Working with
Macedonian Elderly
Citizens
Presenter: Slobodanka Trajkovski
Macedonian Community Welfare Association Inc.
MCWA
Services
Advocacy on behalf of the Macedonian Speaking community
MCWA Access and Support Program (SAPP)
Comprehensive 3 hour cultural training package specific to the Macedonian
speaking community
Friendly Visiting Programs (North and West Region)
Carers support group
Multicultural PAG Group (Dementia specific)
Planned Activity Groups -Whittlesea, Brimbank and Wyndham (core)
PAG Evening North (high)
Community Partners Program (CPP)
MCWA Complete Care
Presentation Aims
To enhance awareness and understanding of the Macedonian
culture in relation to:
- Its historical and political background
- Cultural behaviours and values
- Political issues within the community
- Religious and spiritual practices
- Cuisine
- Language
- Education and health experiences in Macedonia
- Family networks and relationships
- Migration and settlement
- Community demographics
Learning Outcomes
•Explain the cultural, religious, political & historical
implications on the Macedonian community in Australia.
• Identify key experiences of the Macedonian people, both
past and present.
• List the major area’s of settlement in Victoria, and the
main reasoning for this.
Where in the world is
Macedonia??
Where in Europe??
Macedonia Today…
Macedonia
Capital:
Population:
Borders:
Skopje
2,2 million (500,000 residing in Skopje)
North – Serbia and Montenegro
South – Greece
East – Bulgaria
West – Albania
Political System : Parliamentary Democracy
Religion :
Macedonian Orthodox (64.7%), Muslim (33.3%)
and other Christian
Language:
Macedonian, Albanian, Romani, Turkish etc.
Migration and
Settlement Experience
 Political and Economic Hardship
 Many left from being traumatized for almost a decade of
war, and Greek oppression which continues till today in
their homeland.
 Pechalba
 The shift from pelchalba to settler occurred for personal
and political reasons, thus the wives and children joined
the pechalbari.
 In Victoria, early settlers congregated in the inner or outer
Fitzroy, Collingwood, Preston, Richmond and the Werribee
farms on Melbourne’s fringe.
Statistical Discrepancies
There is an issue of invisible statistics. These include:
 Macedonians being citizens of other Nations
 Significant portion of ethnic Macedonians being born in
geographical regions now part of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia
and Albania.
 Large numbers of Macedonians refusing to list FYROM or
Republic of Macedonia on census forms, insisting on
writing only ‘Macedonia’ which is not recognised by
Australian government departments and data collection
agencies.
 Most government and non government departments still
use country of birth as the main indicator of ethnic
identity.
Statistical Discrepancies cont.
3.9% of the Greece born
population in Victoria speak
mainly Macedonian at home.
DIAC has included Republic
of Macedonia under the
Country of Birth category as
part of their data collection
only since 1993.
The Macedonian Population
in Australia
5.60%
7.40%
45.10%
43.50%
VIC
NSW
WA
QLD
SA
ACT
TAS
NT
Melbourne
Rest of State
94.40%
Top Ten Local Government
Areas
Whittlesea
Brimbank
Darebin
14.40%
30.70%
Greater Dandenong
Hobsons Bay
Greater Geelong
Melton
20.40%
8.00%
Maribyrnong
Wyndham
Casey
Other LGA's
Macedonian Born Age
Distribution Vs. Victorian Age Distribution
50.00%
45.00%
40.00%
35.00%
Macedonian Born Age
Distribution
Victorian Population Age
Distribution
30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
0-11
12-18
19-25 26-44 45-64 65-74
75+
Projected Increases in Macedonian
Born population aged 65+ in Victoria
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
1996
2001
2006
2011
2016
2021
2026
The Macedonian Family..
 The
traditional structure of the Macedonian family was
historically the extended family. Family was a source of economic
and cultural survival.
 In Australia today, this is not as big an effect on the family home
and structure, so ultimately children are far more independent, yet
there is still a large respect for the parents.
