NGOs or settlement agencies as they are sometimes called are contracted to provide settlement services to new migrant communities. DIAC often funds these settlement
K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | ‘Coming Together’: Community Formation as a Mechanism for Empowerment 157 services through the Humanitarian Settlement Services (HSS) and the Settlement Grants Program (SGP) to provide settlement services to migrant communities, including the African communities. However, the relationship between NGOs and the African communities and other migrants is complex and often extends beyond the initial contractual settlement service provision. It goes beyond the relationship between a service provider and client. The African communities work closely with these agencies, and at times are at the centre of many of the activities that are organised by settlement agencies. Perhaps for this reason, the influence of settlement agencies in the affairs of African communities is high (detailed interaction between NGOs and communities is discussed in Chapter VII).
These NGOs wield significant influence as to how African community groups form and function mainly due to the position they have as service providers. For instance, it was observed that all the Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) in South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria were highly involved in organising African communities in their jurisdiction as part of their government subcontracted services. This organising included help in writing constitutions, offering initial office space, or another technical support. In the case of ACCT, the MRC in Hobart provided staff and other resources to support the establishment of ACCT as a community organisation, and provided office space for ACCT to use. At the initial stage the organisation's development, the MRC was funded by DIAC to employ an officer to work for the ACCT on a casual basis. In South Australia, the MRC worked closely and was responsible for facilitating the initial formation of the ACCSA. Although there is no equivalent African communities’ council in Victoria, during the fieldwork it was observed that the several MRCs in Victoria were instrumental in the formation of the several African community groups in the state.
Beyond the formation process, as one of the African community leaders explained, some NGOs had a role in shaping the dynamics of the African community groups by creating a close relationship with one or two African community groups. Different settlement organisations may thus work with different African community groups. The settlement agencies often offered some employment to the community leaders of the African community groups, and in return expected these community groups to provide letters of support when NGOs apply for funding. Such a symbiotic relationship with African communities was considered desirable by the NGOs, as one community leader puts it,
… their [NGOs’] relationship with the community makes them look good before government agencies who provide the financial support for them to provide services (Interview 040).
K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | ‘Coming Together’: Community Formation as a Mechanism for Empowerment 158 Through such relationships, the community leader claimed that NGOs control the day-to- day running of those particular African community groups. This idea was also supported by another community member who told me that he did not like the way one of the NGOs influenced ACCSA. He observed that ‘after all these years African organisations are not independent of these agencies’ (Fieldnote, 3 September 2011).
Examples of related ‘symbiotic’ relationships between NGOs and African community groups and the undue influence that members of the African communities felt NGOs had on their organisations and community interactions was frequently discussed during the fieldwork. However, it was not possible to include names and details of African community groups and settlement agencies as they could be easily identified. From the discussions, it was clear that NGOs assumed a steering position during the early organisational life of African community groups and were at the centre of community formation and reformation. As one of my interviewees pointed out,
these organisations [NGOs] who are serving Africans were at the centre of the formation of new African organisations. They were the ones that caused the division of the community into two and supported the formation of a new one. This is only to ensure that they are funded. I mean; these NGOs are themselves divided and then they divide my community and create new ones so that they get the support they need (Interview 040).
The excerpts indicate that settlement agencies play a role in the formation of new African community groups or the division of existing ones. Some of the Ethiopians in Hobart strongly felt that one of the NGOs in Hobart was at the centre of the division of their community into two hostile groups. They explained that the NGO facilitated the registration of a group because it (the NGO) wanted all groups to receive settlement services from them. The involvement of NGOs in forming and reforming African community groups is indicative of the influence NGOs have in the reconfiguration of African community groups.
The structure of African community groups formed through the support of NGOs was also slightly different from those formed independently by members of the African community. For example, the ATT was formed independently by a group of Africans without a notable and direct influence of NGOs while ACCT and ACCSA were formed with the hands-on support and notable influence of the MRCs in both states. The difference in structure and focus between ATT, ACCT and ACCSA can be attributed to a certain extent to the presence or absence of the influence of NGOs at the formative stage. NGOs, settlement agencies in this case, provide settlement services and their primary purpose in enabling the formation of the African community organisation is to create a body that can work with them representing Africans. This is reflected in how ACCSA and ACCT operate as opposed to
K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | ‘Coming Together’: Community Formation as a Mechanism for Empowerment 159 how ATT, which had a strong focus on advocacy and leadership training. ACCT and ACCSA, on the other hand, were stronger on attending to settlement issues by working in partnership with MRCs.
Although the intent of the African communities to ‘come together’ was the primary driver for the community formation processes, NGOs influence the way the process progresses. To start with, the African communities were dependent on the settlement agencies to meet their practical settlement support due to the existence of contractual arrangements between these NGOs and governments. This created some level of symbiotic relationship between African community groups and NGOs. It also provided the ground for NGOs to influence the structure of African community organisations. Secondly, once these community groups were established, it was deemed necessary, by both the community groups and NGOs, to work together. For this reason, formal partnerships were forged between some of the newly formed African community organisations and NGOs to maintain the relationship. This provided NGOs with the capacity to influence community groups. However, the influence of NGOs in the formation process was considered disempowering by some African community leaders. They reasoned that NGOs’ involvement was driven by their own motive to secure funding on behalf of the African community rather than enabling the community to achieve its own goals.