Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies Exploring Media Platforms to ...

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Exploring Media Platforms to Serve the Needs of the South Sudanese Former Refugee Community in Southeast Queensland a

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Aparna Hebbani & Kitty Van Vuuren a

School of Journalism and Communication, Centre for Communication and Social Change, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia Published online: 11 Mar 2015.

Click for updates To cite this article: Aparna Hebbani & Kitty Van Vuuren (2015) Exploring Media Platforms to Serve the Needs of the South Sudanese Former Refugee Community in Southeast Queensland, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 13:1, 40-57, DOI: 10.1080/15562948.2013.856510 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2013.856510

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Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 13:40–57, 2015 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1556-2948 print / 1556-2956 online DOI: 10.1080/15562948.2013.856510

Exploring Media Platforms to Serve the Needs of the South Sudanese Former Refugee Community in Southeast Queensland APARNA HEBBANI and KITTY VAN VUUREN


School of Journalism and Communication, Centre for Communication and Social Change, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia

Community broadcasting is being displaced by digital media, the Internet, and associated technologies and the need for migrant and former refugee communities to own and control their own media remains strong, especially in response to persistent stereotyping on the part of mainstream media. We present results of a study undertaken with the South Sudanese community in Southeast Queensland to explore the needs, uses, and possibilities of online media. Focus groups with 31 Sudanese men and women indicated that they saw a need for a Sudanese community website that would assist the community with integrating into mainstream society, promoting the positive contribution made by the community to Australian society, as well as with maintenance of their own cultures and languages. KEYWORDS Sudan, Australia, refugee, media platform, community broadcasting Over the past decade, Australia has resettled more than 22,000 Sudanese former refugees. Of these, about 3,100 have settled in Southeast Queensland (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2008), although local Sudanese community leaders claim that number to be around 6,000 (Deng, 2010). Several studies have found that the Sudanese former refugees have experienced greater difficulty with integration compared to other refugee populations who have resettled in Australia (Colic-Peisker, 2009; Hebbani, Obijiofor, Bristed, 2012). Moreover, the majority of Australians have had little Address correspondence to Dr. Aparna Hebbani, Lecturer, School of Journalism and Communication, Centre for Communication and Social Change, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4300, Australia. E-mail: [email protected] 40


Exploring Media Platforms

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prior experience with the Sudanese, whose culture differs vastly from their own. For many Australians, mainstream media are the primary source of information about Australia’s ethnic communities and central to influencing broader community perceptions. The Sudanese have experienced their share of negative stereotyping and inaccurate portrayals framing them as “the other” in Australian media (see Marjoribanks, Nolan, & Farquharson, 2010). In Southeast Queensland, members of the Sudanese community consider the media’s approach to their community “destructive” (Hebbani et al., 2012). In this article, we report on the results of research undertaken in 2011 with members of the Sudanese community in Brisbane, Australia, which explored their experiences of media portrayals, their attempts to influence the media agenda, and the possibility of establishing their own media platform. The results indicated that community broadcasting is no longer the medium of choice for migrant communities. The popularity of mobile technology and the ease of establishing social media sites suggests that online media offer more effective opportunities for these communities and that these opportunities can offer similar community benefits associated with traditional ethnic community media. Before turning to our case study, we will first offer a summary of the theories that underpin the need for policies that enable migrant and refugee communities to own and control their own media.

THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS Policies concerning migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers are politically sensitive issues that continue to stir up lingering White Australia sentiments (Gale, 2004). Nevertheless, the policies and services provided by the host country are important to successful integration and in the process of developing these policies and programs, the host community assigns a specific “ethnocultural” position (D’Haenens, 2003) or identity to a migrant community (for example, markers such as “refugee,” “black,” “African”). Incidents of racism on the part of the host community (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2010) inform this process of ethnocultural positioning and are indicative of the controversies surrounding Australian migration and refugee policies more broadly. International studies have shown that mainstream media “are crucially implicated in the politics of representation of refugees and asylum seekers” (O’Neill, 2010, p. 123; see also Mollard, 2001; Sulaiman-Hill, Thompson, Afsar, & Hodliff, 2011). In Australia, mainstream media set the agenda in the public sphere, guard the points of access to and privilege within wider circles of social power, and are thus the primary vehicle for promoting social cohesion and social conflict (Jakubowicz, 2007). Jakubowicz (2007) posits that the media control how messages about minorities and perceived conflict are framed. According to Van Dijk (2000),


