Iraqi Australian
Encyclopedia
Iraqi Australians are people of Iraqi
origin living in Australia
.
Since the 1991 Gulf War
, thousands of Iraqis have found refuge in Australia
. The total of population is estimated to be as high as 80,000.
Australia's Iraqi-born population includes Kurds
, Assyrians
, Armenians
, Mandeans, Turkmens
and Jews.
The first year in which the Australian Census of Population and Housing recorded the Iraq-born separately was 1976, when the population was 2,273. By 1986, the population had risen to 4,516. By the end of the Gulf War in 1991, it numbered 5,186, mainly in New South Wales
and Victoria
.
Many recent arrivals have entered Australia under the Humanitarian programme. The Gulf War
and the quelling of uprisings of the Shi'a and the Kurds in Iraq resulted in a large increase in the number of Iraqis coming to Australia after 1991.
There were 24,760 Iraq-born people in Australia at the 2001 Census, making up 0.6 per cent of the overseas-born population.
, which ended in 1988.
The outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991 led a large number of people to flee Iraq into the neighbouring countries. Some refugees lived in processing camps for up to five years before being accepted into Australia under the Special Humanitarian Program. During this period the visas of around 400 Iraqis living in Australia were extended until the end of the Gulf War.
Iraqi immigration to Australia peaked between 1992 and 1995, with the Iraq-born population in Victoria increasing to 3,492 by 1996. By 2001 this community had increased a further 74% to 6,091 people.
Most recent Iraqi immigrants have arrived under the Family and Skilled Migration categories. Some Iraqis have sought refugee status after arrival in Australia, and have been detained pending processing.
Today the Iraq-born community in Australia is culturally diverse, with settlers from many ethnic and cultural backgrounds including Arabs, Kurds, Turkomans
, and Assyrians/Chaldeans. Although Islam is the dominant religion in Iraq, only 29% of the Iraq-born immigrants living in Victoria are Muslim; 68% are Christian
.
Nearly half of the Iraqi community speaks Arabic at home; only 3% speaks English, reflecting the number of recent immigrants in the community. Over half of Iraq-born Victorians are aged under 35, and only 12% are aged over fifty. Of those in the workforce, both men and women are most commonly employed as labourers and related workers within the manufacturing industry, while nearly a quarter are employed in professional positions. The community is supported by organizations such as the Australian Iraqi Forum several religious or cultural associations.
Iraqi people
The Iraqi people or Mesopotamian people are natives or inhabitants of the country of Iraq, known since antiquity as Mesopotamia , with a large diaspora throughout the Arab World, Europe, the Americas, and...
origin living in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Since the 1991 Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, thousands of Iraqis have found refuge in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The total of population is estimated to be as high as 80,000.
Australia's Iraqi-born population includes Kurds
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
, Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, Armenians
Armenians in Iraq
There is a small ethnic minority of Armenians in Iraq, mostly living in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. It is estimated that there are about 15,000 Armenians living in the entire country with communities in Baghdad, Mosul, Basra, Kirkuk and Dohuk.Some scholarly sources also refer to them as Iraqi...
, Mandeans, Turkmens
Iraqi Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen are an ethnic group who mainly reside in northern Iraq. Estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, in accordance with Iraq's assimilation policies no realistic and independent census results have been revealed regarding the Iraqi Turkmen population...
and Jews.
The first year in which the Australian Census of Population and Housing recorded the Iraq-born separately was 1976, when the population was 2,273. By 1986, the population had risen to 4,516. By the end of the Gulf War in 1991, it numbered 5,186, mainly in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
Many recent arrivals have entered Australia under the Humanitarian programme. The Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
and the quelling of uprisings of the Shi'a and the Kurds in Iraq resulted in a large increase in the number of Iraqis coming to Australia after 1991.
There were 24,760 Iraq-born people in Australia at the 2001 Census, making up 0.6 per cent of the overseas-born population.
History
Iraqi-born Victorians were first identified in the Victorian census in 1976, when 189 people were recorded. Within five years the community had almost tripled to 408, and by 1991 had increased to 603. Most Iraqis had escaped hardships caused by the eight-year Iran-Iraq warIran-Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between the armed forces of Iraq and Iran, lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the longest conventional war of the twentieth century...
, which ended in 1988.
The outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991 led a large number of people to flee Iraq into the neighbouring countries. Some refugees lived in processing camps for up to five years before being accepted into Australia under the Special Humanitarian Program. During this period the visas of around 400 Iraqis living in Australia were extended until the end of the Gulf War.
Iraqi immigration to Australia peaked between 1992 and 1995, with the Iraq-born population in Victoria increasing to 3,492 by 1996. By 2001 this community had increased a further 74% to 6,091 people.
