How a regional Australian city became an unlikely home for hundreds of Yazidi refugees

Yazidi man Aedo is originally from Northern Iraq but now calls a regional Australian city home.

“Armidale is very friendly, they respect us, they help us, they help us in everything,” he tells SBS News.

“So, I like living in Armidale and Australia.”

It’s been almost three years since about 600 Yazidi refugees from Northern Iraq and Syria began resettling in Australia, many fleeing trauma after persecution by the IS terror group.

One of the resettlement areas was Armidale, where the community has embraced its new migrants.

Aedo, who arrived two years ago, is now helping transform a plot of land just outside of the town into prime pasture, as part of a new agriculture initiative set up for the Yazidi community. 

“What we’re trying to achieve is help them realise their place in Armidale, through acquisition of skills and using those skills to gain employment,” says Lance McNamara from Northern Settlement Services.

Aedo hopes the opportunity will help him secure stable employment in Australia. 

“The first thing I get is experience, so I know how work will be like and I can get the best work every day,” he says.

The land was donated by members of the local rotary club to give the Yazidi community, who typically worked on the land, a place of their own to farm.   

Peter Lloyd from Armidale Rotary says members of his organisation have been stunned by the rapid progress the community has made in transforming the plot.

“It’s absolutely amazing, 250 metres of fencing disappeared in a couple of hours,” he says.

“The speed of work, efficiency, and the degree of learning is quite impressive.”

Resettlement program

Armidale, which has a population of about 25,000, was selected as a regional resettlement site by the Turnbull Government in August 2017, with the first refugees from Syria and Iraq arriving just over six months later. 

Mr Lloyd says the way the families have been settled has helped them assimilate into the wider community.

“The families are being distributed, if you like, with their homes quite separated within the township and many families, their neighbours are taking everyone under their wings,” he says.

“There’s a lot of exchanges, especially of recipes!”

“There’s a lot of Yazidi bread that’s being consumed in Armidale and a lot of other things [happening] that are really beneficial in a social sense, a language sense, and also an educational sense.” 

Yazidi cuisine has become a highlight at one local hotel.

The Minnie Barn, which opened at the beginning of this year, has employed Yazidi chefs to cook up a unique menu.

The dishes have proved popular, even during periods impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.

“We knew about the Yazidi community, we approached them, and we found a couple of guys that were willing to come on board,” says Comfort City Inn manager Phil Mitchell.

“It was a bit of a struggle from the start with the language barriers and working out how to operate a professional kitchen with them. But a couple of months in, it’s really taking off.”

Strong foundation

Salam Qaro and his wife Fryal Khalaf arrived in Australia in July 2019. Since settling in Armidale, the family has thrived.

“I was surprised because the physical aspects of Armidale are similar to my hometown, where I was living in Northern Iraq,” Salam says. 

“I noticed that Armidale was so quiet, and also the people were welcoming, and I feel safe with my family here.”

The rest of his family remain in Northern Iraq, where they have faced persecution, he says. Some are still missing or were killed by IS. 

“Two uncles of mine are missing by ISIS, and also my grandmother, my cousin was killed by ISIS, and no-one cared about that.” 

“In my country, there is no future for anyone, especially for the Yazidi community, because the Yazidi community is all the time living very dangerous situations.”

While he Fryal were able to settle in Armidale as refugees, applications to bring other family members to Australia on humanitarian grounds have not been successful.

“We received it with a declined outcome by [the Department of] Immigration. We don’t know why, and we are still asking why,” he says. 

While his psychology degree is not recognised in Australia, Salam now helps settle other refugees in the area and is planning to build a house of his own with Fryal.

In June, the family also expanded when they welcomed baby Sama.

“We were lucky with Sama, she was born in Australia and she is an Australian citizen now,” he says.

“She will have a good future in Australia.”