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The Hmong, a minority group from Laos, began arriving in Australia in 1976, having fled their country after the communists came into power in Laos in May, 1975. Their population in Australia is very small even within the Southeast Asian population. By 1983 the number of Hmong in Australia had only reached 344 [1], even though by 1981, 47,000 refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia had already been accepted into this country [2]. Today the total population of Hmong in Australia is about one thousand six hundred. Most Hmong refugees have settled in the eastern capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Canberra and more recently, in the Cairns and Innisfail region of Far North Queensland [3-5].

Small communities are often overlooked in more formal and often larger surveys; they are either relegated to the category of ‘other’, or included within data for larger, more easily identified communities with whom they share some similarities. In the case of the Hmong, they may be grouped with the Indochinese, Southeast Asian or the much larger Asian populations. Small scale case studies are the best way to accurately assess the progress of resettlement of such communities. The current research provides a comprehensive demographic, educational and socioeconomic profile of Hmong in Sydney, supplying both new data about this community and updating data from an earlier survey published in 1987.

The fieldwork consisted of formal questionnaires and open-ended interviews at the household level with almost all of the Hmong householders in Sydney. Interviews were conducted over a period of two years, from March 1993 to December 1995. At this time, the total number of Hmong living in Sydney was a little over 200, consisting of about 32 households. Twenty-nine families were involved in this research. As this group of 29 households is almost the complete Hmong community, these families will be regarded as being representative of this group in Sydney.

The population characteristics sought were aimed at building up a social, economic, demographic and educational profile of the Sydney Hmong. Information was obtained from the following areas: household characteristics such as the number, age and sex of all the household members, their relationship to the household head(s), where they live and why; economic information, including their previous and current employment (or unemployment), level of education attained, whether they own their home or are renting; cultural information, such as their sub-ethnic group, clan, religious beliefs; and personal information including age they left Laos, family employment in Laos, whether they were rural or urban dwellers, education in Laos, time spent in and experience of the refugee camps in Thailand, age and year of arrival in Australia and their reasons for coming to Australia.

In the following accounts, participants refers to the 41 members of the community who were interviewed, and community refers to the total number of community members who make up the sample population of 175 persons.

Almost half (49%) the participants left Laos in 1975. Others left sporadically during the years 1970-89, although a small but significant number (9 participants) left in 1978-9. All of the participants’ departures were in some way connected with escape from the communists, either for fear of being killed by the Pathet Lao regime against which they had been fighting, concern as to how the communists would rule Laos, or because they were evading recruitment into the Lao Army. Those whose fathers had been soldiers or involved in the military in other ways and had been engaged in fighting the Pathet Lao, believed that if they stayed their lives were in danger.

All the participants spent at least some time in refugee camps in Thailand. The camps were close to the Thai/Lao border; most Hmong were relocated to Ban Vinai camp. Most of the participants spent less than 4 years in the camps while a few were there for much longer and some were in the camps for up to 12 years. Conditions were fairly harsh: clean drinking water was hard to obtain, washing and cooking facilities minimal, several had to build their own houses, supply their own building materials and food appeared to be of a low quality. Maintaining good health and nutrition was difficult. Families who had money were able to supplement their meagre diet by buying food from outside the camp, but even so, illnesses and deaths were common.

Over half of the participants (24) arrived in Australia in the 5 year period after the war finished; smaller numbers arrived during the following years to 1993. The number of arrivals for 1989 appears large at 6 persons, however this was because four the members of one family who arrived in that year participated in the interviews. By 1995, Hmong refugees had been in Sydney from between 2 to 19 years and the average period was 13 years.

The age of the arrivals ranged from 3 to 65 years. Most of the participants were quite young when they arrived in Australia: almost sixty percent were under 20 and both the median and mode were in the 11-20 group (44%).

