The unmet welfare and health needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

Transcription

1 The unmet welfare and health needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria _ Sultan Dogan

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3 Publisher: Australian Multicultural Community Services Inc. Suite 111, Hampstead Rd Maidstone, Vic Inc No A C ABN National Library of Australia: Cataloguing-in-Publication Data ISBN Copyright 2015 Australian Multicultural Community Services Inc. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher. The Australian Multicultural Community Services is pleased to acknowledge that the funding for this project was partly provided by the Victorian Multicultural Commission. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

4 Acronyms and abbreviations: AMCS EMC NGOs TAFE Australian Multicultural Community Services Ecumenical Migrant Centre Non-government organisations Technical and Further Education Acknowledgements: The consultant would like to acknowledge the generous contribution of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Australian Multicultural Community Services and RMIT University for their support in the preparation of and technical guidance in carrying out this study. The consultant wish to also express her thanks to individuals who made themselves available for the interviews and shared their views on the the issues the study aimed to explore. Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this report belong to the individulas and groups contacted as part of this study. They do not necessarily reflect the views of RMIT nor AMCS. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

5 The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

6 Contents 1 Introduction Background and rationale to the study Overall objective and methodology Time frame Target groups Turkish community in Victoria: A demographic profile Profile of the Turkish community organisations Categorisation of Turkish organisations in Victoria Analysis of the organisational profiles Findings and analysis Consolidated responses Settlement patterns and distribution of available services A dysfunctional organisational structure Provision of social, health and welfare services Concerns of the aged Training and information needs Responses to the questions and their analyses List of other issues brought up by respondents Summary and recommendations Appendix List of Tables: 1. Turkish Profile and Comparable Other Groups Arriving in Late 1960s and 1970s 2. Turkish Community Organisations by Region 3. Profile Breakdown of the Turkish Community Organisations The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

7 The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

8 1 Introduction 1.1 Background and rationale to the study In 2013, Australian Multicultural Community Services (AMCS) applied for funding with the Victorian Multicultural Commission with the aim to devise an action plan for the unmet needs within the Turkish community after concern had been expressed about the lack of a strategy to address these health and welfare needs. Additionally, AMCS having undergone an evolution from being an ethno-specific community organisation into a mainstream community services provider, provided guidance to steer the project. AMCS managed the project and employed a project consultant who undertook the research and conducted community consultations and organized interviews with community organisation leaders. This report explores the barriers and constraints to success and makes recommendations aimed at helping to shape future initiatives. 1.2 Overall objective and methodology This project was devised to undertake a community consultation that would identify these needs in order to strategically plan with regards to the delivery of health and welfare services to the Turkish community in Victoria. The project was designed to have three phases: AMCS and its role Started as an ethno-specific community organisation and evolved into a mainstream multicultural service provider and NGO. Paid attention to the welfare needs of the Turkish speaking community in the new millenium, in particular, the health needs of the first generation Turks. Its contribution is to provide expert knowledge and work in collaboration with existing Turkish community organisations to set themselves up for welfare needs of future generations. Stage 1: A scoping study of the current situation within the Turkish-speaking communities in Victoria Stage 2: Community consultation and a workshop of all relevant project stakeholders and partners Stage 3: Development of a comprehensive action plan detailing how unmet community needs can be responded to. But due to funding constraints, it was only possible to carry out the first phase. And hence a scoping study of the current situation within the Turkish-speaking communities in Victoria, a community consultation and a report of the findings of the study was completed. In line with the overall objective of the study, a set of five questions was formulated, designed to gain an overview of the issues the interviewed persons reflected through their responses to the questions. The questions were open-ended to allow The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

9 respondents the freedom to take their observations and suggestions in whatever direction. Hence, the questions were very broad and this allowed respondents to express their views on what they felt are the key issues. The study was framed around five key questions. These were: 1. What are the major problems facing the Turkish community in Victoria? 2. What are the main things that the Turkish community has not achieved to date? 3. What do these challenges mean in terms of welfare and health needs? 4. What should the Turkish community do to achieve them? 5. What are some of the initiatives the Turkish community can take for the benefit of our community? Responses to these questions and the issues that were brought up during the interviews will be dealt with in the analysis section of this report. 1.3 Time frame The study was conducted by a researcher who, as a second-generation Turkish Australian, is familiar with the dynamics of the Turkish community in Victoria through her professional work as an interpreter and who was able to make all the logistical arrangements for the interviews and for the overall study. The interviews were conducted during October and November Target groups Based on the anecdotal evidence, the general view among service providers in Victoria suggests that the Turkish-speaking community either underutilizes or misses out on health and welfare services, perhaps because of the lack of a sophisticated infrastructure within the community. There is also awareness that the Turkish community has been less than successful in integrating into the mainstream Australian society. A total of 50 people were interviewed for the study. The choice of interviewees was based on the availability of interviewees, their position in the community and their knowledge of the current activities in the community, and they were chosen from members as representative of the values and beliefs of different sections of the community. Some responded to the questions in the order the questions were put to them while others chose to provide a long narrative covering issues about which the four questions were designed to solicit answers. The following section provides an overview of the profile and characteristics of the community in question. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

