In the absence of any government assistance, our parents and grandparents pulled together to help each other out. They shared food, they lived together, worked together. They used their social capital and despite policy designed to make life a little tougher on them, are widely regarded now as having thrived in Australia's multicultural landscape. We wanted to see if that sense of working together and of succeeding hand in hand 'mano nella mano' still applied.
In March 2020, when Italy was ‘ground zero’ for the Covid-19 global pandemic and the Morrison government in Australia had just announced that we too would be entering into our own lock down period, the Mano Nella Mano group was formed. The project would later go on to win a Response and Recovery Award in the 2020 Multicultural Awards for Excellence issued by the Victorian Multicultural Commission.
In response to the COVID-19 Crisis, this project provided immediate community support and a reminder that there is a community surrounding those how are most vulnerable in our Italian-Australian community. In a time when they find themselves unexpectedly without family and social networks, citizenship rights, a way home or financial support from the governments, these young Italians living and working in Australia on temporary work and student visas needed help.
Italian students and others on temporary visas in Australia were not eligible for income support or JobKeeper nor any other form of government help. At this time, students were offered any reprieve from school fees. Additionally, when superannuation would be made accessible, many had not been in Australia long enough to accrue the full $10,000 in superannuation they were entitled to access. Many migrants are concentrated in sectors affected heavily by the economic shutdown.
Since their economic utility to Australia was deemed to have ceased, the government called for temporary migrants who had lost their jobs to return home, without consideration of the international travel restrictions that made this option virtually impossible. Many were unexpectedly stranded, with no way of returning home, no source of income to pay for rent, schooling fees and living expenses and with no emotional support. Many were experiencing, and continue to experience, food insecurity and the associated anxiety and mental distress. This is further compounded by the worry of the financial and mortal impact of the virus on their families far away in Italy.
Mano Nella Mano demonstrated the potential for individuals to unite in times of crisis through compassion, to provide immediate assistance. With the support of the Italian-Australian newspaper, Il Globo, Mano Nella Mano raised awareness within the community of the challenges and difficulties of these people, as well as the important economic role of temporary visa holders in Australian society.
A dedicated Facebook page ensured regular contact with vulnerable community members could be maintained. The Page became a virtual community notice board, diary and hub, opening dialogue between voucher recipients and funding contributors. Further assistance was referred to the group, as local programs and financial support from government and larger organisations were announced.
Group members leveraged their social and professional networks, predominantly from within the Italian-Australian community, to raise $7000 through crowd funding (GoFundMe and Facebook), with an additional $1000 from the Inner North Community Foundation and with the use of thousands of dollars of additional personal savings, they provided support to nearly 130 vulnerable community members, passing on over 350 grocery vouchers, fresh food parcels, clothing, toys and referrals to other services as they surfaced.
In the end, over 350 vouchers were provided to more than 120 community members, including family groups, students and recently laid-off temporary visa holders. Vouchers continue to be distributed upon request. Beyond the distribution of grocery vouchers and other pragmatic support in the form of homegrown food hampers, clothing and toys, phone conversations to practice language and keep in touch with isolated community members, the group also raised the awareness of an otherwise invisible problem, within a community otherwise assumed to be comfortably positioned in the multicultural mosaic.
Overall, personal connections were made across the cohorts, bridging the new-Italian migrant cohort and those Italian-Australian now in their second, third and beyond generations of settlement The new-cohort expressed a sense of inclusion, of being supported and for the first time, feeling a part of the Italian community they had heard about, but not yet encountered (see supporting documentation). The gifts became invitations for friendship and reminders of a history just before multiculturalism.
The lesson here is that in times of crisis, smaller community groups have the capacity to mobilise more efficiently than larger organisations, who might have a greater capacity in theory, but must also deal with the barriers of bureaucracy.
There is great social potential in small, but collective acts of compassion.
Thanks to our partners!
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