The main method of entry into Australia by Hmong in Sydney was through family sponsorship (73%). Once one family or family member had settled in Sydney, then that family attempted to sponsor other family members who were still in the refugee camps. This has led to the unique makeup of this community, where two families, or clans, account for 65% of the population and many members are related through marriages between clans. Others came to Australia through marriage and church sponsorship. Family reunion, as practiced within this community, became an effective tool to keep families together. Extended and nuclear families were often broken up during this stage of resettlement with some family members going to the USA and others resettling in Australia.

The largest group is in the 0 to 10 age group (37%) and more than half the population is under 20 (54%). There is a small number of people in the over 61 age group (8%) due to young families sponsoring their parents from refugee camps. The Hmong population is relatively young compared to the general Australian population, reflecting the youth of the original Hmong refugees and Hmong fertility. In the 1991 Census, 54.3% of the Australian population was less than 35 years, but almost the same percentage (53.7%) of the Hmong population was less than 20 years at a similar time.

There are several Hmong clans represented in Sydney; two clans, the Lee (10 families) and the Vang (9 families), account for 65% of the sample population. All of the Sydney community are from the same ethnic sub-group, the White Hmong, and so share similar linguistic characteristics and traditions. Traditionally Hmong villages consist of several clans, but the mix of clans in Sydney has occurred through the Australian Government resettlement criteria.

A majority of the families (18) have resettled in the suburb of Bonnyrigg, in the south-western region of Sydney, and a further 12 live in nearby suburbs. The most common reason offered for such clustering was ‘because other Hmong live here’. Only one family lives away from the rest of the community, in Claymore, however this family would eventually like to move to Bonnyrigg.

Living close to other Hmong appears to be very important to this group; such clustering has also been demonstrated by Hmong in the United States. The initial reason for Hmong choosing to live in Bonnyrigg in the first place is unclear, but now that a Hmong presence has been established there, it attracts other Hmong. Financially Bonnyrigg is an attractive place for low income families to settle in as houses in this area have been consistently well below the average Sydney price. In 1981, the average price of a house in the Fairfield Statistical Local Area (SLA) in which Bonnyrigg is situated, was $53,700 (compared to $82,800 for the metropolitan average); by 1991, Fairfield average house price had only risen to $133,100 (metropolitan average: $203,700) [6]. Several participants kept housing costs down by building their own houses or moving into older houses.

The presence of a large number of other Southeast Asian communities has also encouraged Hmong to resettle in the area; Cabramatta, Bonnyrigg, Fairfield and Villawood in Sydney‘s west are popular suburbs for Southeast Asian migrants to settle [7]. Some mentioned that it was handy living near Cabramatta where they could do their shopping, especially for familiar (Asian) food. Location of the migrant hostels where the majority of the refugees first were housed, East Hills and Villawood, or easy access to employment do not appear to have greatly influenced their eventual resettlement in Bonnyrigg itself, but may have played a part in them living in this area of the city. Many have lived in several other suburbs before moving to Bonnyrigg, but very few if any, work in this or any adjacent suburb. However, most of their employment options are in this area of Sydney.

Home ownership appears to be important to Hmong in Sydney; even though many have only been resident in Australia for a short period of time, 42% already own their own home and 19% were in the process of buying their home. The number who have purchased their own home is even higher than the Australian figure of 41% [8, 9] and much higher than that of both the Vietnamese-born and Cambodian-born communities, at 13% and 14% respectively. Living in Bonnyrigg has enabled many families to move out of the rental market and purchase their own homes. In directing their money into paying off mortgages rather than being used on rent, they see it being used more productively; some commented that in Laos, they didn’t have to pay for housing, the land was free and they built their own house using materials from the bush. Families helped each other financially to enable members of this group to purchase their own houses.

The households are large by Australian standards; they range in size from 1-9 persons per household, the median is 6 and mode is 7. In the late 1980’s, the average household size in Australia was 2.7 persons and decreasing [10]. The average household size for the Hmong community, at 6.1 persons, was more than twice the Australian figure, and was also higher than the Vietnamese figure of 4.1 persons per household. The fertility rate and the composition of the households account for the large household size.

