It’s a taboo subject in a lot of our community’: Cultural experiences of mental health among migrant Riverland growers.
The growers and farmers of the Riverland are a culturally diverse group. The 2021 census found that around 45 percent of growers speak a language other than English at home. Many of the grape growers from the region are first- or second-generation migrants from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds, including families from the Punjab region of India, and Greek and Italian farmers. Lots of these growers come from a rich legacy of family farming, seeing it as a fundamental part of their identity. There is a tendency to believe in the innate strength and toughness of migrants, who often come to Australia with almost nothing to start a new life.
The recent state of the horticultural and viticultural industries, however, has negativelyimpacted many CALD growers from the Riverland region. Some properties have been abandoned and other growers have been forced to let their grapes fall to the ground. Unmanaged vineyards raise the risk of diseases such as mildew spreading. Diseases have contributed to the 2023 vintage in the Riverland being the lowest recorded harvest in Australia since 2000. And the Riverland has been battling Queensland fruit fly since 2020, with rising costs of fumigation potentially pushing out small and family growers. With cabernet and shiraz wine grapes in an international oversupply, some growers have been told to mothball their red grapes and replace them with white, a costly and time-consuming process.
Recent research by UniSA’s National Enterprise for Rural Community Wellbeing led by Professor Lia Bryant sought to understand mental health and wellbeing from the perspective of CALD growers and farmers in the Riverland. All the participants interviewed in the research emphasised the strong connection experienced between their financial situation and the state of their mental health. The study found that pride in their work and belief in the resilience of migrant families may actually prevent them from seeking help for issues around mental health. Carlo, a second-generation Italian migrant and grower from the Riverland, says, ‘I think it’s hidden. People are not going to come out and say, “I feel stressed.”’ ‘When things are bad, we talk over the fence and say, “Bad year this year,” and it’s going to be another bad year next year, and the year after that. We all acknowledge it and accept it, but that’s as far as it goes,’ says Carlo.
Addressing these mental health issues, it’s probably a taboo subject in a lot of our community. People don’t talk about it.’
Participants identified the erosion of significant cultural traditions as a major instigator of isolation for growers in the community and spoke about the lack of social groups as a result of modern society’s reliance on new technologies like social media. ‘People should know each other more and engage with each other’s problems more. Nowadays, you don’t know what’s happening with your next-door neighbour,’ says Kiran, a migrant and grape grower from the Punjab region of India. Daksh is also worried about cultural traditions disappearing as migrants’ children leave to go to university in the city. Without the Punjabi language being passed down through families, less people are able to participate in Sikh services and rituals. Safeguarding their cultural heritage is important for the preservation of a strong community.
Many interviewees spoke about the importance of the local Sikh temple as a stronghold of community for the Indian diaspora in the Riverland, where community elders dispense advice and congregants gather to worship and pray. ‘They are counselling the people,’ Daksh says. ‘They are solving the problems. If one family is struggling with a problem, another family helps them.’ Being strong in his faith and using prayer and meditation keeps Daksh afloat during difficult times, and participating in the Sikh temple’s free kitchen gives him a boost each week: ‘Everybody gives donations and prepares in the kitchen to serve the community.’
‘Farming is my passion and it is in my blood but farming is not a profitable business’ says Amar, a citrus and grape grower who works hard across multiple businesses to make ends meet. Even amid industry-wide financial stress, Amar observes that mental health issues are not discussed freely among the community. ‘That thing is very bad thing in my community. They are not expressing their problems to each other. They are thinking this is the privacy. They are not talking much about these things’. However, many in his community approach Amar as a confidant to share their concerns privately and he emphasizes the importance of providing moral support in the face of challenges that have no practical solution. For those who don’t know who to reach out to for confidential support, Amar encourages talking to a GP as this can prevent issues from getting worse. He also suggests reaching out to friends, colleagues or any person in the community when their manner or behaviour changes, to check in with them and offer confidential support.