Ethnic Residential Concentration in Cabramatta
Cabramatta is a suburb found in New South Wales in south-west Sydney. Most of Cabramatta’s residents are Vietnamese, although other groups are located in the area. Ethnic residential concentration happens a large number of people living in the same geographical area share the same ethnic identity. Moreover, the term may appear more significant when used to refer to immigrants who have moved in large numbers and conformed to the ethnic identity of the new country. Cabramatta fits in the description of Ethnic residential concentration zone due to the high number of Indo-Chinese inhabitants who share a collective ethnic identity. Moreover, the Vietnamese immigrants in Sydney form more than eleven percent of the population, with more than forty percent of the Vietnamese maintaining their residence in Fairland. The coming together of Vietnamese in Fairland represents a community that has become ethnically concentrated away from their home country. The benefits of Ethnic residential concentration include the enjoyment of quick services, preservation of culture, employment opportunities, and political advantage. On the other side, Ethnic residential concentration may lead to exclusion, stereotyping, and challenges due to poverty.
Cabramatta is a real example of a region that has seen Ethnic residential concentration lead to more benefits than challenges. The preservation of ethnic identity has been the primary benefit enjoyed by the immigrants who have found a second home away from home. For example, the Vietnamese immigrants in Sydney form more than eleven percent of the population, with more than forty percent of the Vietnamese maintaining their residence in Fairland (Wang, Sigler, Corcoran & Liu, 2019). Cultural practices from Vietnam have continued to thrive since the Vietnamese live together while conforming to their previous cultural practices. For example, traveling across Cabramatta exposes one to a taste of Vietnamese culture with most of the activities following the Vietnamese way of life. The shops, for example, are labeled using Vietnamese signs while televisions are tuned into Vietnamese programs. Also, English is not a common language in Cabramatta, and residents have devised sign language and modifications that enable them to communicate when English is needed. Moreover, the English barrier has been beneficial to immigrants in terms of job opportunities.
Figure 1 Part of the Vietnamese signs used to label shops in Cabramatta
Ethnic residential concentration creates an identity that opens opportunities for the group. Cabramatta is comprised of a larger population of non-English speaking people, and thus, most job openings require fluency in the Vietnamese language (Agutter & Ankeny, 2016). Community members are in a better position to provide jobs to the non-English speaking members of the community where the jobs require knowledge of Vietnamese. For example, firms and warehouses in Cabramatta are managed in Vietnamese, and employees are expected to be fluent in Vietnamese. Therefore, cases of unemployment due to poor English skills are minimized since the target population by most businesses speaks in Vietnamese. Generally, Ethnic residential concentration increases the chances of accessing employment opportunities for people who have chosen to stay together and maintain ethnic identity in a large geographical area. Moreover, more benefits come as a result of cultural maintenance.
Cultural maintenance always benefits individuals within Ethnic residential concentration zones. Cabramatta is one of the examples where cultural preservation has played a significant role in keeping the residents united. For example, several places of worship have been built from the coordination of the people. The religious areas and other recreational sites have played a significant role in improving the social interactions of the Indo-Chinese people in Cabramatta. For example, the displays of gold and other goods show that the area is prepared for visitors from other parts, with Indo-Chinese residents who stay in other regions. Ethnic residential concentration is, however, associated with the negative depiction, and exclusion comes as a result.
Figure 2Some of the displays in Cabratta. A sign of expected visitors
Immigration has, for a long time, been depicted negatively. The fact that Ethnic residential concentration is heavily associated with immigration means that the same depiction follows. Specifically, the media is responsible for the negative perception associated with Ethnic residential concentration. Various media outlets rarely highlight the positivity associated with Ethnic residential concentration. Cabramatta has, for example, been on the spot by media as a case of the social malady (Johnston, Forrest, Jones, & Manley, 2016). Moreover, the negative perception has led to politicians taking the advantage to lure the Indo-Chinese residents into making decisions that would not be made if the media was not discriminative. Besides, the media overlooks the positive contributions of Ethnic residential concentration, such as cultural and religious diversity. Moreover, Ethnic residential concentration is associated with poverty due to a lack of opportunities at crucial moments.
Poverty comes as a consequence of the negative perception of immigrants. When Ethnic residential concentration is not appreciated, the native citizens view the immigrants as the source of the challenges facing the community (Sydes, 2019). Also, the coordination between members of society within ethnic coordination could be considered to be an attempt to take over the cultural freedom of the new region. Sydney, for example, has seen several transformations since Ethnic residential concentration took charge. The streets have gradually transformed into Vietnamese cultures, and the natives could as well be concerned about the future of the Australian culture.
Cultural erosion occurs in unexpected ways when Ethnic residential concentration dominates a region. Cabramatta, for example, hosts a variety of people from different walks of life (Wang, Corcoran, Liu & Sigler, 2018). The fact that most inhabitants have Vietnamese origin does not mean that the previous cultures were similar. The desire to create an ethnic identity leads people to leave their original lifestyles. The streets of Cabramatta, for example, show collections of artifacts from different communities, implying that the residents do not share common cultural backgrounds. The original cultures are ignored at the expense of coming up with a common culture for the new ethnic identity.
Figure 3A fabric store to provide for the needs of the diverse Cabramatta society
In sum, the benefits of Ethnic residential concentration include the enjoyment of quick services, preservation of culture, employment opportunities, and political advantage. However, Ethnic residential concentration may lead to exclusion, stereotyping, and challenges due to poverty. Most of Cabramatta’s residents are Vietnamese, although other groups are found in the area. Ethnic residential concentration happens a large number of people living in the same geographical area share the same ethnic identity.
References
Agutter, K., & Ankeny, R. A. (2016). Understanding ethnic residential cluster formation: new perspectives from South Australia’s migrant hostels. Australian Geographer, 47(4), 455-469.
Johnston, R., Forrest, J., Jones, K., & Manley, D. (2016). The scale of segregation: Ancestral groups in Sydney, 2011. Urban Geography, 37(7), 985-1008.
Sydes, M. (2019). Where immigrants live: capturing ethnic segregation at the local level in two Australian cities. Australian Geographer, 50(2), 221-241.
Wang, S., Corcoran, J., Liu, Y., & Sigler, T. (2018). Understanding ‘segmented assimilation’in Australian cities: Modelling the residential choices of mainland China-, Hong Kong-and Taiwan-born migrants. Applied geography, 99, 140-153.
Wang, S., Sigler, T., Corcoran, J., & Liu, Y. (2019). Modelling the spatial dynamics of Mainland China- born migrants in Australia. Australian Geographer, 50(2), 201-219.