Fifteen (51%) of the households consisted of a single family; the 12 (41%) households which were extended families mainly included elderly parents who were living with a married son; one residence was shared by two unrelated families. The significant number of extended families showed the extent to which this community has taken advantage of the Family Reunion Scheme, where many younger families have sponsored their elderly parents to join them in Australia. One household was headed by a woman and one middle aged woman was living on her own; both practices would traditionally be uncommon [11].

For the first few years after arrival, there were many more extended households; their number has subsequently declined with family members being able to afford to move into their own home. The number of extended families in the Hmong community was higher than that of the Vietnamese-born community, where in the late 1980’s, approximately one third of Vietnamese families were extended families [12], but the figure for the Vietnamese may also be lower today. All elderly Hmong (apart from the two exceptions mentioned above) were living in households with their sons, which is the traditional custom.

Some households are noticeably crowded: one consists of 7 people in a 2 bedroom flat; in another, there are 7 people in a 3 bedroom flat; and one house has 2 families with a total of 11 people living in it. The majority of the rest of the households do not appear to suffer from severe overcrowding, however they would be much more crowded than the average Australian household. Fertility (below) and the significant numbers of extended households account for the crowded nature of many of the households.

By Australian standards, Hmong fertility was high. Over 82% of the Hmong households had three or more children whereas only 25% of Australian families have three or more children [8, 9]. It was also much higher than for both the Vietnamese-born (38.8%) and the Cambodian-born (44.5%) populations. The average number of children per household, a rough calculation of the fertility rate, was approximately 3.8. This figure would be slightly lower than the true figure because it did not include children who were no longer living at home. In comparison, the fertility rate for Australia was 1.9 [13]. However, fertility within the Sydney Hmong was far lower than that found in traditional villages (estimated to vary between 4.5 and 8 [14, 15], and was also lower than that of Hmong living in the USA. One respondent explained that the main reason for Hmong in Australia having fewer children (in her case, four) was because they believe that all of their children will live. She explained:

Traditionally sons care for their parents in old age and mortality is high for the Hmong, so great incentive existed to have a large family, especially many sons. Greater confidence in the long term survival of their children may have played an important role in the reduction of fertility in this country.

For a rough comparison with traditional family size, 18 respondents provided some information about the number of siblings they had. Their families ranged from 5 to 14 children, averaging almost 7.3. Within one generation, the number of children per family had dropped significantly. Large families may still be common in Laos however, as the fertility rate in Laos is currently 6, which is high even by world standards [13].

There were almost equal numbers of females and males within this community (females: 49%; males: 51%). It is difficult to deduce any significance from such a small sample, however, in some Hmong refugee communities, this ratio may be skewed towards males due to migration requirements, where young, single men were the first refugees because it was believed that they are the easiest to incorporate into the workforce, or it may be distorted towards females if there are a large number of households headed by women, as can happen during wartime when many men lose their lives fighting. Both of these factors have had some effect on this population group. In the older age groups, over 51, there were more women than men, which may be the result of men dying fighting in Laos.

The majority of the participants, (93%) had retained their traditional religious beliefs and practices. Most described ‘Hmong religion’ as ‘a way of life’. Only one person had officially become a Christian and claimed to have totally given up Hmong beliefs. Two participants had already changed religion in Laos (one to Buddhism and one to Catholicism). One other participant who originally migrated to the USA became a Christian while in the US, but now had reverted to Hmong beliefs. Considering missionaries have been active in Laos since the late eighteenth century and that many Christian groups were working in the refugee camps, it is surprising that so many within this community had maintained their Hmong spiritual beliefs.

Each of the participants who have taken up another religion maintained some Hmong social practices, but not ones which were related to beliefs in spirits. This group will also, out of respect to other Hmong, either family members or the community, generally be involved in some Hmong religious practices.

