Cultural uprooting and barriers to resettlement: the experience of Cambodian refugee women in Wellington

Abstract

This research had two main objectives. The first objective was to identify the barriers to resettlement and gaps in services for a group of Cambodian women who have settled in Wellington within the last ten years. While all refugees require good social supports, the special needs of women are frequently forgotten. The second objective was to investigate to what extent the transition undergone by these women which had culminated in their becoming refugees had impacted upon their social and economic status. Using a feminist perspective, I analysed the pattern of female/male relations in Cambodia and compared this to the present arrangements in New Zealand. Using a case study design I worked with a group of Cambodian women who attend an English language class once a week. The class, as well as teaching English, provides an important social function. I carried out individual interviews with 16 women in their own homes. The interviews were tape recorded and I employed an interpreter to work with me. I also conducted an informal group interview and was part of the class as an observer/participant for a year. I carried out the research within the framework of the feminist research method. This research found that other than in the most basic and material sense, New Zealand resettlement policies have failed to provide for the needs of refugees. Culturally appropriate and ongoing services to ease the transitional process are largely absent or irrelevant. The unequal position that women occupy in their country of origin is intensified in resettlement countries and their lower social status disadvantages them in receiving the assistance they need in adjusting to a new environment. In this study, the women were denied access to the language training they needed to be able to adjust to and become fully participating members of the new society. They have been socially and economically marginalised by the process of their becoming refugees. Their family positions have been eroded and they no longer play a central role in the family economy but are economically dependent on welfare benefits or their husband's income. Recommendations regarding ongoing resettlement strategies are suggested in the areas of education, health and social services, interpreting and housing.