Negotiating the Rapids: Transitional Moments of the Filipino and Karen Diasporas in Regional Victoria, Australia

The established Filipino and the newly emerging Karen/Karenni communities, although satisfied with their immigration journey, perceive forms and processes of closure in the socio-economic and cultural spheres of the Australian society. The resettlement of hundreds of Karen/Karennis into the regional City of Geelong, Victoria, coincides with rapid socio-economic changes and wide-ranging ramifications due to globalisation. Forms and processes of social closure coupled with the local resistance to the processes of globalisation are deployed by those who control, maintain, and dispense forms of power by ensuring that these ‘Third World-looking’ immigrants do not pose a threat to the competition of scarce desirable opportunities in the labour market. In what could be considered times of turbulence and uncertainties, this study examines the lived experiences of the established Filipino and the newly emerging Karen/Karenni communities in the Geelong region. It addresses issues of difference hounding members of these diasporic communities, their engagement with access and equity, and relative positioning within the social inclusion/exclusion arena. By employing the Weberian theory of social closure in exploring the lived settlement and resettlement experiences of two immigrant communities, I aim to investigate the contemporary situation of members of these communities in regards to their positioning in the labour market relative to their qualifications and social capital, and the way they are included and excluded in many spheres of the mainstream of the host society