The Wire | Published: Friday, 09 April 2021
A media commentary yesterday indicated that culture is a risk factor of youth incarceration, referring to the overrepresentation of the African youth in Victoria’s criminal system. Community organisations like Settlement Services International are pledging the media to be more careful with their comments, as migrants are more susceptible of being discriminated thanks to the disinformation on the media.
Subculture Media | Published: Wednesday, 07 April 2021
Fan Force have announced the cinema release of Rosemary’s Way, the feature documentary that has charmed audiences at Festivals around the world. Rosemary’s Way celebrates the remarkable Rosemary Kariuki, 2021 Australian of the Year – Local Hero, and the group of vulnerable migrant women of suburban Sydney whose lives she helps transform from isolation to connection.
Western Sydney University | Published: Wednesday, 31 March 2021
Western Sydney University is helping refugees and asylum seekers learn about opportunities for further study, through a new partnership with Settlement Services International. The University, with support from several student ambassadors, has contributed to a multilingual program of workshops developed by Settlement Services International and delivered online.
Refugee Tsering Yangozam with the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
The Humanitarian Settlement Program, funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs* and delivered by Settlement Services International, has provided Ms Yangzom with wrap-around support services since she arrived.
As with many refugees, the move to Australia has been jarring for Ms Yangzom, who is adapting to a new life.
“At first, it was very difficult. We came to Australia, and everything was new, including the culture. I felt like it was me and the sky.”
With the initial challenges of resettlement behind her, Ms Yangzom was supported by SSI to use her multilingual skills to assist the local Tibetan refugee community.
Ms Yangzom’s case manager noticed her stellar English skills and recommended she work for SSI’s ethnic inter-practice team, where she has been able to translate from Tibetan to English.
“At first, it was a little bit challenging because I don’t have much experience interpreting things. Later on, I learned how to, through my own research on the Internet.
“In future, I want to continue to improve my English so I can help more in the community. But at the moment, it’s a side job because with my studies I can’t do this full time.”
Ms Yangzom is studying for a Certificate 3 in Aged Care and Community Services. She was drawn to the course because it will give her the opportunity to support vulnerable people.
“I chose this course because, as a Tibetan, we are taught the importance of family. I spent my life alone for 25 years without my family so, in that way, I understand and want to help others.”
Her eagerness to be of service to the community reflects Ms Yangzom’s history working for a non-government organisation (NGO) and, later, in politics.
In India, she completed her diploma in Secretarial Practice, which led her to work for six years for the Tibetan Women’s Association, the second-largest Tibetan NGO.
Seeking new challenges and experiences, she then worked for four years for the National Democratic Party of Tibet, a major party in the Tibetan government in exile.
“The executive members (of the party) approved me to become an executive member and, through an election, I became the general secretary.
“I had to organise workshops, meetings with different people and leadership training for Tibetan students in Indian universities. I also had to act in place of the president when he was not in the office, which was a big responsibility.”
Tsering Yangznom worked for four years for the National Democratic Party of Tibet.
For Ms Yangzom, this exciting career offered her a strong connection to her Tibetan identity and enabled her to meet people from all walks of life.
“I was able to talk to other Tibetan people and exchanged ideas and experiences. We belong to each other and could exchange our culture with each other, as well as with different people.
“Western people would visit the centre, and we could talk with them, share our lives with them, political backgrounds and stories. They would do the same, and it became a wonderful platform to learn so much more than I expected.”
Ms Yangzom’s political background provided a strong foundation for her to flourish in her future endeavours, as seen in her achievements in the short time she has lived in Australia.
While she is in the early stages of her resettlement journey, Ms Yangzom is grateful for the opportunity to live in Australia and is already making social contributions in community.
Ms Yangzom said that she was grateful for the Australian government and SSI, which she said consisted of reliable people she could trust.
“When we look back on this from a historical perspective, we will remember that Australia has politically supported Tibetan people in exile. Because of this, as an individual, and in my future, I will always try to give back.”
*Go to https://homeaffairs.gov.au/ for more information.
The Hamdi Hesari family arrived in Australia in April 2019.