Most recent Iraqi immigrants have arrived under the Family and Skilled Migration categories. Some Iraqis have sought refugee status after arrival in Australia, and have been detained pending processing.
Today the Iraq-born community in Australia is culturally diverse, with settlers from many ethnic and cultural backgrounds including Arabs, Kurds, Turkomans
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
, and Assyrians/Chaldeans. Although Islam is the dominant religion in Iraq, only 29% of the Iraq-born immigrants living in Victoria are Muslim; 68% are Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
.
Nearly half of the Iraqi community speaks Arabic at home; only 3% speaks English, reflecting the number of recent immigrants in the community. Over half of Iraq-born Victorians are aged under 35, and only 12% are aged over fifty. Of those in the workforce, both men and women are most commonly employed as labourers and related workers within the manufacturing industry, while nearly a quarter are employed in professional positions. The community is supported by organizations such as the Australian Iraqi Forum several religious or cultural associations.
Notable Iraqi Australians
- Adeeb Kamal Ad-DeenAdeeb Kamal Ad-DeenAdeeb Kamal Ad-Deen is an Iraqi Australian poet, journalist and translator writing mainly in ArabicAdeeb Kamal Ad-Deen studied Economics and English Literature at the Baghdad University and has a Diploma of Interpreting from the Adelaide Institute of TAFE in South Australia.He has published 12...
, poet - Toba KhedooriToba KhedooriToba Khedoori is an Australian-born artist of Iraqi heritage, known primarily for highly-detailed mixed-media paintings executed on large sheets of wax-coated paper. Khedoori's works often fill the spectator's entire field of vision; a 'typical' Khedoori painting combines elements of drawing,...
, artist - Majid ShokorMajid ShokorMajid Shokor is an Iraqi actor. He has starred in Lucky Miles as Saleh and has completed filming his television appearance in the Australian television series Kick, playing an Iraqi man.He is now living in Australia....
, actor - Faisal FaisalFaisal FaisalFaisal Ghazi Faisal is an Iraqi athlete who hoped to represent Iraq in the 2006 Winter Olympics.-Early life and education:Faisal grew up in Baghdad and lived in Wales as a child....
, athlete - Don HanyDon HanyDon Hany is an Australian award-winning actor. He is best known for his role in the series White Collar Blue, the film Lucky Miles and in the mini-series East West 101.-Biography:...
, (1975 - ), actor (known for his role as Theo Rahme in White Collar BlueWhite Collar BlueWhite Collar Blue was an Australian television series made by Knapman Wyld Television for Network Ten from 2002 to 2003.Starring Peter O'Brien as Joe Hill and Freya Stafford as Harriet Walker, the series dealt with a division of the police force working in the city of Sydney and the personal and...
) - Osamah SamiOsamah SamiOsamah Sami is an Australian actor of Persian origin. He has appeared in numerous episodes of the Australian television programme Kick.-Biography:...
, actor - Eli Akira Kaufman, film maker
- Oren AmbarchiOren AmbarchiOren Ambarchi is a multi-instrumentalist who in major plays electric guitar and drums, with longstanding interests in transcending conventional instrumental approaches. He was born in Sydney, Australia in 1969 to a Jewish family originally from Iraq....
, musician - Ninos KhoshabaNinos KhoshabaNinos Khoshaba is an Australian politician of Assyrian decent, and currently a member of Parliament of New South Wales. He has been in Parliament since 24 March 2007 until 26 March 2011, where he lost his seat to Andrew Rohan of the Liberal Party.-Early life:...
, politician and former member of Parliament in New South Wales. - Anwar KhoshabaAnwar KhoshabaAnwar Khoshaba, is an Australian politician, Fairfield City Councillor , in Sydney Australia. He is of Assyrian descent.- References :...
, former mayor of fairfield - Andrew RohanAndrew RohanAndrew Baijan Rohan MP , an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Smithfield for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2011.-Early years and background:...
, Member of the New South Wales legislative Assembly representing the district of Fairfield
External links
- Arab Council Australia
- Arabic Broadcasting Service Australia
- Australian Arabic Entertainment Directory
- Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Australian Arabic Council
- The Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR)
- Fadi Jabbori, Liverpool Champion
- Fadi Jabbori
- Australian Iraqi forum
See also
- Arab diasporaArab diasporaArab diaspora refers to Arab immigrants, and their descendants who, voluntarily or as refugees, emigrated from their native lands and now reside in non-Arab countries, primarily in Latin America, and Europe, as well as North America and South Asia, parts of Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and West...