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media management of news processes can fuel racism, which is “constructed discursively, that is expressed, enacted, and confirmed by text and talk” (p. 34). The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) considers negative stereotyping in the media, often triggered by comments from public figures, as “a major hurdle to acceptance and integration with the broader Australian community” (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2010, pp. 36–37). However, to achieve integration, “mutual accommodation” is required between migrants and host country members (Berry, 1997, p. 10). Although the characteristics of particular migrant groups—their cultural and ethnic origins as well as the length of time of their settlement in the host community—are important to the integration process; recognizing, understanding, and being more accommodative of the cultural practices and challenges faced by migrants during the adaptation process are important not only for migrant and refugee groups but also for the Australian community at large. In other words, building social connections, bonds, and bridges, which facilitate harmony and participation between both the former refugee community and the Australian community, and the media’s role in this process are critical markers for successful integration (Ager & Strang, 2008). Past research examining Australian media portrayal of refugees has focused on how Australian newspapers have represented specific refugee populations (see Gale, 2004). A study of Sudanese representation in Australian newspapers during the 2007 Australian federal election by Marjoribanks et al. (2010) found that most coverage questioned the ability of Sudanese to adapt to Australia. The newspapers portrayed Sudanese people as being a problem, or violent group, and positioned the Sudanese as potentially damaged by past history. Few articles portrayed successful settlement. They concluded that such portrayal is critical to refugee settlement since “such statements have the potential to influence how Sudanese people come to be seen and treated by other Australians” (p. 3). Hanson-Easy and Augoustinos’ (2012) research analyzing comments on Sudanese refugees via talkback radio also established that negative discourse positioned the Sudanese as problematic and that such discourse can have negative consequences for this community. The negative portrayal evident in the daily press, however, is not necessarily replicated by the community or suburban press. Although Australian research investigating representation of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the community press has yet to be carried out, a Scottish study indicates that the local community press gives more favorable coverage to refugee communities and attributes this to journalists interacting socially with asylum seeker and refugee communities (Kahn, 2013). Although more positive coverage at the local scale goes some way toward unmuting refugee voices, O’Neill (2010, p. 124) points out that even where media coverage is positive, asylum seeker and refugee communities continue to be represented by others and do not constitute a voice of their own and are thus denied the right


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to speak (p. 133). Hence, presenting positive stories about the Sudanese, and including Sudanese voices in media coverage, becomes important in how the wider Australian community views this recently arrived “visibly different” population. Furthermore, the impact that such representation has on the particular community also needs to be understood (see Australian Human Rights Commission, 2010).


ICTS AND YOUNG REFUGEE POPULATIONS For the past 35 years, ethnic community broadcasting has made a considerable contribution to Australian society by providing a cross-cultural communicative function and performing an essential service for new migrants, including refugees (Manicaros, Van Vuuren, & Watson, 2002). However, demand for access to conventional ethnic media is increasingly outstripping supply. According to Shaun Brown, SBS managing director, the national multicultural broadcaster provides an inadequate service to many language communities such as the Sudanese and Hindus (Sharp, 2010). Similarly, many new and emerging communities are experiencing difficulties gaining access to ethnic community broadcasting (Meadows, Forde, Ewart, & Foxwell, 2007). Meadows et al. (2007) suggest that the solution lies in increasing broadcasting opportunities. However, although the success of the Australian ethnic and multicultural broadcasting sector cannot be denied, it is unclear whether newly arrived migrant and former refugee communities adopt broadcasting platforms as readily as previous generations. In the case of the Sudanese community, more than 60% are under the age of 24. This suggests they are more likely to adopt digital media, in line with Australian youths (Van Vuuren & Hebbani, 2010). Research undertaken by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Australian Communications and Media Authority, 2007) found that teenagers aged 15 to 17 years, continue to be heavy users of television, with nearly 2 hours a day spent in front of the set. However, the Internet ranked second and young people spent about 1.5 hours a day on their computer. Around another hour a day was spent on music and radio, and young people spent around 45 minutes a day on their mobile phones. While these figures suggest that online media may be more attractive to the recently arrived and relatively younger immigrant and refugee communities, it is unclear whether digital media can assist the integration process as successfully as has been the case for ethnic broadcasting. Current research examining communication needs and uptake among refugees is minimal and much also remains to be done with regard to the role of communication and media technology on refugee settlement. Leung, Lamb, and Emrys (2009) investigated communication technology use among 30 refugees and asylum seekers from Africa, the Balkan, Asia, and the Middle East who