10 2 Turkish community in Victoria: A demographic profile Although the Turkish immigrant presence in Australia resulted from the 1967 agreement between the Australian and Turkish governments, there had been a number of Ottoman Turks arriving in Australia at the beginning of the 20 th Century according to available records. The Turkish Cypriots had begun arriving earlier in the 1950s but this was followed by another wave in the 1970s during and following the war on the island of Cyprus which has left the island divided along the Green Line. In Australia, between one quarter and one third of the Cyprus-born community is from a Turkish background hence, in Victoria, about 2,200 persons born in Cyprus are Turkish, based on the language data from the 2011 census. The Turks from Turkey who began arriving in the late 1960s and early 1970s were unskilled and poorly educated. They were followed by another immigrant wave in the 1980s these who were much better educated were fleeing the political and social turmoil in Turkey. Turkey provides the 20 th largest overseas-born group in Victoria while Cyprus the 37 th largest group. But such figures give a false impression. The best indicator is the language profile. At the time of the 2011 census, Turkish speakers comprised the seventh largest language group in Victoria after Italian, Greek, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Arabic. In the previous five year inter-censual period, the percentage of Turkish speakers had increased by 10.6 per cent. The 2011 Census indicates that there were 16,490 Turkish speakers living in Victoria with little subsequent migration. A very significant portion of the population (40%) is aged between 45 and 55 and 12.3 per cent of people are above the age of 65. There are two very significant features about the Turkish presence in Australia. First, the Turkish presence in Australia is highly concentrated, with just on half (50.2%) living in Victoria. Alongside this is their high geographic concentration in Melbourne 93.4 per cent live in the Melbourne metropolitan area with small concentrations in the Goulburn Valley (Tatura and Mooroopna) and in and around Mildura. Secondly, the Turks in Victoria are, in turn, highly concentrated into the City of Hume (39.2%) with other smaller concentrations in Moreland (11.2%) and Greater Dandenong (5.5%), with some also in the City of Kingston area. Accordingly, because of the high concentration in Hume, service delivery is made easier though the remaining members of the community are quite scattered across Melbourne. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

11 The Turkish presence in Victoria has other noteworthy characteristics: 1. The Turkish community is ageing, with a median age of 46 (up from 42 in 2006), which is much higher than the national average. More significantly, 40.3 per cent are in the age range while only 12.3 per cent are aged over 65, though this will quickly change. The Cypriot group is likewise concentrated in the age range (49.6%) but with a third (33.9%) aged over 65. The Turkish ageing issue will begin impacting in a major way in the 2020s. 2. Almost a third (31.1%) of those born in Turkey have limited or no English, much higher than the percentage among comparable groups who began arriving at much the same time, such as the Chilean, Argentinian, Croatian, Serbian and Egyptian (see Table 1). 3. The Turkish community, like the Turkish Cypriot community, is less than well-educated. It has a high 5.0 per cent who have no education and a very high 62.6 per cent who have only primary school education. The education profile shows that the TAFE attendance figures are also low for both communities. Figures and percentages comparing the educational attainment of migrant communities in Victoria highlights one of the main constraints that Turks suffer from: a relative lack of educational attainment combined with the lack of English, which causes less information flow and lack of awareness of what is available to themselves and their community. It also means that there are relatively fewer who can act as cultural and linguistic mediators between the community and mainstream society and who have the organisational and networking skills to build an organisational infrastructure. 4. The unemployment figure of four per cent is not overly high but the closure of the Ford factory in the Somerton area will have a high impact upon the Turkish community. When this is combined with the age profile, it is predictable that many, if not most, of these workers will be unable to obtain a subsequent job. 5. The educational and employment scenario is exacerbated by the income figures 67.1 per cent have a weekly income of less than $400 and only 12 per cent have an income above $1250. The Cypriot community is in a similar position. Both groups compare unfavourably with the other five communities (see Table One) with the exception of the Croatian community, who have, however, a very low unemployment rate and a very high home ownership rate. Only 11.1 per cent are university graduates with only twelve other groups lower: Malta (3.5%), Samoa (4.0%), Italy (4.6%), Greece (4.6%), Macedonia (6.6%), Slovenia (6.6%), Croatia (7.6%), Timor Leste (8.0%), Sudan (8.3%), Afghanistan (8.4%), Cyprus (8.8%) and Cambodia (10.4%), of the 72 overseas-born groups with more than 2000 members. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

