Why getting more migrants to swim has benefits for all of Australian society
SOURCE:ABC Australia|BY:Heloise Vyas
Despite wanting to learn how to swim, many from culturally and linguistically diverse communities — particularly adults — face three key barriers to participating.
Having never had exposure to open water, putting to sea was "not the most pleasant" of ordeals for Ramzi Hussaini, recalling the boat journey from South-East Asia to Australia more than a decade ago.
The then-teenager had just fled his homeland of Afghanistan and found himself in yet another encounter fraught with peril.
"Being with so many other bodies or people in the boat where you can't even stretch your legs," he said.
"It's overcrowded. The water is rough. You go to sleep with water around you, and you wake up, still with water around you, spending days in the water and getting the [sun] burns."
Like many migrants, Mr Hussaini did not know how to swim and was aquaphobic. He says a sense of foreboding remained with him for those five long days.
Not long ago, Ramzi couldn't swim. Now he teaches other people to be life guards and instructors. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting)
"So far out in the sea, you never know when you're going to make it, whether you're going to make it or not," Mr Hussaini tells the ABC.
"It was just an experience that I would never want to experience again."
Following this "nerve-wracking" introduction to water, Mr Hussaini entered a pool for the first time after arriving in Melbourne in 2011, coming close to drowning.
"I think that was the turning point for me," says the 31-year-old, who was motivated to take up swimming lessons soon after the incident.
Now a lifeguard in Victoria, life has come full circle for Mr Hussaini, and he has never looked back.
Inequities in fatal drownings
More than a quarter of Australia's population faces a heightened risk of death by drowning.
It is a staggering pool of 8.2 million and one that grows every year as visitors from around the world make their way down under.
The figure represents the number of people born overseas, a group that has universally remained among society's most vulnerable to water-related tragedies.
According to the latest National Drowning Report — compiled annually by the Royal Life Saving Society Australia (RLSSA) — 34 per cent of all drowning fatalities over the past 10 years were foreign-born people.
Of those, 36 per cent were new arrivals to Australia who had been in the country for less than five years.
The report notes that the place of birth was known in just over half of all deaths, indicating that the burden borne by migrants may be even greater.
Analysing data from 2005 to 2024, Canberra-based swim school Aquatots also found that overseas-born people had made up a bigger share of drowning deaths than their share of the total Australian population, in some years accounting for up to 40 per cent of fatal drownings.
While there are a variety of risk factors, research shows some common threads tying multicultural communities' relationship with water.
First, there's the general unfamiliarity with local waterways for those who are new to Australia.
The report shows that in the year to July, 43 per cent of the 357 fatal drownings took place in coastal locations, including beaches, the ocean or harbour, and rock pools, and 34 per cent occurred at inland locations such as rivers and lakes.
"We need to be really careful not to assume that people are ignorant or that they haven't had experience before, because a lot of people actually have, but that knowledge doesn't necessarily translate to the conditions here in Australia," RLSSA's research and policy manager Stacey Pidgeon told the ABC.
But many migrants have "simply not had the exposure or experience" of being around water before coming to Australia, or the opportunity to learn basic swimming skills in their home countries.
"A lot of people have just not grown up in a culture where swimming is valued or is important,"
Ms Pidgeon said.
"Some cultures have a relationship with water that's [perhaps] more around doing the chores or employment."
Children and adults of a low socio-economic status, remote or regional dwellers, Indigenous communities, and males are among the other groups that are at a much greater risk of drowning than the average Australian.
People from diverse backgrounds face several barriers that limit their participation in swimming and water safety education, both in their homelands and after coming to Australia.
They include restrictive cultural or religious attitudes to water activities, lack of access to water bodies or aquatic infrastructure, cost and transportation issues, a fear of water, the absence of community role models, or a sense of indifference to the value of knowing how to swim.
Drowning deaths by place of origin
Long-term trends show that most drowning deaths in Australia are those of migrants from Asian countries.
In January last year, Victoria saw its deadliest beach tragedy in two decades when four members of an Indian family — Reema Sondhi, Jagjeet Singh Anand, Suhani Anand and Kriti Bedi — lost their lives at an unpatrolled beach in Phillip Island.
Three of the victims were Melbourne locals, and one was visiting from India.
Data shows nearly one in five drowning victims in Australia between 2013 and 2023 were people born in India, Nepal and China.
And in the 12 months to July this year, the highest number of deaths were people born in the UK, China, India, Malaysia, Nepal and Papua New Guinea.
Harpreet Kandra, a Melbourne academic and Sikh community leader who was motivated to establish a 10-week swim program after the Port Phillip tragedy, said drowning prevention strategies for adult migrants needed to be unconventional, with hands-on training prioritised over awareness.
"You have to connect with people rather than simply telling them 'this is water safety,'" he told the ABC.
"The moment you leave a classroom environment, you forget things … so we thought, we need to get people into water and make them learn swimming.
Research shows most migrants see swimming as an essential part of assimilating into Australian society. (AAP: Jono Searle)
"We don't promise that they will become swimming experts, but once people get into water, they understand the force of water. They understand what fun they can have in water. And that's where we start telling them that it's vital for us to engage with water in a safe way."
Learning how to swim is typically not a priority in migrants' early years of settlement, unlike, for instance, obtaining a driver's licence, securing housing and employment, or taking English classes.
Dr Kandra said a perspective shift was necessary where more people saw swimming not solely as a life skill but a multifaceted activity that enriched the migrant experience.
Bridging a cultural disconnect
Research shows most migrants see swimming as an essential part of assimilating into Australian society, in which water-based activities are central to the way of life.