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settled in Australia. They found that participants’ uptake of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) was influenced by “prior exposure to technologies, motivations for use, the ability to purchase resources, literacy levels, norms of technology use in the community, gender roles and whether or not they received adequate help” (Leung at al., 2009, p. 26). They found that the Sudanese participants had not adopted ICTs and many faced difficulties in learning how to use them. However, the younger participants were quick to pick up new technology as compared to the older participants. Similarly, in a New Zealand study, Kabbar and Crump (2006) investigated factors that influenced ICT uptake by refugees (from Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia). They found that while most participants saw ICTs as a useful communication tool, older participants struggled to learn the necessary skills, compared to the younger participants. They also found that many recent immigrants, especially women, older people, and those with limited education, lacked the opportunities to use ICTs in a job or in school-related activities. These studies indicate that ICT uptake is comparatively quicker and easier among younger refugees. From this perspective, the Sudanese community has an advantage. The community has the youngest median age of any overseas-born residents (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2008), and 25% of the community is under 14 years old: a school-going age group that is, therefore, sensitive to peer pressure.

A MEDIA PLATFORM NEEDS ANALYSIS FOR THE SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND SUDANESE COMMUNITY In late 2010, South Sudanese community leaders requested assistance from staff at the University of Queensland to establish a media platform, owned and controlled by the Sudanese, to facilitate their integration into the Australian community. They were seeking an avenue through which they could counter inaccurate portrayals of their community in the local media and present their side of the story, as well as teach the wider Australian community about Sudanese culture. In response, we conducted a systematic needs analysis to investigate the communication needs of the local Sudanese community. We sought to explore current media use within this community, how the community perceived the portrayal of Sudanese in Australian media, and their choice of an appropriate media platform to meet the community’s needs. We used qualitative data collection methods and analyses. Focus group participants were recruited with the assistance of the local Sudanese community association leaders and two Sudanese project managers (a male and a female) who were hired specifically for this project. Although an attempt was made to construct a representative quota sample of the community,



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taking into account age, language, and gender, this proved difficult, and a convenience or “snowball” sampling technique was used instead. Reaching a representative sample within refugee communities is often problematic and many studies with refugee populations resort to snowball sampling to recruit participants (see Bloch, 1999; Kahn, 2013; Schweitzer & Steel, 2008). Additionally, during data collection, the country formerly known as Sudan was divided into two nations—namely, Sudan (Muslim majority) and South Sudan (Christian majority). Most refugees who come to Australia are Christian, and participants who took part in this study were South Sudanese (but for ease of reference are referred to as Sudanese in this article). We conducted two focus group with 14 Sudanese men (one with younger men and the other with older men) and two focus groups with 11 Sudanese women (one with younger women and one with older women). In addition, we conducted six individual interviews with older Sudanese women who were unable to come to the focus groups for varying reasons (such as transport issues and childcare responsibilities). We applied our prior knowledge of, and experience with, African cultures while collecting data (see Hebbani et al., 2012). For example, the focus groups were informally structured and in accordance with the African practice of polychronic time. Sessions started later than scheduled, with participants joining as and when they came in. Following the advice of Sudanese leaders, the male focus groups were conducted with community elders and facilitated by a male researcher because participants would be more comfortable with single-gender communication. Similarly, the focus groups and interviews with the women were facilitated by the female researchers. The focus groups and interviews were conducted in English with the male and female project managers assisting with interpretation as needed. We found that all participants were proficient in English, especially the younger Sudanese men and women. Thus, no interpretation assistance was needed for the younger participants’ focus groups, but we did need some assistance with interpretation for the interviews with older women. We also collected data through a short questionnaire followed by focus groups. After explaining the project and gaining consent to participate, the participants were asked to complete the questionnaire before the focus groups started. The questionnaire, comprising 17 questions, collected data on demographic characteristics, English-language proficiency (self-rated), and individuals’ media consumption. This information would assist with choice of platform and determining the kind of content required by different sections of the community. Semi-structured focus-group discussions were conducted using participatory methods. Participants took part in a matrix-ranking activity designed to prioritize the community’s concerns and desires. This democratic tool allowed all members to share their opinions without any individual

