Afghan Community in Australasia By Daud Omar Nayab January - March 1998 Lemar-Aftaab Australia has a population of over 18 million, about 90 % of whom live in urban coastal cities. According to the 1996 Australian Bureau of Statistics, today there are about 7,703 Afghans living in Australia. There are mainly two groups of Afghans in Australia. The first group are those of the original Afghan camellers descendants who came to Australia as camel handers from 1860. The other group is the second wave of Afghan migrants arriving in Australia since early 1970s. Most of the original Afghan descendants still use and have Afghan names, yet they do not speak any of the Afghan languages. They still pride themselves as being Afghans like their fathers and forefathers. Most of them are well aware of the Afghan situation and still support Afghan Refugees in Pakistan and Iran. The second wave of Afghan migrants arriving in Australia have settled in major Australian cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Perth , Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra. In order to preserve Afghan traditions, customs and culture, Afghans in Australia have established Afghan schools for children, Afghan Mosques and Afghan Community Organisations in most major Australian cities. There are many Afghan businesses ranging from Afghan stores to restaurants, solicitors, travel agencies and more . Regularly, there are soccer matches played between Afghan teams of different cities. Furthermore, Afghan wedding ceremonies and concerts are as strong as ever, New Zealand is another sister neighbour country close to Australia where the number of Afghans are in the increase. New Zealand has leaner immigration policies, thus making it easier for migrants such as Afghans to obtain visas. There are a number of Afghans living in South East Asian countries and Pacific Islands such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea , Japan , Guam and Hawaii. More in-depth information can be obtained from http://www.powerup.com.au/~afghans I will be more than happy to answer any specific questions readers may have. I can be reached via e-mail afghans@powerup.com.au or Tel +61 7 3847 1230 Copyright © 1998 Aftaabzad Publications. All Rights Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form without permission.