Through the Australian Government’s Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP), Service Settlement International (SSI) provided the Hamdi Hesari family with wrap-around support services in their new home.
The Hamdi Hesari family were forced to flee Iran in 2015 as they are members of the Baha’i faith, a persecuted minority group in Iran. They temporarily relocated to Turkey for three years, where they waited for their Australian visas to be approved.
Ms Hamdi Hesari said that as refugees in Turkey, they were not eligible to work and were met with significant financial problems.
“None would offer us help or support. Then suddenly, a door opened for us, and we were able to come to Australia on the humanitarian refugee visa.”
Relocating to Australia was met with enthusiasm, but the move negatively impacted Ms Hamdi Hesari’s, now 7-year-old son, Noyan Hamdi Hesari, who lives with autism and found it disruptive to his learning and social development.
“My son was three years old when we got his diagnosis of autism. It was a very hard situation because we couldn’t find therapy sessions. They were too expensive, in a different language, and the Turkish government didn’t support us,” Ms Hamdi Hesari said.
“We (my husband Farid Hamdi Hesari and I) spent a lot of time researching and doing our own work to find ways to support him. Progress in autism is very slow, and it was very hard. We put all of our energy into him, but we didn’t see good results.”
Since they arrived in Australia, HSP has provided Ms Hamdi Hesari and her son with support and advocacy with relevant service providers, including arranging appointments with GPs and specialists.
SSI assisted Ms Hamdi Hesari’s son gain access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) by referring him to another service provider. He is now enrolled in an educational program tailored for children living with autism.
“It’s really important he goes to school five days a week. Our lives have completely changed, and I’ve seen improvements in him. It’s very gradual, slow. But we can see some changes.
“Because my son was in different countries, with different languages, his progress has been slower than other children. But now, after one-and-half years in therapy and new schooling, we can see some growth.”
For the Hamdi Hesari family, being confident that their child is being educated and looked after by people equipped to support him, they have newfound freedom and flexibility in their lives.
“We are happy our son is in a school where he has a good relationship with his teacher who cares about him. It’s such a relief.
“As parents, we can now study, work and do other activities. It’s very good for our mental health.”
Ms Hamdi Hesari recently finished her Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance at Kingswood TAFE, and Mr Hamdi Hesari is now enrolled in a building constructions course.
Another extra-curricular engagement now available to Ms Hamdi Hesari has been workshops that explore employment and social life in Australia. She also attended the Callum Park Mother’s Day celebration, where she could socialise with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The Hamdi Hesari family is continuing to improve their English and have future ambitions to secure employment that can work around their son’s needs.
“I’m really happy in Australia, and it’s a great country. The government support has helped us reach a new level of independence.
“I hope this can happen for our friends that are in Turkey at the moment so that they can restart their lives here.”
Despite great international interest in the first years of the conflict, coverage of the war has waned in the past few years.
This is a far cry from 2015, when the Australian government joined with other humanitarian leaders in announcing the resettlement of an additional 15,000 people displaced by the conflict in Syria and Iraq. This meant that SSI resettled 10,000 refugees in a single year. It was a huge feat that required collaboration between government, civil society and corporate organisations.
Thousands of everyday Australians also put up their hands, asking, “What can I do to welcome my new neighbours?” Refugees from that intake are now well on the way to successful settlement ― forging friendships, engaging in education, starting businesses ― making economic, social and cultural contributions to their new homes
Research has demonstrated that people from refugee backgrounds have a strong commitment and motivation to fulfil their social and civic responsibilities in Australia. This is seen through high rates of volunteering and community participation.
One of these individuals is Nohara Odicho, who arrived in Australia as a refugee with her father in 2015 and has since channeled her lived experience as a refugee to help others in similar circumstances.
Nohara went on to manage the Community Legal Education program at Legal Aid Refugee Services, responsible for educating refugees about the free services to which they are entitled. In acknowledgement of her work, she was awarded the STARTTS’ NSW Humanitarian Award for a Refugee Community Worker in 2019.
Like Nohara, George Najarian threw himself into community minded work after settling in Australia. George is an award-winning Armenian refugee who was forced to flee Syria.