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dominating the conversation. Additionally, the visual nature of this activity enabled those participants with lower English language-proficiency to actively contribute to the discussion. The matrix activity resulted in participants engaging in debate and dialogue. The focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded to assist with transcription and coding, with no predetermined categories assigned to the data (Miles & Huberman, 1994). First, both authors read all the transcripts individually and notes were added, following which emerging themes were identified. Next, both researchers compared notes and themes. At the end of this process, the themes were coded under four headings: correcting misrepresentation in Australian media, inability to highlight local community issues, current media preferences, and lastly, the preferred media platform. The names of participants have been changed to protect their anonymity.

RESULTS Through the various focus groups, participants discussed how they perceived the ways in which the Australian media portrayed their community and how such representation affected their lives and identity. These discussions then led to exploring which media platform (or platforms) they thought would best serve the interests of the Sudanese community. These major themes are presented below. Before turning to these results it is first necessary to describe the participants, which establishes a baseline and thus allows for future comparisons.

Participants Fourteen Sudanese men participated in our study by attending one of two focus-group sessions. Of these, nine were single and five were married. None of the single men had children, but the number of children among the married men ranged from two to eight. The median age of our participants was 30 years, while their ages ranged from 21 to 56 years. All participants had come to Australia via refugee camps in Kenya, Uganda, or Ethiopia. The length of residence in Australia ranged from 1 to 8 years with the median being 6 years. Participants indicated that they primarily spoke Dinka (7) or Nuer (4) at home, and three spoke multiple languages (Dinka, Arabic, Nuer, and/or Swahili). All participants marked their English proficiency (speaking, reading, writing, and numeracy) as “good” to “excellent.” Few participants lived alone. The married men (5) lived with their families, while four single men shared a house with other adults and five single men lived alone.



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Seventeen Sudanese women participated in our study by attending one of two focus-group sessions or separately; of these, 5 were single and 12 were married. The married women had between 6 and 8 children, but one participant had 2 children. Their median age was 34 years, ranging from 16 to 48 years. All participants had come to Australia via refugee camps in Kenya, Uganda, or Ethiopia. The length of residence in Australia varied from 3 to 11 years with the median length of residence, 8 years. With respect to language, nine participants indicated that they primarily spoke Nuer at home, five spoke Dinka, and three spoke multiple languages (Nuer and Arabic). Participants marked their English proficiency (speaking, reading, writing, and numeracy) as “average” to “excellent,” with the younger women rating themselves as more proficient in English than some of the older women in the cohort. All women lived with their families. Clearly, our cohort is older than the Sudanese national average, although they ranged from teenage to middle age. Their varying length of residency in Australia also suggests that the cohort reflected a range of experiences and stages in the integration process.