12 6. Home ownership rate for the Turkish community is the lowest at 70.5 per cent as compared to the other comparable overseas-born groups. This results in a correspondingly high rented accommodation rate. On this indicator, the Cypriot community has a very high ownership rate (86.5%) and low rented accommodation rate (7.9%). 7. They are committed Australians with a citizenship rate of 85.6 per cent, though not as high as the Croatian and Serbian groups. 8. Their religious profile is predictably different from the other comparable groups with a very strong commitment to Islam and a very small percentage who consider themselves to have no religion. 9. Their gender profile is a little surprising with a very slight preponderance of males (102 to every 100 females) 10. The volunteering rate of 7.3 per cent is also very low, in fact, the 12th lowest of the 72 groups. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

13 Table 1: Turkish Profile and Comparable Other Groups Arriving in Late 1960s and 1970s Indicator Turkey Cyprus Chile Argentina Croatia Serbia Egypt Total No. in Australia % in capital cities Total No. in Victoria % of Total in Aus Top LGAs ,846 18,073 24,938 11,986 48,829 20,267 36, ,490 8,179 7,096 3,646 17,248 7,384 12, Hume Moreland Grt Dand Brimbank Hume Whittlesea Casey Brimb k Grt Dan Casey Brimb k Gtr Dand Brimb k Gtr Geel Casey Casey Brimb k Grt Dand %age %age %age Median age Sex ratio 100 females English: not well or none Religion Islam No Religion OrthGreek OrthGreek Islam No Religion Catholic No Religion Xtian Catholic No Religion Judaism Catholic OrthSerb No Religion OrthSerb Catholic OrthGreek % unemployed % employed % income $0-400 $ $ $1250+ % house ownership % rented accommodatio n % Australian citizenship % educated PostGrad Bachelor TAFE School No education Brimb k Casey Whittlesea OrthCoptic Catholic OrthGreek The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

14 Over the past almost 50 years, the community has had its challenges, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, during the early years of their initial and longer-term settlement in Australia. However, Turks have gradually earned a significant and quite distinctive niche in the State of Victoria through a range of efforts and with the relatively more successful younger second and third generations. Another distinctive aspect is the ANZAC connection. But welfare and aged care needs in the community are becoming more apparent, more so with the decline of the manufacturing sector in Melbourne s north and north-western areas. In summary, the Turkish-speaking community is a largish immigrant community, heavily concentrated in Victoria and in Melbourne, most particularly in the City of Hume. As the community looks into the future, its members face more challenges in terms of adequate income, home ownership and employment possibilities in the face of the manufacturing decline. They enjoy much less the benefits of education and skilled employment and the associated knowledge and skills together with less access to health and welfare services compared to other immigrant communities settled in similar areas of Melbourne, as will be shown in this study. 3 Profile of the Turkish community organisations As with other immigrant communities, Turks have established a number of religiously, politically and culturally based institutions and agencies. This section provides a summary of these agencies, their missions and services. It is unclear as to which of the existing Turkish community organisations was the first to be established in Victoria. Some circles claim that, apart from the Cypriot Turks, the first community group was formed in Mentone. This was largely due to the fact that the then Springvale migrant hostel had, in the early seventies, provided a large number of Turkish-speaking immigrants with their first home immediately upon their arrival in Melbourne. The organisation was called the Australian Turkish Association, made up of fellow countrymen who had come to work for two years under the bilateral agreement signed between the governments of Australia and Turkey in Over the years, the political unrest in the homeland played a major role in many Turks deciding to remain in Australia after the two year agreement had ended. Hence began the community in Victoria of Turkish-speaking men and women with similar political views. The inner city suburbs that had newly-built, high-rise government flats, such as Richmond, Collingwood, Carlton, Fitzroy, Flemington and South Melbourne, provided families with clean and safe housing. These inner city surburbs witnessed the influx of Turkish immigrants throughout the 1970s and 80s. Travelling to Mentone to access help from the Australian Turkish Association proved difficult for many Turks on weekends. Within the core of this organisation, the Turkish Cultural Association was established on Church Street, Richmond. The The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

