worked with illegal Burmese migrants for more than 15 years. It discusses the unique strengths and weakness of these illegal communities, whether or not it is appropriate to seek to engage them as active citizens, and the implications for NGOs working with such communities. It suggests that the unique role that NGOs must play, in cases where public participation could endanger the lives of community members, is that of advocate-guardians, whereby they assume the role of active citizen on behalf of the community in question and simultaneously provide development interventions and advocate on its behalf.

The determinants of immigration from Fiji to New Zealand : AN empirical reassessment using the bounds testing approach

This article re-examines Gani's (1998) findings on the determinants of migrant flows from Fiji to New Zealand by employing the bounds testing procedure to cointegration, within an autoregressive distributive lag framework. The main findings are that in the long run all variables are statistically insignificant, although correctly signed with the exception of the unemployment differential. In the short run, in sharp contrast to Gani's (1998) findings, political instability is consistently the most important determinant of migration flows while the standard of living and real wage differentials are statistically insignificant across all specifications.

Modelling immigration flows : an application of the bounds test to Fiji - Australia migration

This paper examines the long-run and short-run determinants of migration from Fiji to Australia between 1972 and 2001 using a human capital framework, which is extended to take account of political instability in Fiji. Our main findings are that in the long run the real wage differential and political instability in Fiji are the main determinants. In the short run, there is some evidence that the wage differential and transport costs are important factors, but this finding is not robust across all specifications. Lagged migration and political instability are the most important determinants in the short run.

Exporting detention : Australia-funded immigration detention in Indonesia

Since 2000, Australia has provided significant levels of funding and resources to encourage Indonesia to use immigration detention to deter asylum seekers from making the onward journey to Australia. In this way Australia has effectively extended its domestic policy of immigration detention beyond its own national borders. The provision of Australian funding for detention in Indonesia has resulted in an increased propensity of Indonesian officials to detain. This article examines the outcomes and implications of this transfer of immigration detention policy for asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia. It draws on interviews conducted with individuals who have spent time in Indonesia’s immigration detention centres, and Indonesian immigration officials, to assess the conditions of the detention centres. The particular arrangement between Australia and Indonesia, however, fails adequately to protect the human rights of immigration detainees. Ultimately, the detention of asylum seekers in Indonesia serves as one more barrier to finding effective protection in the Asia-Pacific region.

The foreign presence in the early-industrial Haut-Rhin, 1820–22 : a short history from the ‘pre-history’ of immigration to France

An attempt to limit the rights of domiciled foreigners in the Alsatian department of the Haut-Rhin in 1821 provides an opportunity to examine the impact of immigration on early-industrial society and shifting perceptions of the place of foreigners in French society in a period often omitted from histories of immigration. New conceptions of belonging become evident, which demonstrate a turn away from local and subjective bonds to community, towards bonds regulated nationally through nationality law. Imposed in an emerging urban, industrial context, the limitations of rights—on access to the biens communaux and the droit d’affouage—were traditional restrictions of rural society and modes of distinguishing the included from the excluded and were imposed on long-settled foreigners who failed to become naturalized as French citizens. The article reflects on the question why, if the concerns about immigration and industrialization turned on recently arrived foreign workers, these traditional exclusions were imposed on established resident foreigners.