Iraqi Australians
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Iraqi Australians () are Australian citizens who identify themselves to be Iraqi descent. Since the 1991
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
, thousands of Iraqis have found refuge in Australia. The total of population is estimated to be as high as 95,000. A Considerable part of Australia's Iraqi-born population doesn't claim Iraqi ancestry with most being Assyrian. The first year in which the Australian Census of Population and Housing recorded the Iraq-born separately was 1976, when the population was 2,273. By 1986, the population had risen to 4,516. By the end of the Gulf War in 1991, it numbered 5,186, mainly in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
. Many recent arrivals have entered Australia under the Humanitarian programme. The
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
and the quelling of uprisings of the Shi'a and the Kurds in Iraq resulted in a large increase in the number of Iraqis coming to Australia after 1991.


History

Iraqi-born Victorians were first identified in the Victorian census in 1976, when 189 people were recorded. Within five years the community had almost tripled to 408, and by 1991 had increased to 603. Most Iraqis had escaped hardships caused by the eight-year
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
, which ended in 1988. The outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991 led a large number of people to flee Iraq into the neighbouring countries. Some refugees lived in processing camps for up to five years before being accepted into Australia under the Special Humanitarian Program. During this period the visas of around 400 Iraqis living in Australia were extended until the end of the Gulf War. Iraqi immigration to Australia peaked between 1992 and 1995, with the Iraq-born population in Victoria increasing to 3,492 by 1996. By 2001 this community had increased a further 74% to 6,091 people. Most recent Iraqi immigrants have arrived under the Family and Skilled Migration categories. Some Iraqis have sought refugee status after arrival in Australia, and have been detained pending processing. Today the Iraq-born community in Australia is culturally diverse, with settlers from many ethnic and cultural backgrounds including
Arabs Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
,
Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...
,
Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
, Turkomans, and
Mandaeans Mandaeans (Mandaic language, Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ) ( ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and ...
. Although Islam is the dominant religion in Iraq, only 29% of the Iraq-born immigrants living in Victoria are Muslim; 68% are Christian and who are mostly Assyrian. Nearly half of the Iraqi community speaks Arabic at home; only 3% speaks English, reflecting the number of recent immigrants in the community. Over half of Iraq-born Victorians are aged under 35, and only 12% are aged over fifty. Of those in the workforce, both men and women are most commonly employed as labourers and related workers within the manufacturing industry, while nearly a quarter are employed in professional positions. The community is supported by organisations such as the Australian Iraqi Forum several religious or cultural associations.


Iraqi Australians

*
Oren Ambarchi Oren Ambarchi (born 1969) is an Australian musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mainly electric guitar and percussion. Biography Oren Ambarchi was born in Sydney to an Iraqi Jewish family. Ambarchi has been performing live since ...
, an Iraqi Jewish musician * Mari Emmanuel, Christian priest * Faisal Faisal, athlete *
Don Hany Don Hany (born 18 September 1975) is an Australian film, television and stage actor. He has received a number of accolades and nominations. He won a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor, playing the protagonist, Zane Malik, in the SBS serie ...
(born 1975), actor (known for his role as ''Theo Rahme'' in
White Collar Blue ''White Collar Blue'' is an Australian television series made by Knapman-Wyld Television for Network Ten from 2002 to 2003. Starring Peter O'Brien as Joe Hill and Freya Stafford as Harriet Walker, the series dealt with a division of the po ...
) * Ali Abbas Al-Hilfi, footballer born in Iraq who plays for
Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...
* Toba Khedoori, artist * Ninos Khoshaba, Assyrian politician and former member of Parliament in New South Wales *
Brikha Nasoraia Rishama Brikha H. S. Nasoraia (full name: Brikha Haithem Saed Naṣoraia; ; born 1964 in Iraq) is an Iraqi-Australian Mandaean priest and scholar based in Sydney, Australia. He is affiliated with the University of Sydney and Mardin Artuklu Univ ...
, Mandaean priest and professor * Andrew Rohan, Member of the New South Wales legislative Assembly representing the district of Fairfield *
Osamah Sami Osamah Sami is an Australian stage and screen actor, writer, and stand-up comedian, born in Iran of Iraqi origin. He is known for his book ''Good Muslim Boy'', and the film ''Ali's Wedding''. ''Good Muslim Boy'', was the winner of the 2016 ...
, actor * Mario Shabow, Assyrian football player for the Central Coast Mariners FC in the Hyundai A-League * Mohamed Al-Taay, football player for the
Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...
in the Hyundai A-League


See also

*
Arab diaspora Arab diaspora is a term that refers to descendants of the Arab emigrants who, voluntarily or forcibly, migrated from their native lands to non-Arab countries, primarily in the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia, and West Africa. Immigrants from ...
* Assyrian Australians *
Mandaean Australians Mandaean Australians are Australians of Mandaean descent or Mandaeans who have Australian citizenship. Most Mandaeans in Australia live in Greater Western Sydney. As of 2023, Australia has the largest Mandaean population in the world, followe ...
*
Lebanese Australians Lebanese Australians () refers to citizens or permanent residents of Australia of Lebanese people, Lebanese ancestry. The population is diverse, having a large Christianity in Lebanon, Christian religious base, being mostly Lebanese Maronite C ...
* Syrian Australians *
Iranian Australians Iranian Australians or Persian Australians are Australian citizens who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Terminology Iranian-Australian is used interchangeably with Persian-Australian, partly due to the fact that, in ...
* Kurdish Australians *
Turkish Australians Turkish Australians () or Australian Turks () are Australians who have emigrated from Turkey or who have Turkish people, Turkish ancestral origins. Turks first began to immigrate to Australia from Cyprus for work in the 1940s, and then again w ...


References


External links


Arab Council Australia

Arabic Broadcasting Service Australia

Australian Arabic Entertainment Directory

Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Australian Arabic Council

The Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR)

Fadi Jabbori, Liverpool Champion



Australian Iraqi forum
{{Ethnic groups in Australia