15 make-up of the committee of this drop-in centre was predominantly left wing socialists. At the time, the Ecumenical Migration Centre (EMC) sponsored by the Christian Churches provided immense support to the Turkish community and had managed to receive goverment grants to employ Turkish-speaking welfare workers. However, most of those who worked in the field had poor English and their social welfare skills were limited according to one interviewee. Their lack of understanding of the sophisticated welfare language meant that their contribution towards successful settlement and the development of the Turkish community in Victoria were limited. Two factors contributed towards the establishment of other associations: 1. The polarized political climate of the 1980s in Turkey 2. The increasing need to preserve Turkish language and culture among the children and the religious needs of the first generation. A statement made by members of the women s group is thought provoking: The women on the left wing were getting support from EMC in Richmond. However, women wearing headscarves were not catered for. Due to their ideological differences and differing values, they could not blend in with the structure of left wing groups. These masses over time found themselves in closed religious groups. The eighties saw a gradual increase in the number of religious-based organisations in the Broadmeadows area. Aside from meeting the spiritual needs of Turks practising Islam, these organisations also provided social services, mainly in the form of referral to established agencies but also acting as drop-in centres. To date, there has not been any study or research conducted on the chronological establishment of the Turkish-speaking community organisations. As a result, this study is the first to bring together a list of existing organisations within Victoria. The list generated by this study is by no means full and accurate, as the exercise was outside the scope of this study. However, based on careful analysis of multiple sources, this study has been able to identify more than 60 organisations recorded as still operational in the State of Victoria. Table Two confirms the heavy concentration of Turkish speakers in the northwestern region of Melbourne, Based on the collected data, there were 42 associations scattered throughout the suburb of Broadmeadows. There are eight organisations in the western (Sunshine) region. Although the first Turkish community association was established in the southern suburb of Mentone, only six continue to provide support to their members. Dandenong, on the other hand, has five active organisations stretching out towards Hampton Park. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

16 Table 2. Turkish Community Organisations by Region North-West Broadmeadows) North-East (Sunshine) South (Mentone) South-East (Dandenong) Trying to establish the organisations main area of focus or their core services was found to be difficult. There were no written documents or annual reports readily available to read to understand the individual organisation s mission, vision and core values. It was not possible, therefore, to measure the extent of welfare services available to its members and to the Turkish speaking community at large. 3.1 Categorisation of Turkish organisations in Victoria There were also found a few professional organisations set up to cater for other needs of the Turkish community. Their efforts are more commercial and political. They are more advocacy-oriented and support the second generation to take part in mainstream economic and political fields. They are well-resourced and equipped with more professional membership in comparison to the welfare organisations serving the grassroots, the general community. However, based on the review of the official names and activities of these publicly known organisations, it can be said that there are different structures in terms of size, orientation and type. Table Three below provides a profile of these organisations based on category. What is striking is the lack of any specific welfare or health organisation except for seven aged clubs and seven women s organisations. However, to highlight the community s commitment to cultural maintenance and dissemination, there were 14 cultural organisations together with another three musical and artistic organisations. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

17 Table 3. Profile Breakdown of the Turkish Community Organisations Category of Organisation Assoc. type Number Federation Foundations Councils Centres Associations Religious 6 Cultural 14 Women 7 Aged 7 Education 2 Music and Art 3 Sport 2 Funeral Services 2 Miscellaneous Regional Analysis of the organisational profiles Regarding the organisations, details about their legal status, their constitutional roles and responsibilities and the types of services that they provide were found to be very unclear. Most have annexed a sub-group to include women and the aged, and to establish weekend language and religion schools. There are also much smaller groups which operate on an informal basis with the help of volunteers. These organisations operate mainly in the Hume City municipality, not surprising given that a larger proportion of the community also resides within this local government area. For example, under the Funeral Services category, there is the Samsun Funeral Assistance Association which provides only funeral services. Under the same category is included the Australian Islamic Funeral Services. This is part of the many other services provided by the Broadmeadows Mosque, which is sponsored by the Australian Islamic Social Association. The Turkish community organisations often focus on providing social and cultural activities to the local community. For example, the Moreland Turkish Association The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