It is hard to predict how long the community will follow their Hmong religious beliefs; the population is young, different religions are taught in school, there is no formal teaching of Hmong beliefs as they have always been regarded as part of their way of life, their children are mixing with a large number of children from different backgrounds, the older Hmong who traditionally pass on knowledge about their belief system are finding it harder to do, and syncretism and dilutions are apparent in the beliefs and practices of those who profess to have more traditional beliefs.

Almost all had the participants and their families have become Australian citizens since settling in Australia (90%). Those who have not are the more recent arrivals; however, they intend applying for citizenship in the near future. These figures are consistent with historical trends within refugee communities, but the rate at which members of the Hmong community have taken up citizenship is much higher than for both non-English speaking background (NESB) migrants and the immigrant population generally. In comparison, in 1991, the rate of Australian citizenship for all overseas-born was 61.4%, and was higher for immigrants from non-English speaking (NES) countries, at 72.1% [8, 9]. Within the Vietnam-born population, 71.7% had taken up Australian Citizenship by 1991 and 79.0% of Cambodian-born.

Practical considerations were more common than national pride, as is usual amongst all migrant groups [16]. Hmong have become citizens in order to get a passport and thus to travel overseas, and many have travelled, often to the USA to visit relatives; gain the greater security that many believe permanent residency papers can offer; obtain certain benefits that are only available to citizens, such as voting and cash assistance from the government; and repay (or thank) Australia for giving them a home when they were refugees.

All the respondents were able to speak Hmong, but not all in the older age group could speak English. Many were concerned that Hmong children were using English more often than Hmong and so losing their skills in Hmong. Many of the participants spoke both English (31) and Lao (24), though fewer were able to speak Thai (12). A small number spoke at least some French (7) and Chinese (2). Almost all were able to speak a little of at least one other of these languages but not enough to regard themselves as being fluent.

A more important issue than the number of languages they did or did not speak, is the loss of Hmong which was occurring in the younger generation, combined with the fact that many Hmong refugees over 50 years of age did not speak English. The community was very small, which makes maintaining their language in this country more difficult than for larger NESB refugee groups. One unfortunate outcome of this was that the relationship between the elders (who traditionally hold an important role in this community), and the younger generation will be much harder to maintain as grandparents and grandchildren lose their ability to communicate with each other.

Education for Hmong in Laos was severely hampered because of disruptions caused by the war, lack of schools, lack of teachers, remoteness of Hmong villages, other demands on a children’s time, especially that of girls, lack of money and moving around to escape the communists. Of the 41 participants, 8 had no schooling at all (4 females, 4 males); only one of the eight females and two of the 19 males who attended school went higher than Year 7. Even with such hardships, 3 males and one female completed (or attempted) post-secondary education: to even have the chance to do this, either their family lived in Vientiane, or the student, lived with relatives in Vientiane.

Within the sample of 51, half had completed secondary school (females: 50% and males: 48%) which was slightly higher than that of the general Australian figures (females: 33% and males 45%) [8]. More significantly, almost all the Hmong high school graduates had attempted some post-school education (female: 95%, male: 87%). Males had attempted more valued qualifications, in terms of potential earning power, than females. Such figures showed a huge improvement over the education rates in 1987, where education figures revealed that only 17% had completed high school [17]. Improved rates of education achievements were partly due to more Hmong children completing most of their education in the Australian school system. But these figures also demonstrated that this community values education highly for both sexes.

Many of the participants (18 male and 12 female) were too young to have been employed in Laos. Of the males who were employed, three were involved in the army, three were government employees, and others were farmers or butchers. Only one female participant had worked in Laos, helping in her parents‘ shop. Several spoke about their parents’ employment in Laos; most of their fathers were farmers, soldiers or both (30), and the rest included a butcher (1), a businessman (1), a judge (1), a policeman (1) and a shopkeeper (1). One participant’s mother ran a business selling chickens after her husband was killed fighting in the war, and another woman had a retail business in Vientiane selling fabric.