Correcting Misrepresentation in Australian Media Participants raised many issues in relation to being recognized as part of Australian society, including being portrayed negatively by Australian media. The younger participants repeatedly expressed resentment toward the Australian media and community. They lamented how they were always identified in the news whenever there were alleged crimes involving someone “African.” Baniti (23 years old, single male) gave the example of the media referring to groups of Sudanese boys as a “gang,” whereas, “If five Australians are walking on the street, they say five Australian guys are going.” Focus-group participants made specific reference to the case of a Melbourne-based Sudanese boy, Liep Gony, who was killed a few years previously by White Australian racists, and the response of former Liberal Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, who cited this crime as one example of how African and Sudanese refugees had issues with integrating into Australia (see Hagan, 2009; Heywood, Phillip, & Wray, 2007). To Baniti, the underlying issue was the cultural difference, “We Australian-Sudanese, we have a different culture diversity whereby white people have a problem with that because of cultural misunderstanding.” Although they had lived in Australia for several years, being labeled as “Sudanese” or as a “refugee” was a key concern for the younger men. They saw themselves as Australian citizens, who were now permanently settled in Australia. As David (27 years old, single male) said, “The Sudanese community in general is not being recognized as Australian. If you are a

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citizen, then you should be called a “Sudanese Australian.”’ Garek (28 years old, single male) attributed such negativity to a fear among the majority White Australian population: The problem with this [refugee] label is that this community, especially White community in Australia, they don’t like other people to be integrated into the community. Maybe they think one day these people [migrants] will come and overtake us . . . they say, “Fair go for everyone,” but that is not true, it is just a word.


Joseph (31 years old, single male) attributed such treatment to the Sudanese being a “highly visible” migrant group. Simpson (age undisclosed, married male) too, attributed misrepresentation and negativity in the Australian media to his being Black: We have come to a country where we are new migrants. If white person see a black man, they get scared. They don’t want a black man in their neighbourhood as they will be concerned that there will be trouble. To address this issue we need understanding—they [Australians] need to understand our culture. They see us as different colour, black, so they need education also.

Limited Media Opportunities to Highlight Local Community Issues Feelings of hopelessness, racism, and the absence of being able to raise their issues or present their voice in the media were seen as key issues faced by the community. Building a relationship with media by providing accurate information about the local Sudanese community was seen as an essential component of media empowerment. Again referring to the comments made by former Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, suggesting that the Sudanese are unable to fit into Australian society, Jeremy pointed out the need to form positive relations with the mainstream media: I think positive community relations to enlighten the media is important and needs to be done. How to inform the media when they want to know something about the community and whom to contact [. . ..] that is missing. People think that when it goes to the media it does not need to be corrected. We need to clarify wrong things. The understanding of how to respond to the media was very weak in 2007 during Kevin Andrews’ comment.

The community’s attempts at gaining the attention of mainstream media, illustrate the latter’s power in ignoring Sudanese voices. Garek, a member of the Save Darfur coalition, organized a rally in Brisbane city and invited



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the media to attend, but none turned up. Similarly, the local community organized a Walk for [Sudanese] Referendum, but no media came. To Garek, a media presence would overcome a sense of isolation: “We have a number of highly educated people among us, but the issue is that the community seems to have been isolated.” Focus-group participants thought it was high time for some positive portrayal of their community in mainstream Australian media. They suggested that a Sudanese-run media project could be used to educate and correct misrepresentations among Australians about Sudanese community and culture. A community-owned-and-operated medium could be used to effectively respond to misrepresentations of Sudanese in the Australian media, as Baniti recognized, “If our community leaders are active [in the media], they can respond to whatever is shown in the media.” Jeremy suggested that a community-owned media project could help to establish relationships with the local Australian community and inform them about what is going on, while David suggested that a media project could assist with organizing youth meetings that would “build a better community.” Mafi (30 years old, married male) wanted to use media to raise awareness about the high unemployment rates among the local community and perhaps to use media to publish profiles of community members who were looking for work: “Many young Sudanese have gone to uni, but they don’t have a job, so we can use the media to get over that and to encourage youth.” Other participants wanted a media project to showcase positive stories and achievements among the Sudanese community that have so far gone unacknowledged. Danladi (27 years old, single male), on the other hand, wanted media access to showcase stories of successful integration, “Our boys are marrying White girls and our girls are marrying White boys, but no one hears about such stories. So media needs to present positive stories also [about the Sudanese community].” Garek echoed this sentiment: It [media platform] has to showcase achievements of the community. I want to tell you that actually people are moving forward because of globalization and it has impacted our community. Sudanese men used to not cook, but now, I cook rice and beef. Others need to know that.