18 has been organising the Turkish festival at the Victoria Market site in March of each year for the past seven years. So far, only one organisation has managed to reform itself to become a welfare organisation serving beyond Turkish communities. The Australian Turkish Association in Mentone has received funds from the Victorian state government to work with other non-turkish Muslim families living in the Kingston city region. Religiously-based organisations tend to be very successful in fundraising. There are full-time private schools run and supported by various religious groups in Australia and Turkey, especially by the Fethullah Gulen organisation which, not without being a target of controversy within the Turkish communities, has come to occupy a special place in Victorian society, with deep links across it. One of the longest running Turkish aged groups is based at Broadmeadows, with over 400 members. The group meets every Tuesday in Dallas and has social activities and information sessions presented by Turkish speakers and/or mainstream service providers with the aid of interpreters. Under the miscellaneous category, there are groups organised to focus on taxi drivers issues, a cultural platform focusing on the Tulip Festival and the RSL subbranch groups, indicating the widening spectrum of Turkish community influence. It is unfortunate that a detailed study of the Turkish community organisations has not been undertaken. There was found to be only two regional associations: not surprisingly, one in Mildura and the other in Mooroopna where there is a Turkish mosque. 4 Findings and analysis As stated earlier, the questions put to the respondents were not solely on health and welfare services and their delivery. Close to fifty people were consulted during the data collection. There was one group discussion and five face-to-face interviews carried out. The responses to these questions were multifarious. For this reason, it proved to be somewhat challenging to identify and analyse the assessment of the respondents on health and welfare services. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

19 4.1 Consolidated responses Most of the participants confirmed that the Turkish community was made up of Turkish citizens with various ethnic backgrounds coming from the different provinces of Turkey. These provincial and ethnic differences have been clearly identifiable for almost five decades and, unfortunately, both the unity and solidarity within the Turkish-born group have never been properly achieved. Political and ethnic reasons stemming from Turkey itself can explain this lack of cohesion and divisiveness. As a result, and as the respondents indicated, the members of the community have experienced and continue to experience difficulty in finding mutual grounds for meeting to discuss and address the prevailing issues faced by the Turkish community in Victoria and Australia. It is unfortunate that, unlike other communities such as the Italian and the Greek, the religious unifying factor has been unable to provide the basis of unity to galvanize a whole-of-community response. For example, within the Italian community, the Scalabrinian priests have played a key role in creating the welfare and aged care infrastructure since the late 1960s (in Sydney) and the late 1970s (in Melbourne) Settlement patterns and distribution of available services The interview data provided the following conclusions: Although the four macro-regions of Melbourne have pockets of Turkish settlement, the local government census statistics show the majority of Turks are living in the northern part of Melbourne. Due to this high concentration, the majority of intra-community based services is provided in and delivered in the broader Broadmeadows area. There are few services available in the south east of Melbourne around Dandenong and environs and almost none in the southern region of Melbourne. The separation of the Kurdish-speaking community from the mainstream Turkish community is apparent, with little chance of any rapprochement and cooperative initiatives A dysfunctional organisational structure It was not clear as to how many registered Turkish community organisations were operating at full capacity at the time of the interviews. This study identified over 60 organisations in existence just within the Melbourne metropolitan area. Most participants felt that having too many small, struggling and perhaps inactive organisations served and continues to serve little purpose. The community, as one participant claimed, suffered from a lack of capable leaders. The fact of dialectal differences (not necessarily different languages but more a case of variations in regional dialects) has always been a problem within the community in facilitating communication these differences, like those in the Italian community with its many so-called dialects ) are not recognized outside the community or by government. The data suggested that the leaders are focused on political differences rather than the common problems of vulnerable, at-risk people The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

