SYRIAN REFUGEES IN AUSTRALIA: HOW IS THIS SITUATION LIMINAL?
The refugees are in a liminal space as they are not sure what’s next for them. They have left their homes and the places they are familiar with and have fled to a place that is completely new to them, with different cultures, norms and expectations. They have left the known for the unknown. Every day is another day of ‘What’s next?’ Will people help us or will they discriminate and make life hard for us? Will our language and culture be accepted or will it become a hindrance to us creating this new life in a new setting. These people are constantly worried that Australians will think we are the very people that they have fled from and create challenges because of this. The challenges here, other than living through a life of refugee status would be abandoning the culture that they love and know in order to fit in somewhere new. This creates a constant state of liminal existence as all of these questions and concerns stop people from settling and creating a new place to call home.