Impacts of racism and migration on mental health – Julio Neto

My background

I was born in Mozambique, at the time when it was still a Portuguese colony. I have a Portuguese name “JULIO NUNES NETO” because at that time if you did not have a Portuguese name you were not allowed to attend mainstream schools. Those who didn't have a Portuguese name were forced to go to missionary schools where it would take several years to finish year one, because students were used as slaves on the farms rather than being educated.

When I was born, they no longer branded slaves with a hot iron; however my name will stay on in generations to come, whereas a scar would not. I believe that to be one of the first and possibly worst stigmas that I have had to live with.

I attended university and in my teenage years I became fairly well known to the student body and faculty as an excellent student, and to the African youth as a freedom fighter against the Portuguese colonialism.

I graduated as a Mining Engineer, as I had always aspired to be, and which has given me much fulfilment throughout my life. I have travelled and worked in Portugal, Greece, Finland, Morocco, Algeria and Mozambique. As a result, I am fluent in 11 different languages.

I am the single parent of two children, I am a master nappy changer, I can cook, clean, and sew, and you might even call me a fashion designer. My daughter Yara is now 23 and my son Bruno is 21. My daughter is the artistic one, she's the dreamer, not in a bad sense, anything creative or practical and she excels. My son is a technology baby; he’s currently studying at Murdoch Uni.

Trying to settle in WA

I migrated to WA in 1988, and I arrived full of excitement for the country which I believed was the land of opportunity, equality and fairness.

Fortunately at that time there were some African families here in Perth, who helped me when I arrived. They told me about where to go for different things, introduced me to other Africans and in general welcomed me and helped me settle in as best as I could.

Once that initial period was over, reality hit me like a ton of bricks. I had never been out of work for such a long period of time, and I was forced to receive handouts of second hand clothes and food. This was incredibly heartbreaking for me, not because I had never done it tough, but because this is not what I had wished for my children.

I came to this country to give them a better life and as it was, I had gone backwards; we were worst off than before our arrival. I felt that I had failed miserably. I felt trapped and I regretted making the move to Australia, but now that I was here there was no going back.  I felt really depressed.

Unknown to me, the Australian Government had at that time introduced gold tax, which caused a sort of recession in the mining industry and forced many mines to close. And as a result, the mining boom collapsed and finding employment in the mining industry became very difficult as many people lost their jobs.

Experiencing isolation and racism

To make employment matters worse, at that time a single fulltime dad was rare, and a single fulltime dad with no extended family support to baby-sit was even worse. It made my attempts to find employment in the mining industry nearly impossible. And yes, I could put my children in childcare, but with what money?

I felt completely isolated and disillusioned. I felt despair, I felt unwelcome and betrayed. I had been told by the Australian embassy in Portugal that this land was just and fair, with many opportunities and jobs.

I suffered racism in the workforce, in social settings and my children suffered racism at school.  They would say that the other kids would not play with them and that they were alone all that time. I felt angry but helpless, depressed and further disillusioned with this society that was so cruel and could treat children like this. I believe racism is a large factor in mental health deterioration.

I was able to get through many difficult times in my life due to my fighting spirit. When I was two years old I had polio. I became partially paralysed and I stopped speaking and walking. I was cured, but I had to learn how to walk, speak and eat all over again.

Then I had the oppression of growing up in colonial times, but I never gave up. I was born with a fighting spirit and it has come to my rescue many times in my life. 

» Also by Julio Neto: Traditional healing in Mozambique

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