Jeremy suggested using the media to spread messages about health issues affecting the community, such as the effects of different food, different groceries, and unfamiliarity with immunization, and how to handle diabetes, a relatively unknown disease among the Sudanese population. These issues were also echoed by the women who were equally if not more concerned about the worsening health of the Sudanese and the advent of previously unheard of diseases. Rose (32 years old, married female) wished to use the media to educate the women in the community about healthy eating and

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management of chronic diseases. Nancy (15 years old, single female) on the other hand, wanted to also use the media to “show and tell” about Sudanese culture and customs. In summary, the participants recognized the value of creating, owning, and controlling their own media project, not only to publicize upcoming events such as festivals, soccer games, and dances in this highly social community, but also to reach out to the Australian community, and showcase the community’s positive achievements and cultural customs.


Functions That Conform to Those Identified Previously by Earlier Migrant and Refugee Communities CURRENT MEDIA PREFERENCES Focusing on the male participants, all (14/14) reported having a television at home, a mobile phone (two had a smartphone), email account, and access to a computer. The participants with smartphones also used their mobile phone to access the Internet. Interestingly, only six men had a landline phone. All participants had a computer with Internet access at home, but they also accessed computers at work, local library, or university. Six participants reported listening to the radio, while eight read a newspaper on a regular basis. All the women reported that they currently had a television, a mobile phone, and a landline at home. Only two women, both teenagers, had a smartphone with access to the Internet. Most women had an email account and all had Internet access at home, but they also accessed the Internet via computers at work, the local library, or the university. The teenagers were frequently blogging and on Twitter and Facebook via their smartphones. Eight women listened to the radio, and eight read a newspaper on a regular basis. Participants reported watching a lot of TV (primetime shows; news; documentaries; watching sports, especially soccer) and they accessed the Internet regularly. The younger participants accessed the Internet to complete university assessments and for social networking (e.g., email, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook). For example, Garek used the Internet for “completing assignments and doing research spending 5 to 6 hours on the computer every day and accessing Facebook.” Nancy, our youngest participant, explained how her young Sudanese friends had joined the Nuer Facebook page, but some of the older Sudanese women in the community did not know how to send texts from their mobile phones and so made calls instead. The results suggest radio listening is more popular among the women, especially the older women, than the men. However, these results must be used with caution, since they cannot be generalized to the community as a whole. However, they do suggest that different sections of the community have somewhat different media needs, with the younger members favoring


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online and mobile technology and older members using radio and the press; everyone watched television. Indeed, the results indicate that Sudanese media preferences differ little from those of Australian society more generally, with watching television remaining the most popular activity and the Internet increasingly popular with younger generations (Australian Communications and Media Authority, 2008). Given the absence of owning and controlling a community media platform of their own and facing difficulties with accessing mainstream media, the community relied upon “tribal lines” to distribute information among the local Sudanese population. Jeremy, a leading member of the Sudanese community described how a tribal line operated: So what I do is call the ring leaders and give them the information and they will go to meeting with other members and that is how information is distributed. We also have Yahoo group, but only 1 percent are on that—not everyone has joined. So when we have some festival, public gathering, some meeting, or traditional marriage, we pass the information through the tribal leaders.

Messages amongst the Sudanese community were also circulated via community meetings, church announcements, and word of mouth. The community, however, relied heavily on mobile phones, with younger men and women using smartphones instead of the regular mobile phone. The Sudanese Association had created a database with contact details for relevant authorities and the community’s leaders had access to this information. With ordinary Australians, however, communication had been difficult, and was only possible when they were approached by members of the press.

