Multiple Perspectives as Empowering

Participants have the possibility to reflect on multiple forms of community in contrast to those residents of MPEs that have mostly lived in the same kind of suburban setting. Being able to draw on their background in India or the Philippines, in addition to other places of residency, as well as their current lived experience in a MPE in Wyndham, enables them to distinguish or, at least, be aware of different conceptualisations of community.

“In some respects, it could be an asset to have this modern understanding, Westernised, and in some respect have the real Filipino culture of values, family, respect of authority; have this sense of belonging, community, inter-personal relationships. Being flexible in that way you have this different perspective and experience of what life is all about.” (Michael, Filipino, male)

In this sense, participants can approach community from multiple perspectives. Living in a MPE and encountering everyday social life gives them an understanding of suburban life in Wyndham. At the

106 same time, being accustomed to other forms of grounded communities allows them to look at local happenings and social interaction from another standpoint. Instead of regarding community to be prescribed through fixed social meanings and practices, other conceptualisations are perceived. In particular, those aspects that differ to previous experience, like the intensity of neighbourhood interaction, accentuate differences. In his quote, Michael refers to these manifold experiences as an asset endowing him to be more flexible and appreciative.

“Where I am staying, they all are from different [backgrounds]: Africa, China and a few Australians. I get along well with all these people. What we do is once a year we all gather in one place and have dinner together. So that keeps us all as neighbours closely knit. Opposite to our house they are from Eritrea, and my neighbour on the right-hand side is from China, and the opposite neighbour is Australian.” (Joe, Indian, male)

A characteristic of MPEs in Wyndham is the considerable population from diverse backgrounds living there. Similar to the experience of Joe, many participants have neighbours from many different countries of origin. Even though social interactions between neighbours are not necessarily frequent, having the experience of adjusting to another country and being accustomed to more lively neighbours can be connecting. Prior to the quoted excerpt, Joe refers to the cultural diversity in India as a normal part of life. This experience has made approaching people from diverse backgrounds rather effortless for him. Hence, participants are able to relate to more communal as well as individualistic lifestyles, allowing them to engage with the diverse aspirations of community that are situated in neighbourhoods.

“Because I am a very social person, so I like to share and hear other people's experiences.

There are times you can have such lovely experiences with them or hear some lovely suggestions or ideas. It's sometimes literally enlightening to be honest. ... Certain communities would come up with an idea or outside the box thinking that, probably the way you were brought up, you just can't see. It is actually very good.” (Diya, Indian, female) For some participants, having this awareness of distinctive forms of community can also be regarded as empowering. Being able to draw on multiple perspectives enables them to engage in diverse ways of local socialising. As Diya notes, this has permitted her to interact with residents from other cultural backgrounds and learn from them. Having this ability can enhance the acceptance of differences. This is particularly relevant for places that have a culturally diverse population, like MPEs.

“There are a lot of events happening [in Wyndham]. Events are also starting to get more and more ethnically diverse. So, it is an opportunity to enjoy different types of events with different ethnic communities. […] That is the eventual progression that starts to happen, that people start to participate in the community, in civic planning and other civic activities through the council. More and more are seen turning up for council.” (Sam, Indian, male) Since the initial settlement phase, the connection of participants to their social environment has been evolving. The social engagement is not only happening on the individual level, but residents from diverse backgrounds are contributing to the development of Wyndham with their various perspectives. As mentioned in the chapter on acculturation, this is a process of residents building up their relationship to the wider society by getting accustomed to perceived norms and forms of

107 behaviour. Subsequently, drawing on previous experiences of grounded communities is seen as a reason to get locally engaged.

“What we found here is that people do not take that step forward to meet each other.

Unless probably some of them are of a different mind-set. So, we found that our neighbour, he's been in the US, […] has taken that extra effort to meet us, greet us. We've got on the other side another neighbour we hardly see them coming out, so they are mostly confined in the house. […] We did find that we could hardly find people out, trying to come out to meet.

So, it is a challenge.” (Sanjiv, Indian, male)

Although participants have the opportunity to refer to multiple perspectives, this experience should not be romanticised. Moving to a neighbourhood that lacks social interaction can be isolating and participants have expressed their initial disappointment. As the quote from Sanjiv highlights, not all residents have the same aspirations or are seeking to be engaged locally. Hence, relating the current lived experience in Wyndham to the knowledge of diverse forms of community can be disenfranchising as well as empowering for new residents.

This notion of migrants being able to refer to multiple forms of community aligns with the argument of Colic-Peisker (2011) that being caught between cultures is in some cases beneficial to deal with culturally diverse settings. Even though the initial settlement, in particular, can be confining, for some participants, applying their previous experiences of community to the new social environment can be part of their adaptation process. This developing awareness of having these multiple perspectives and thus being different can be regarded to be intriguing (Noble 2013a). In this context, MPEs could draw on the various perceptions of migrants on community and their diverse backgrounds. The previous findings have shown that participants not only have an understanding of intensive interaction in neighbourhoods, but their ability to reflect on different implementations of community enables them to get in touch with residents from diverse backgrounds. This is in accordance with Nicholls et al.’s (2017) assessment that community-building in MPEs could profit from the experience of stronger grounded communities and enhance the mutual understandings and interests between residents, particularly since it has been argued that Australian society is lacking a cultural resource regarding grounded communities (Pusey 2003).

In this context, the conceptualisation of previous experiences of community as a learning of social meanings and practices provides new insights. Participants have acquired various skills to interact in lively neighbourhoods that are characterised by diverse cultures. In particular, they have learnt to engage in communities that are situated in the intersection between the parochial and private realms. Being able to draw on multiple perspectives enables them to perceive community not only as a feature of social life, but as a constructed social phenomenon, although referring to community as dependent on the context implies that the social meanings and practices associated with it are learnt in a specific environment. Hence, this perspective on community entails a second component.

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7.3 Community as Capacity