Again, participants provided information about employment status and options of other family members, providing a total sample of 59 persons. This sample gave an unemployment rate of 27% (females: 12.5%; males: 33%), which, while still high, is a significant improvement over 1987 when 35% of the population were unemployed [17]. The unemployment rate for females was lower than that for males as most women did not classify themselves as unemployed when they were at home taking care of children, which is the main reason most women were out of the workforce. A significant percentage of the community (65%), continued to be employed in the semi-skilled and unskilled areas, again an improvement over 1987 when 93% classified themselves as process workers. The number of skilled workers has also increased, and females outnumbered the males, (skilled females:30%; skilled males:19%) The growing number of skilled workers within this community has been a positive trend, especially for women.

At the time of the survey, the unemployment rate for both Vietnamese-born and Cambodian-born was 40% each, and those employed in semi-and unskilled areas were 63% and 71% respectively [8, 9]. Such figures show that these recently-arrived NESB populations continue to show high rates of unemployment and clustering in the semi- and unskilled employment areas. Lack of English was one limiting factor in enhancing employment prospects, others included limited employment options for the more vulnerable sectors of the workforce, and lack of skills.

In the Hmong community, the overall level of English was improving, more younger members were leaving school with better qualifications, and many of the older Hmong were moving out of the workforce to take up pensions. Such factors will subsequently lead to more favourable employment figures in the future.

The unemployment rate was still high in the Hmong community compared to both the general Australian population and that of the local area. At the time of the survey, the unemployment rate in NSW was 7,5% and in the Fairfield Local Government area, 14.8%. The education data (above) suggests that the employment situation should improve as more students complete post-secondary education and obtain marketable skills.

Education and employment data for this population demonstrate the relationship between lack of access to education and unskilled employment, whereby low levels of education are generally associated with low income employment, and thus low economic status. Slowly this situation is changing for this community.

Many Hmong find themselves in a precarious position in relation to employment. As many were unskilled, they are highly vulnerable to changes in the economy: in their areas of employment, factories can close down, relocate or lay off workers after a down turn in work. Despite this, a small number had been in one job for many years, and others had been able to move up the ladder to take on more secure jobs. The few who did have formal qualifications appeared to be more secure. This trend may continue for those at school.

Many of the demographic findings indicate a strong sense of community for Hmong in Sydney. It is a small community of a little over 200 refugees and their families; many are related due to the Australian Government’s Family Reunion scheme; most chosen to live in Bonnyrigg because they wanted to live close to other Hmong; almost all have retained their traditional religious beliefs; and a high rate of home ownership has been facilitated by families helping other family members to purchase a house in a low (housing) cost area. In addition, their shared experiences as refugees may have provided a further base upon which to build a community: all left Laos for Thailand to escape from the communist take over; all spent some time in refugee camps in Thailand; and most arrived in Australia with poor English language skills and with few employment skills suited to an industrialized society. The sense of community may be responsible for some other findings of positive resettlement such as the high rate of citizenship.

A few significant changes to traditional behaviour include the smaller household size and lower fertility rate, although both sets of figures were still greater than that of the Australian population. Some loss of the Hmong language by younger members of the community and lack of English by older members may lead to communication problems between these segments of the population in the future, if they are not already occurring.

Over the past eight years, the socioeconomic profile of Hmong in Sydney has improved considerably in certain key areas, although the unemployment rate is still unacceptably high. Unsuitable employment skills and lack of education continue to severely limit employment opportunities for older Hmong, but the younger generation who have undertaken most of their education in Australia are taking full advantage of the education system. Considering the low level of education their parents were able to achieve, such results are very positive. Improvements in employment have been slower than those in education, but greater change should be expected in the near future as young Hmong progress through the Australian education system. The currently strong sense of community may change as second generation Hmong reach adulthood, having spent most of their lives in Australia. In conclusion, Hmong in Sydney have combined previous experiences and expectations with current employment and educational options within the social and structural constraints of Australian society.