WHICH PLATFORM? With such high Internet usage reported during our focus groups, and the popularity of Facebook, it was no surprise that the younger participants favored a community Facebook page, given their high mobile phone usage, with the added benefit that Facebook would reduce the cost of their telephone bill. Another 15 participants were overwhelmingly in favor of having a community website that could support their community and build bridges with Australian society more generally. Jeremy saw the creation of a community website as: A dream for my community. We do so much activity in our community. It is nowhere to be seen. This website will give us the opportunity for community members who would like to know and show what is happening, and for others to know our culture and how the community is progressing.

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Furthermore, the Sudanese community leaders recognized the importance of involving the younger generation in the establishment of a website. To Jeremy, involving the younger generation had a two-fold advantage, “The young Sudanese people are faster with technology and English language. When we pass the information through leaders, it is hard to engage young people, so when we have website, hopefully it will be easier to get them involved in the community.” Dada (35 years old, married male) suggested that a website could be used to communicate quickly with the entire community:

When someone drowned—it happened—and Mr. xxxxx [community leader] sent a message to whole group that someone passed away, to contribute to the funeral costs. So if we have the website, we will all know what happened and what is needed to get that one done. That will be an easier way to do things than mobile or texting people.

The participants agreed that since Australia’s official language is English, the website should be created in English and could then be translated into other Sudanese languages to aid those with low English proficiency. Mafi pointed out that many young Sudanese were not fluent in Sudanese languages, but mainly spoke English, “If we use only native language we use at home, the kids don’t know it. They will understand speaking, but not reading and writing.” The women suggested making some content in audio format as many women had low English reading proficiency. Susan (34 years old, married female) saw that their cultural knowledge could be passed on to future generations via audio files on the website, “We didn’t have TV in our country, but our grandmother just sat down and told us stories. It is important for our next generation to hear those stories [via recordings placed on the community site].” Here too, our participants identified functions for their own community website that echo those of earlier ethnic communities, including the ability to maintain their cultures and languages and facilitation of community connections and networks (Meadows et al., 2007). Despite the overwhelming enthusiasm toward establishing their own website, when the discussion turned to the issue of how to fund such a project, several participants mentioned the lack of business experience among the Sudanese. Participants were also divided in their response to the idea of making a small financial contribution toward maintaining their own media platform: half the men were open to the idea, but most women (14/17) were opposed to it. This suggests that the Sudanese community could benefit from some training to assist this community with the financial dimensions of community integration.


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DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION In 2011, we conducted a needs-analysis study through which Sudanese former refugees could counter inaccurate portrayals of their community in the local media. Based on the findings they wanted us to suggest and design suitable media platforms through which they could present their side of the story and teach the wider Australian community about Sudanese culture. The results from this study suggest that this community as a whole was acutely aware of their “muted” status and the issues associated with negative stereotyping in mainstream media. Furthermore, they lacked a means of communicating with sections of the Australian community as well as internally with their own Sudanese community. They were acutely aware of the possibilities offered by owning and controlling their own media. Comments from the focus groups indicate that this community is more than equipped to integrate successfully with Australian society: It is a young community, with many of its members fluent in English. Indeed, the conclusion reached in the first instance was to create a community website, as this seemed the most viable option, and participants proposed that it be created in English. Interestingly a comment was made pointing to intermarriage with White, non-Sudanese, further suggesting that this community is open to the culture and practices of its host community. All men and women had access to the Internet and most had a computer at home. They all owned a mobile phone and were aware of the services available from more recent mobile technology. Since this research was carried out, newer mobile technology has become available that offers direct access to social media sites on the Internet. Our observations and discussions with participants, however, indicate that radio broadcasting is no longer the medium of choice and that new and emerging communities may be better served with the possibilities offered by the Internet. Furthermore, access to online services is essential to participating in society, as more and more of society’s functions and processes are transferred to the Internet. The Internet provides access to information, social communication, and participation in employment, government, and commerce. All of these functions contribute towards successful integration (Weiskopf & Kissau, 2008). The convergent environment offered by the Internet can accommodate the older women. For example, the older women were more keen on getting audio-format content on the website as many were either illiterate or had low levels of literacy, whereas the young women and men were extremely keen on getting a Facebook presence started for the community. The kinds of uses proposed for a community website conform to wellestablished functions for ethnic and community media: to promote and enhance local community networks, to provide news and information about the homeland, to maintain ethnic cultures, and to provide local community news


