Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

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to

re-establishand

preserve

a senseof

identity

and

belonging,

and

help

theprocess

of

overcoming

traumaandthe

disorientationof

resettlement.

Bringinggroups

ofolder

refugeestogether

witha

specificpurpose

can

also

help

overcome

their

feelings

ofuselessnessand

lossof

status,

and

encourage

recognition

and

respect

fromthe

community.

Anygathering

ofolder

refugees

is

also

an

opportunity

to

informthemofservices

that

may

berelevantand

which

theymay

not

otherwisehaveencountered.

(Atwell

etal.2006:

52. 
    

Cambodian

Buddhist

temples

actively

contributeto

thewelfareofCambodian

youth.‘Two

keyimpediments

to

thewell

being

of

Cambodian

youth

are: low

educational

attainmentand

intergenerational

conflictwithin

families

(Vasi2008).

According

to

the 2006 Census

data,

compared

withother

Victorians,

Cambodians

havelower

educationalattainments.

In 2006 23

per

centof

Cambodian

youth

left

schoolbefore

yearll.

compared

with

13

per

centoftotal

youth

forVictoria.The

2006 Censusdata

reflectedasimilar

gap

inthe

post-secondary

education

path

of

Cambodians.Ofthe

totalof 9487

Cambodiansover 15

yearsofage,

1636

(13.3

percent)

had

post-secondaryqualifications.

compared

with37.8

per

centfortotal

Victon'a.

In

addition.

qualification

levels

ofCambodians with

post—secondary

education

werelower

compared

withtotal

Victoria: 08

per

centheld

postgraduate

degrees

(compared

with2.7

per

centfortotal

Victoria);

0.4

per

centhad

graduate

diplomas

and

graduate

certificates

(compared

with[.9

per

centfortotal

Victoria]:

7.5

per

centheld

bachelor

degrees

(compared

with12.6

per

cent

fortotal

Victoria):

and

8.6

per

cent

held

diplomas.

etc.

(compared

with 20.6

per

cent for

total

Victoria).

The

reasonsforlower

educational

attainmentsot‘Camhodiansarcmultilavered

and

complex:

lackof

positive

rolemodelsand

ongoingmentoringprograms

are

two

important

factors

(Henderson I993:

Van

Reyk

2005;

Vasi 2008

).

Identity

formationin

adolescents

involves

modelling

oneselfon

significant

others,

suchas

parents.

teachersand

peers

and

integrating

their

values.Rolemodelscanhavea

positive

influenceonthe

educationaloutcomes

by

providingyoungpeople

with

avisionofthem

that

they

can

strivetoachieve

(MacCallum

andBellman

2002).

Buddhist

temples

play

anactive

rolein

offeringpositive

rolemodelstothe

youth.

especiallythrough

studyprograms.

Inthe

past

(depending

on

the

availability

of

funds),

temples

haveinvitedmembers

oftheCambodian

Federationof

Teniary

Studentstoutter

academic

help

to

studentsintheirfinal

years

of

high

school.

Programs

suchas

this.

in

additionto

providing

valuableacademic

coaching.

also

expose

the

participants

to

positive

role

models,

namely

Cambodian

youth

who

havemadea

successful

transitionto

tertiary

institutions.

~

Lackof

communicationwithin

Cambodian familiesisa

maincontributorto

mtergenerational

conflictandhasa

detrimental

impact

onCambodian

youth.

In

mostfamilies.thebarriers

toefi'ective

communicationarethecultural

gap

between

parents

andtheirchildrenanda

lackof

proficiency

ina

common

language

because

of

parents'

limited

English

andthe

children‘slowlevelsof

Khmer

language

skills

(Henderson1993;

Van

key]:

2005;

Vasi

2008).

——?————fi

Adapluli'mi

inCambodianEmit/his!

temples

lit]

The

temples

recognize

the

importance

ofcommunication

betweenmembers

of

the'old'

andthe‘new'

generations.

Inan

attempt

toreduce

thecommunication

gap

and

to

keep

Khmer

language

andculturealive

inthenew

generation

of

Cambodians.

Wat

Buddharangsi

established

theKhmer

Language

Schoolin

I988.

Approximately

120 childrenand

youth

attendKhmer

language

andculture

classes

onweekends.

The

temples

also

play

avaluablerole

in

strengthening

the

bonds

withinthefamilies

throughongoing

culturaland

religious

programs

andfestivals.

which

appeal

toandattractboth

thenewandtheold

generation.

These

eventsare

verypopular;

for

example.

theCambodianNew

Yearcelebrationsatthe

temples

areattended

by

as

many

as

10,000community

members.

Themonksalso

support

thefamilies

through

directintervention.

adviceand

counselling.

Inadditionto

supporting

the

youth

andthe

elderly.

themonksand

thesenior

temple

leadersarealso

thefirst

point

ofcontact

in diverseareas

of

need,

in

preference

tothemainstream

services

(Henderson

W93;

Van

Reyk

2005;

Vasi

2008).

Thelackofawareness

ofservicesand

programs

and

language

and

cultural

barriersarethemainreasons

forrelianceon

temples

for

help

andreferral.

Inorder

to

appreciate

the

significance

ofcultural barriers

in

accessing

the

mainstream

services,

onemust

takeintoconsideration

thefactthat

many

Cambodians

lack

familiarity

withAustralian

culture.institutions

andthesocial

system.

lhcy

l'ace

massive

psychological,

social,

cultural.

economicand

political

challenges

inthe

transitionfrom

their

mainly

ruralcommunities

intothe

complex.

industrialized

and

highly

urban

way

oflifeinAustralia.

Lowlevelsof

English

language

skills.

aswellas

literacy

in

Khmer,

compound

thesedifficulties.

Thecurrentmodelsof

service

delivery.byway

ofcontrast,emph'

ze

mainstreaming

ofsocialservices

in

general.

The

underpinning

assumption

with

respect

tothis

approach

isthatalter

theinitial

period

ofsettlement.

themainstream

organizations

can

adequately

meet

theneedsolthcethniccommunities.2

The

Cambodian Buddhist

temples

are

actively

involved in

supporting

the

religious.

culturaland welfare

needs(it'theircommunities.

l'his‘has

important

consequences

for

strengthening

Cambodianfamilies.

theCambodian

community

and

improving

thesocialfabricofthe

Victorian

community

asawhole.The

temples

provide

afocal

point

forawide

variety

ofinteractionswith

potentially

significant

consequences

that

impact

the

quality

oflife for

community

membersandthe

families.

The

temples

otTerarelaxed

and int'omial

place

wherethe

community

can

meet,

interact

socially

and

engage

ina

variety

ofactivities.

The

temples

also

offer

communityprojects

that

bring

theindividualsandfamilies

together

around

commonactivities.

wheremutual

dependence

ofmembers

isincreased

through

accomplishing

acommon

goal.

and

community

bondsare

strengthened

inthe

process.

Therefore. it isaccurate

to

say

that intheCambodian

community.

in

addition

totheir

religioussignificance,

theBuddhist

temples

arealsothecentres

ofthe

community

life.

IntermsofWestemmodels

of

communitydevelopment

the

Buddhist

temples

in

theCambodian

communitymay

bedescribedasa

‘community

centre'andthus

an

important

tenetof

communitydevelopment(Kenny

1994).

It

is

imponant

tonote

thatthe

temples‘approach

to

communitysupport

isfarremoved

fromtheconventional

bureaucratic

modelofsocialservicesintheWest.

They

are

—L—_.