The Illusion of Social Inclusion: Cambodian Youth in South Australia

Abstract

As a result of the turmoil in Cambodia during the 1970s, traditional Cambodian society was fundamentally altered: Cambodians were uprooted, and after the Vietnamese invasion in 1978, thousands fled to camps on the Thai-Cambodian border, where many sought and were selected for resettlement in other countries. Approximately 12,000 Cambodians were accepted for resettlement in Australia as refugees in the period 1975-85, with approximately 2,500 settling in South Australia. The emigrants to South Australia were youthful, with 51% of all arrivals in the period 1979-85 aged 19 years or less (Stevens). Since this period when refugees first arrived in Australia from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, the social adaptation of refugee youth has been little researched. Generally, young people have been but one of the age groups included in large-scale surveys or in-depth studies, such as those by Wendy Poussard, Nancy Viviani, and others, that focused on the early stages of resettlement. The research that has focused on refugee youth has concentrated on educational achievement (Spearritt and Colman; Kelly and Bennoun; Chan; Mundy) or mental health status and adjustment (Krupinski and Burrows). At a time of ongoing debate about the size and nature of the immigrant intake, and concern that the resulting cultural diversity may foster ethnic conflicts and endanger social cohesion, this lack of research on the social aspects of the settlement process young refugees from Southeast Asia undertake is a significant omission.