20 in the community leading to a dysfunctional community in health and welfare terms. Among the comments made were the following: There are too many deficiencies in the delivery of welfare services and We can t find anyone to talk about our needs. We are missing out on too much. The diversity in the community is largely due to the presence of sub-cultures existing under the broad umbrella of Turkish culture. It is a community structured in a way where each and every sub-culture believes that they have the right knowledge, a structure in which people do not see their shortcomings and develop for the better. This segregated nature of the community and polarized community associations have been an obstacle to win government funding because they don t unite their forces to apply for funding to set up long-term welfare services to meet our needs Provision of social, health and welfare services The very ad hoc nature of services based purely on voluteerism rather than any professionally based platform makes it difficult to determine the type and extent of welfare services provided by the existing Turkish organisations and associations. This is because, as pointed out earlier, there are no documents such as brochures or poster advertisements. During the study, the most common issue was the increasing number of first generation aged Turks. Many elderly people live in isolation. We are isolated from our own families and our closed door neighbours was a common comment. Isolation was not the only issue faced by the elderly. They also are badly served by mistrust, apathy, alienation and poor English language skills that prevent them from interacting with mainstream organisations. As the number of elderly people increases, they are left to live on their own. The only medium for gaining information is by way of listening to the local Turkish radio programs. Most rely on the radio for information about what government services are available or for details on any changes made to their social security payments. Research has insisted for many decades that ethnic radio is the best way of communicating with migrants who are poorly educated and have poor or zero English language proficiency. Services for the Turkish ageing first generation are almost non-existent. Apart from Ottoman House in Broadmeadows, there are no aged care facilities or services provided in their own language. Their language and cultural barriers prevent them from accessing the mainstream aged care services. Aged care services such as meals on wheels, transportation, personal care and home care are limited and in some areas, such services do not exist for the Turkish community. There are insufficient interpreters available to help them with their medical and welfare appointments. There is no nursing home, nor is there any hospice care for the Turkish elderly. The conditions of the mainstream nursing homes are not in conformity with the expectation of Turkish traditional families. Cultural differences, communication The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

21 difficulties, standard of services, unfamiliar food and lack of religious practices all deter family members from sending their elderly parents to these centres Concerns of the aged The following concerns were expressed about the plight of the Turkish aged: The poor literacy levels of elderly Turkish people they do not know where and whom to approach nor do they know the location of relevant institutions. The lack of relevant information regarding healthy ageing information available is more about treatment and curing illnesses than about preventative measures. Their very limited access to transportation they are unable to attend community events, and are heavily reliant on community buses or friends. Failure to access council services most elderly do not access local government services because they are not made well known to ethnic communities. The second most reported issue was domestic violence. There are no Turkishspeaking women s shelters for those affected by domestic violence. There has to be a short term shelter for these women and the community organisations have yet to establish a forum to address this issue, said one participant. Family violence seems to take place more commonly among families with at least one partner immigrating to Australia through marriage. The third most voiced concern was related to youth. It was mentioned that a business man is making efforts voluntarily to save Turkish youth who have fallen into the drugs pit from their plight. It is estimated by some that there are over 2500 youth in the northern region that have a drug problem. Homelessness, depression and anxiety were also among the problems experienced by these youth. Most participants, including the presidents of a few organisations who were interviewed, strongly believed that most leaders in the community lacked the community development skills and knowledge required to work in the social welfare field. Due to this shortcoming, the Turkish community and its small component of associations have not been strongly structured. This leadership deficiency impacts on the quality aging process of the first generation Training and information needs At least 60 per cent of people aged between 60 and 75 are illiterate. Poor English language skills among the elderly and poor skills in Turkish, (their mother tongue) among the third generation broadens the generational gap. Whilst the older generation lives in isolation, the third and even the fourth generation lives in ghettos with identity crises said one respondent. Training of women and meeting the skills training needs of single mothers is proving a challenge. As a Centrelink requirement, many women must attend literacy training and develop new skills to re-enter the workforce. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

22 Lack of information and misinformation is a significant hinderance to accessing exisitng services. Training on legal rights and responsibilities is also lacking even though the law says ignorance is no excuse. Any training on these topics needs to be carefully planned and conducted in the layperson s language in order to ensure that complex legal concepts and jargon are well understood. Another challenge is ensuring awareness in the community about rights of patients in health care settings. Health service providers, especially big hospitals and clinics, tend to have brochures and other forms of information materials in a range of ethnic community languages but there does not appear to be any assessment as to their effectiveness and usefulness. 5 Responses to the questions and their analyses Question 1: What are the major problems in the Turkish community? This question was put to the respondents to allow them to speak freely on issues they felt are being faced by the community under study. As expected (and as reflected in the list under 4.2.1), respondents have highlighted a myriad of issues that they feel cause problems in the community. For the purposes of this report, it is suffice to summarise the main issues in the following way as expressed by the respondents: Inadequate language services (including limited interpreting services by service providers). Insufficient Turkish speaking social/welfare/community development workers to cater for the needs of the Turkish community. One respondent claimed that many Turks suffered because social or welfare workers who spoke Turkish were not adequately skilled or trained in service delivery and many members of the community were either misled or ill advised. Lack of English language skills among the elderly Turkish speakers. This means that many are not aware of what services are available. It can also be said that both advanced age and lack of language skills discourage people, especially those poorly schooled and educated, from taking part in skills training or in any intellectual or educational pursuit. Not enough services for the elderly who are either victims of domestic violence or are disabled. What is possibly more correct is that Turkish speakers do not benefit from or utilize more specialized services. This is again the result of lack of awareness about what is available, which in turn is caused by the lack of English language skills and ability. Lack of capable and committed leaders in the community. This is an indication that associations or agencies established by the Victorian Turkish community are loosely formed, not systematic in their operations and act like a group of volunteers. Question 2: What are the main things we have not achieved to date? The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

