Arabic

Migration from Arabic-speaking nations

As of 2021, the Arab League includes 22 member countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Language and identity across these countries are varied. While Arabic is a common language, dialects differ widely and can vary significantly within countries.

One early example of migration from this region is the story of the cameleers who worked in outback Australia from the 1860s to the 1930s. Around 4,000 cameleers—many from Afghanistan, but also from present-day Pakistan and India—brought camels to help transport goods across Australia’s arid interior. The Afghan Mosque in Alice Springs, with its distinctive minaret rising from the MacDonnell Ranges, stands as a legacy of this community.

A sepia photograph showing a man leading a long train of camels through arid scrub land. Another figure can be seen in the background walking beside a camel. There are at least 6 camels in the train.

Frank Hurley, An Afghani man leading a heavily laden camel train, 1914, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-152791565

A photo of a man leading a camel-drawn carriage across desert sand dunes in South Australia.

Alexander Lorimer Kennedy, A camel buggy, South Australia, 1914, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-253064049

Newspaper resources

Explore newspaper resources by opening the link and then clicking on the 'browse this collection' button.

The front page of The Australian Panorama Arabic Newspaper. The masthead is written in red Arabic script.

(2008). The Australian panorama Arabic newspaper. [Panorama Arabic Newspaper], [Parramatta, New South Wales] https://www.panoramanews.net nla.gov.au/nla.obj-747828340

Learning activities

Activity 1: Write a mystery article
Have students write a newspaper article about a mystery—real or imagined. This activity encourages students to:

consider the writing style and tone
demonstrate a range of grammatical and stylistic techniques
tailor their writing for a specific audience and purpose

Activity 2: News from the homeland
Hold a class discussion on how the delivery of information from a country of origin might influence the content and tone of newspapers written in that language. Consider:

political or media influences
cultural values and narrative styles
the impact of distance and diaspora

Activity 3: Explore multilingual newspaper content
Ask students to explore the articles and content of the newspaper resources linked earlier in the module. Encourage them to: