The Arabic-Speaking Community in Australia
Arabic is the second most commonly spoken language other than English in Sydney and remains in the top 5 languages other than English spoken in Australia.
At the time of the 2006 Census, there were 243,662 Arabic-speakers at home in Australia.
Arrival
The Lebanese community in Australia is the largest and earliest arrival within the Arabic speaking community. In addition to Lebanese, the Arabic community includes newly arrived migrants from Sudan, Somalia, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Palestinians and Jordanians. Arabic is the language of 22 countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania , Comoro Island and Djibouti.
Many ethnicities also speak Arabic in addition to their language many came from Arabic countries. They include Armenian, Kurds, Assyrians, Mandaeens and many more. The Arabic speaking community in Australia is increasing, with more arriving from Somalia, Iraq and Sudan. Within every Arabic country there's diversity such as Sudan, where you'll find more than 512 ethnicities whose common language is Arabic.
Arabic is spoken by more than 300 million people around the world. The Middle East region has been dominating the news for at least a century both in war and peace. This is not likely to change for another century. The Israeli Palestinian conflict continues after more than 61 years, the situation Iraq, Sudan (Darfur) and Lebanon.
The Middle East has a significant impact on the world economy with its oil-rich countries representing the biggest oil producing countries in the world. The Middle East is predominantly in the news also due to the diversity of religious values, current affairs issues reflecting relations between Muslims and western governments. In Lebanon alone there are 18 religious denominations. The majority of Muslims in the world are not Arabic speaking e.g. Indonesians.
Migrants from Lebanon are Australia's biggest Arab-speaking group. Migration from Lebanon began in the 1880s. Australian officials then classified migrants from Lebanon as Turks and Syrians. It was not until Lebanon's independence, in 1943, that the term Lebanese became established and commonly used.
Settlement
Early Lebanese migrants took up shop-keeping and opened warehouses.
They also took to the roads selling goods in isolated areas and became important sources of news and information as they travelled through the country.
These early commercial travellers also had frequent contact with Aboriginal people in outlying areas.
From 1943 to 1976 43,000 Lebanese arrived in Australia, with most coming after 1966.
The years after 1975 represent a significant period of migration, which changed the religious composition, and regional origin of the Lebanese migrant community.
During the civil war in Lebanon, there was a temporary relaxation of entrance requirements into Australia resulting in increasing numbers of migrants.
Other Arabic-speaking groups of significance are the Iraqi and Palestinian communities. It's not known when they first arrived, but migration to Australia was common from at least 1918.
The Arabic-speaking community is involved in all aspects of Australian life and plays a major role in strengthening economic ties between Australia and the Middle East.
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