23 This question was designed to encourage the respondents to reflect on the past forty years since immigrants started to arrive in Australia. Responses to this question tend to reflect the general view that not much has been achieved. Some said that the youth whose families are from Turkey suffer from a sort of identity crisis they do not speak Turkish well, they have problems with drugs, they have difficulty relating to their parents. Several respondents said that the medical profession (mainly doctors in public hospitals) treat people with private health insurance more favourably (meaning giving priority to patients with private health insurance) than those who do not have private health cover. They feel that this is an issue bordering on discrimination. However, none was able to provide concrete examples of such cases in hospitals. Although it has no direct bearing on health and welfare service delivery per se, some respondents said that there are establishments that encourage people to be practising Muslims and embrace Islamic values more. It is true though that those who frequent religiously based agencies (such as the ones in Broadmeadows area) tend to rely on the services (mainly welfare, guidance and advice) of these agencies. This implies that any future solution may mean working more cohesively with the religious leadership of the Turkish community. Question 3: What do these issues mean in terms of welfare and health needs? Responses to this rather broad question were more in the form of suggestions or drawing up a wish list. The need for more information on available services and language services was already expressed as part of the responses to question one. From the comments and suggestions of people who responded to this question, the following tentative recommendations can be made: A help centre catering for information and guidance needs of the Turkish community should be established, with bilingual Turkish-English speaking staff who are trained on a range of topics such as patients rights, education and skills training opportunities/programs, and guidance on health and welfare services. Embassies and consulates (Turkish ones in this case) as well as municipal councils should do more to inform communities about what is available, what important information should be shared with the general community, about rights, etc. Funds (presumably both state and federal) should be made available to the community in order to establish health, education and welfare services that compliment mainstream services. More homes for the elderly should be built and more appropriate meals should be provided to the Turkish aged in the context of a comprehensive aged care strategy, especially as the community ages. Rehabilitation centres should be established for youth who are affected by substance abuse. The consultant who carried out this study is not aware of any studies done by any agency targeting drug addicts of Turkish background. As long as there is no statistical data or documentary evidence on the prevalence The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

24 of such practices among youth of Turkish background, establishment of such centres would be hard to justify. Question 4: What should we do to achieve the recommendations? Responses to this question are similar to the responses to the previous question that is they are more like suggestions or wish lists. The main or worthy suggestions are as summarized below: A travelling welfare agency that goes around to different groups to assist with reading and interpreting the documents will be very useful. This highlights the need for more language services but no consideration is given to the cost element of such a service in this way. A large number of respondents who are politically, socially and culturally aware said that Turks need to be more active politically to represent the community and to support the development and progress of the community. Of course, this requires English language skills, a good understanding of the Australian political system and structure as well as a sound understanding of both the existing and emerging needs of the community. This may be a good prospect among the second and later generation of Turks but if its demographic profile is any indication, the later generations are too busy carving out a future for themselves or they are too detached and far removed from the ever ageing first generation of Turkish migrants. Several respondents said that the multicultural policy of successive governments (mainly Labor) have failed. However, they were not able to suggest any alternatives. Question 5: What are some of the things we can do to create changes in our community? This question attracted no concrete suggestions- the respondents were not able to come up with any practical ideas to create changes in the community. It is hard to avoid the temptation to say that the responses amounted to it is the responsibility of the government to remedy all the ills in the community. There is within the community a feeling of immobility and lack of direction. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