Having more multicultural communities engaged in swim programs would make people "feel welcome" in the country, said Ms Pidgeon, fostering social cohesion and a sense of belonging.
"Being around water is such a key part of Australian culture … and adults I spoke to from migrant backgrounds felt like they were almost excluded because they couldn't swim," she said.
But despite having the desire to attain swimming skills, many from culturally and linguistically diverse communities — particularly adults — face three key barriers to participating: a fear of water, cultural norms, and pragmatic concerns around cost and transport, according to a recent public health study.
For Sarah Scarce, who runs the Queensland-based Aqua English Project, a program aimed at empowering refugees and new arrivals to Australia through swimming and language, those barriers are opportunities for change.
"Nobody talks openly about what to do when you're on your period and you swim. Nobody talks openly about children needing to wear swimwear, not a normal nappy," she told the ABC.
"The biggest one is on the front desk. How welcome do you feel when you come to the swimming pool? Does that person's body language indicate 'hey, I'm really happy to have you here'? If they just get frustrated [with you], it's very difficult.
"That's why we're trying to acculturate the workforce."
Ms Scarce said ways to deal with cost and transport concerns included delivering swim programs in places easily accessible by train or bus, and offering price concessions for families.
As for helping people overcome a fear of water, she says being patient, reassuring, setting realistic goals and "creating a community in the pool" goes a long way.
Overcoming trauma is a key part of learning how to swim for many migrants and refugees. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Edwina Seselja)
"Our programming is collectivist because a lot of the cultures we get people from are collectivist, whereas swimming and Australian life in general is actually not of a collectivist mindset. It's an individual mindset," she said.
"Getting someone to the pool isn't always easy, so you have to be really sure that whatever it is that you're delivering makes them want to come back.
"The art of making someone feel welcome is a really big thing … and that's what will make someone stay."
Since its inception nearly 20 years ago, The Aqua English Project has evolved from a drowning prevention initiative to a holistic program that places an emphasis on the value addition swimming offers to various aspects of life.
Ms Scarce said having the same shift take place across Australia's aquatic industry would not only improve migrants' personal well-being but bring about broader societal benefits.
Swimming abilities beneficial for self, economy
Aside from directly aiding drowning prevention efforts, participation in swim programs helps adult migrants build fitness, improve personal well-being and develop positive social relationships, as per RLSSA research.
For many new arrivals to Australia, mothers who may be primary caregivers, people from marginalised communities, or those who may be victims of abuse or carrying other trauma, swimming can also act as a social outlet.
"Women who have suffered domestic violence — if you can get them into a pool, they make friends with each other and start helping each other take care of mental stress," said Dr Harpeet Kandra, whose swim programs have 70 per cent female participants.
"If they learn swimming, they feel very empowered."
Participation in swim programs helps adult migrants. (ABC Riverland: Sam Bradbrook)
A 2021 report by PwC found that Australia's aquatic industry generates health benefits worth $2.5 billion per year, including through a reduction in the burden of disease, improved mental health outcomes and lesser illness-related absenteeism in the workplace.
The combined social, health and economic value provided by aquatic facilities annually is $9.1 billion, according to the report, with more than a quarter of that contributing directly to Australia's GDP.
Being able to swim opens up a host of employment, training and competitive sport opportunities for Australians, and more migrants in the mix means there is more scope for cultural diversification in those spheres.
There are also many non-aquatic professions where swimming skills are either mandatory or highly advantageous, including police, the Australian Defence Force, carers, teaching aides and tourism operators.
"I think we need to have a different set of glasses on and see the broader picture of what swimming does,"
Sarah Scarce said.
Most fatal drownings took place in coastal locations including beaches, the ocean or harbour, and rock pools last year. (AAP: Danney Casey)
Meanwhile, Dr Kandra said better engaging Australia's large migrant population with water was also beneficial for businesses, fighting weather events such as flash flooding, and representation in sport.
"There are a lot of economic opportunities out of it as well … it's good business for the water sports industry, it's good business for swim centres, for local swimming pools," he said.
"Who knows, maybe in a few years, I might motivate my daughter to learn swimming more, and she might get a gold medal for us at the Olympics."
Swimming remains Australia's most successful sport at the Olympics, bringing in 58 of its total 135 medals in the history of the Games.
How multicultural communities can be made more comfortable around water
Advocates' call for action in the drowning prevention space ramps up every summer — when fatal drownings tend to surge.
In April, the Albanese government committed $5 million over two years specifically to address the growing number of drownings among overseas-born Australians.
RLSSA's Stacey Pidgeon says while more funding is always welcome, the money needs to be spent in a more focused way.
One approach, she says, is for universities to offer water safety modules and practical learn-to-swim programs for international students in their orientation semesters.
Ms Pidgeon also wants to see water safety messaging tailored to multicultural communities, who she stresses are "not homogeneous", and delivered via avenues such as migration and settlement support agencies, local health services, and English language providers.
In Dr Kandra's view, practical training needs to be prioritised over broad-brush awareness campaigns, and more role models are needed to help attract migrants — particularly those stigmatised — to swim programs through organic community outreach.
"If you keep learning about water safety in a closed classroom environment, that won't work," he said.
One expert says better engaging Australia's large migrant population with water was beneficial. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)
And according to Ms Scarce, aquatic facilities should be culturally sensitive when dealing with migrants learning how to swim, including by offering gender-specific classes, multilingual staff, or inclusive swimwear, and be mindful of individual needs.
Other ways to expand swimming access include offering classes out of hours and at subsidised rates.
In the new year, refugee boat survivor-turned lifeguard Razmi Hussaini hopes many more Australians overcome their anxieties with water and use it to transform their lives.
"I think that, for me, even being around the water is a great achievement," he said.