A long way from Mount Sinjar: A study on the resettlement of Ezidi refugees in Wagga Wagga

This thesis examines the settlement experiences of recently arrived Ezidi refugees in Wagga Wagga, southwest NSW. In 2014, many Ezidis experienced genocidal attacks by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in the Iraqi province of Sinjar and had to flee their homeland, seeking refuge in other countries. In 2016, the Australian Government announced it was granting asylum to Ezidis as part of its Humanitarian Settlement Program. Since then, some one thousand Ezidi asylum seekers have arrived in Australia, officially recognised as refugees. The majority of these migrants have been resettled in regional NSW, including Wagga Wagga, Coffs Harbour and Armidale. Based on anthropological fieldwork, this study investigates the settlement experiences of the Ezidi refugees in Wagga Wagga. My investigation of this topic has two analytical dimensions. First, I explore the efficacy of the social welfare services provided by the Australian government through its multicultural bodies in assisting and supporting the settlement of the Ezidi refugees in Wagga. Second, taking a phenomenological approach, the study examines the lived experiences of the Ezidi families there, including their creative efforts to establish new homely places for themselves in this rural town.