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and information (Meadows et al., 2007). They also recognized the ability to use a website to reach out to the broader Australian community and to assist community members with media training. However, departing from previous research, our participants did not mention using the platform to provide news and information about the homeland; their focus was primarily on integrating with the Australian community. Although the results from this study indicate that moving to online platforms offers similar services associated with ethnic broadcasting, online media also result in reduced face-to-face contact with members of other migrant communities, such as occurs at a community radio station (Manicaros et al., 2002). This raises questions about how such reduced interaction affects the experience of multiculturalism and the assimilation process. Currently, ethnic media policies remain focused on old media (radio, the press, and television) and have not begun to address the potential of online media for enhancing migrant integration, except where this extends existing services (Van Vuuren & Hebbani, 2010). The results presented here, further suggest that financial assistance should be made available to the community to set up websites that offer the kind of functions traditionally associated with community media, including online media training. Funding remains a significant hurdle to establishing a media presence, and the focus groups indicated that there may not be adequate financial support available from within the Sudanese community to sustain such a media presence. It is unclear exactly how widespread access is to ICTs among the Sudanese community. Other research investigating the Digital Divide has indicated that socioeconomic factors are correlated with ICT uptake (D’Haenens, 2003; Van Vuuren, 2007), more so than ethnicity (Elias & Shorer-Zeltser, 2006; Weiskopf & Kissau, 2008). Racial discrimination has certainly marginalized some Sudanese. On the other hand, challenges also arise from Sudanese culture, particularly with respect to practices concerning gender and age. The greater part of Queensland’s Sudanese population (85%) is under the age of 35 years; 44% are under 18 years of age, and 41% are between 18 and 34 years old (Deng, 2010). Given the importance of religion and gender as well as age in the social organization of the Sudanese community, we expect that specific ethnic and cultural practices will intersect with social and economic categories. In the first instance, we expect that this community will organize media practices along gender, as well as language differences. Precisely how it will do this remains to be seen, although our study indicates that the Sudanese community would derive considerable benefit and empowerment from owning and operating a community website. There are some limitations that one needs to be mindful of, such as our sample size. Moreover, the current “Sudanese” community is not a homogenous population but comprises multiple language groups, religious groups, and literacy levels. As we were conducting this project, one issue we faced was that many local Sudanese were engaged in the voting processes that



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resulted in the formation of Sudan and South Sudan. This affected the willingness of members of the community to participate in this study, since their homeland was soon to be divided into two separate countries: a Muslimmajority North Sudan and a Christian-majority South Sudan. As a result, the Sudanese communities’ plans to create a community website were delayed. Thus, while this study has revealed that the establishment of a community website shows promise in its ability to reproduce the communityintegration functions that have been successfully fulfilled by ethnic community broadcasting, the opportunities and constraints of community websites serving migrant and refugee communities and their contribution to the integration process remains to be explored. Nevertheless, this study is unique in that it has been able to work with the community from the moment it recognized a need to establish its own media. This gave us the opportunity to track the difficult road faced by many newly arrived migrant/refugee communities in establishing a voice of their own. We anticipate that the broader community and federal government agencies in particular, would have an interest in the Sudanese experiences with setting up their own services, as it can inform future settlement policy and services for other refugee communities.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank our colleague Dr. Levi Obijiofor, who conducted one of the men’s focus groups, and the University of Queensland Centre for Communication and Social Change postgraduate students who assisted with the focus groups and interviews: Mumpuni Ardiyani, Octaviera Herawati, Jaime Manalo IV, Le Tran Thi, Andrew King, Asfiranti, Menglu Tang, and Rachmawati Rahayu.

FUNDING This research was supported by a grant to the Sudanese Community Association of Queensland from Multicultural Affairs Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

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