 Traditionally, men are the head of the household and the
breadwinners, and the women are responsible for the maintenance
of the home and the family.
Macedonian kinship
Structure…
 Macedonians have
a very rich and complex kinship structure.
Kinship relations encompass both the matrimonial and paternal
ties, and the way a relative is addressed identifies this lineage. For
example, the word for ‘aunt’ changes and varies according to how
one is related to that aunt:
Strina, ninaVujnaTeta -
father’s brother’s wife
mother’s brohter’s wife
father’s/mother’s sister
The Macedonian Language..
 The
Macedonians gave the world the Cyrillic script.
 It Belongs to the Slavonic Group of languages together with
Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian and Bulgarian.
 The Macedonian Alphabet has 31 letters, and it is phonetic –
which means that it is spelt as it is said.
Basic Words:
Zdravo – Hello
Prijatno – Goodbye
Kako Si? – How are you?
Dobro Utro – Good Morning
Dobro Vecer - Goodnight
Macedonian Cuisine…
 Food is a very important component of the Macedonian Culture.
- Stuffed Capsicums
- Apricot Cake
- Cabbage Rolls
- Rice pudding
-
Fried chillies with
tomato & cheese
- Burek
Religion, Tradition
and Culture
 There is a strong relationship
between religion, tradition and
culture in the Macedonian
community.
 The Macedonian Orthodox
religion is based on the Julian
Calendar. For this reason
Christmas is celebrated on the
7th of January and New Year on
the 14th of January.
 Church plays an important role
in the life of the majority of the
Macedonian population.
 Most Macedonians belong to
the Orthodox faith.
 Macedonians practice fasting at
least four times a year.
 The most significant date on
the Orthodox calendar is Easter
Issues Confronting
Macedonians in
Australia…
 Macedonian Women in
Australia.
 The Australian Government.
 Barriers to Accessing Services.
 Different Educational Systems.
 Settlement Issues
 Language Barriers
Culture specific issues 65+
• Lack of openness regarding the need to seek
assistance ‘outside’ the family
• Reluctance to relinquish or admit to their inability to
continue in what they see as their traditional role within
the family unit.
• Cases of social isolation
• Limited English
• Service system disorientation
• Social stigma related to mental health issues
Culture Specific Issues 65+ (cont.)
• Deliberate omission of health status and certain health
conditions
• Fear of representatives of the ‘authority’
• Fear of disclosing too much personal information
• Reluctance to sign papers / forms
• Lack of understanding of the notion of privacy
• Occasional lack of understanding of the necessity for
professional interpreters / translators
Health Related Issues
• Respect towards health professionals in various aspects of
life
• Other methods of treatments may be sought if the patient
does not believe he/she is getting better fast enough
• Stoicism towards pain / suffering in silence
• Family responsibility in relation to communicating about a
terminal illness
• Dementia is viewed negatively
Key issues in Adjusting in Ageing
• Strong preference for ethno-specific aged care services
• Inability to access mainstream services
• Poor English proficiency
• Lack of understanding & awareness of Australia’s
structure and systems
• Expectation on family members to provide care
Culturally and Linguistically
Appropriate strategies
• Employing bi-lingual speaking staff members
• Utilisation of aged-care specific language cards &
organising short language classes for staff members
• Organising cooking demonstrations
• Utilisation of talking books offered by Vision Australia
Other culturally and linguistically
appropriate strategies
• Referring to ethno-specific organisations:
Macedonian Community Welfare Association - MCWA
Shop 19, 1 Princess Street, St Albans VIC 3021
T: 9310 7566
E: info@mcwa.org.au
W: www.mcwa.org.au
Blagodaram na
vnimanieto
More information:
Macedonian Community Welfare Association Inc.
Phone: 9310 7566
Email: info@mcwa.org.au
Web: www.mcwa.org.au
Thank you for your attention