25 5.1 List of other issues brought up by respondents As the interviews were loosely structured and respondents were allowed to take their time responding to the five key questions put to them, a large number of issues were raised by them, though not all are related to the health and welfare needs. The key themes and related issues raised in the meetings and survey were as follows: 1. Cultural erosion within the Turkish community 2. Intercultural marriages more common 3. Relationships in the family are not strong 4. Domestic violence is widespread 5. Youth issues neglected 6. Sense of belonging to a community is diminishing visits to neighbours and friends declining 7. Identity confusion religious, secular, Turks, Kurds, educated, uneducated, etc. 8. Gambling, alcohol/substance abuse is on the rise 9. Lack of communication between TCO leaders 10. TCOs lack clear direction, missions, visions 11. Nationalist values are disappearing 12. Literacy, skill-based and vocational training not adequate 13. There are barriers to accessing information 14. Mental health issues not addressed 15. Difficulties accessing services 16. Public housing continues to be a problem for some 17. Services for the disabled are not enough 18. Education illitracy rate high among early arrivals, poor skills for meaninful employment 19. Employment use of employment services are accessed via Centrelink referrals this is a challenge 20. Current unemployment rate compared to other ethnic groups is growing The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

26 6 Summary and recommendations The issues this study tried to address are interconnected and complex and for this reason all the matters brought to the fore deserve a more in-depth analysis following a more systematic collection of data. The study was in essence a cursory glance at the main issues of health and welfare and many of the 50 respondents do not seem to have a global view of the plight of the Turkish-speaking community in Victoria. For this reason, the following set of recommendations is made with a number of follow up studies in mind. Recommendations: 1. Though closely connected, the health (public, physical and mental health) and welfare issues should be studied separately and more comprehensively, through contact with migrant communities in all regions of Victoria. 2. Health service providers should team up with institutions and agencies catering for the health needs of migrant communities (the Turkish speaking community in this case) and undertake a comprehensive study of the health concerns. In doing so, these institutions can draw lessons from the practices and service delivery models of other states in Australia. 3. Welfare service providers could plan a more in-depth study of the needs of the community. Research institutions can be engaged for this purpose. 4. A committee of experts comprising health, welfare and education professionals and representatives of different sections of the Turkish-speaking community can be set up to monitor and provide guidance and advice to service providers, both mainstream and other establishments catering for the needs of ethnic communities. 5. This committee, in close cooperation and collaboration with service providers can determine the priority health and welfare services as well as the type, range and scope of these services. As this study was being finalized, more parliamentarians with a Turkish heritage were elected to the Victorian parliament at the 2014 elections. The political efforts of members within the Turkish community that extend back to the early 1970s have borne fruit. Now is the time to act determinedly and cohesively in achieving better welfare and health care outcomes for the Turkish community in Victoria. The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

27 7 Appendix PROFILE OF THE TURKISH COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS FEDERATIONS: 3. Northern Cyprus Turkish Association Federation FOUNDATIONS: 1. Australian Nur Foundation 2. Australian Nur (Light) Foundation 3. Australian Turkish Islamic Foundation 4. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Cultural Foundation 5. Selimiye Foundation 6. Zehra Education and Culture Foundation 7. Austurk Education and Culture Foundation 8. Blue Horizon Foundation COUNCILS: 1. Victorian Turkish Organisations Council 2. Australian Alevi Community Council CENTRES: 1. Anatolian Cultural Centre 2. Australian Islam Culture Centre 3. Broadmeadows Turkish Islamic/Culture Centre 4. Goulburn Valley Turkish Islamıc/Culture Centre 5. Istanbul Culture and Arts Centre 6. Keysborough Turkish Islamic Culture Centre 7. Melbourne Turkish Community Centre 8. Thomastown Turkish Islamic and Culture Centre 9. United Islamic Cultural Centre of Australia 10. Australian Turkey Culture Centre The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria

28 Associations: Religious 1. Australian Islamic Social Association 2. Australian Cyprus Turkish Islamic Association 3. Dandenong Islamic Association 4. Cyprus Turkish Islamic Association 5. Victoria Turkish Islamic Association 6. Australia Milli Görüş Association Cultural 1. Australian Turkish Culture and Friendship Association 2. Australian Turkish Cultural Platform 3. Australian Western Thrace Turkish Association 4. Australian Black Sea People s Association 5. Australia North Cyprus Friendship Association 6. Australian Turkish Association 7. Australia Greek Turkish Association 8. Footscray Turkish Association 9. Victoria Black Sea Turkish Culture Centre 10. Victoria North Cyprus Turkish Association 11. Australia Kırşehir Cultural and Support Association 12. Victoria Turkish Culture House Women s Associations 1. Whittlesea Turkish Women s Association 2. Thomastown Turkish Women s Recreation 3. Glenroy Turkish Women s Association 4. Australia Islamic Culture Women s Association 5. Australian Friendly Turkish Women s Association 6. A.M.G. Organisation Women s Group 7. Northern Turkish Women s Association The Unmet Welfare and Health Needs of the Turkish Community in Victoria