He has educated thousands of Australian community members about refugees, raised more than $12,000 and launched two scholarships for refugees.
In 2020, the UN estimated that 13.1 million Syrian people like Nohara and George need humanitarian assistance. This equals the population of NSWS and Queensland combined.
If Syria does not find the resources to rebuild, this humanitarian crisis will only persist.
Australia has an obligation as a responsible global citizen to support individuals and families fleeing war and persecution. And we have so much to gain from doing so.
Take Sophie Bejok as an example:
Sophie had been in Australia for six months when she applied for SSI’s Community Innovation Fund to run community cooking classes to help other women integrate into the community. Before the COVID-19 outbreak limited her services, Sophie also ran her own Dance Fit classes and business in the Sydney area.
Economic modelling from Deloitte Access Economics suggests that increasing Australia’s humanitarian migration could increase the size of the Australian economy by $37.7 billion over the next 50 years.
Like Nohara, George and Sophie, many refugees bring with them an entrepreneurial, innovative spirit and hardworking attitude that is often attributed to a blend of their innate character and the hardship they have faced and survived. These qualities are what Australia needs to rebuild as we exit the COVID-19 crisis.
As we prepare to work towards opening our International borders, and allowing migrants into the country, it is paramount that humanitarian protection visa holders are prioritised in their entry, alongside international students. It is both a moral obligation and economic and social imperative.
Food preperation at the Refugee Welcome Centre’s International Women’s Day celebration.
The issues facing women today have been kept front of mind recently with mass women’s rallies across Australia and ongoing reports of inappropriate, disturbing behaviour by our parliamentarians, alongside continued gender pay disparities.
It is a reminder that gender equity is an ideal we have not achieved and must continue to fight for, particularly in the workplace.
With over 70 per cent of SSI’s staff, and a large proportion of our client base, identifying as women, gender equity is cemented at the top of SSI and Access’s priorities.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme of women in leadership is closely aligned with SSI’s Women and Girls Strategic Plan for 2021-2023, which SSI launched on Tuesday.
Leadership and economic empowerment are key pillars of this plan, which aligns with SSI’s three-year Strategic Plan.
Newly arrived women from refugee backgrounds and volunteers celebrate International Women’s Day.
Our Women and Girls Strategic Plan recognises that SSI works with many talented women who could benefit from targeted strategies and interventions, so that they too can achieve their aspirations.
In developing this strategy, we wanted to properly understand the issues women face in Australia – particularly women from migrant and refugee backgrounds, who account for such a sizable portion of our staff and client group.
We held roundtables with clients and staff to identify these issues. Not surprisingly, the key themes from this included careers, economic security and working conditions.
Our plan recognises that we all have intersectional layers of identity that impact how we experience the world.
It encompasses women of all backgrounds, including transgender women, people who identify as nonbinary, and other diverse genders.
At the launch, SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis shared that she looks forward to fully embedding the plan’s initiatives, which will improve our society and our organisation, over the next three years and beyond.
“SSI will work with staff and the community to ensure that all our offices and programs are safe spaces, where all staff and clients, regardless of gender identity, feel they have the space and support then need to grow professionally and personally,” she said.
To mark International Women’s Day Violet also attended the 2nd Innate Power of Women Forum, an external event hosted by Lawyers with Solutions, which focused on equipping culturally diverse women with the skills they need to break the ‘professional glass ceiling’ and reach their full potential.
A celebration of the value, contributions, and strength of newly arrived women from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds was held last Friday, March 1 at the The Community Refugee Welcome Centre in Lilyfield.
The event, organised by the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP) Women’s Committee in partnership with the Inner West Council, kicked off with a smoking ceremony performed by First Nations Elder, Aunty Jenny, and was followed by a welcome to the country, guest speakers, an art exhibition showcase painting by HSP’s client’s, a multicultural dance, food, and tour around Callan Park.
HSP’s client Nawres Abood showcasing her paintings.
It has been really refreshing that both events recognised the unique space that culturally and linguistically diverse women occupy.
We are at the intersection of gender and culture. This gives us a lot of strengths, including a unique perspective. But it also comes with challenges that are beyond those typically discussed at International Women’s Day events.
We know that women from migrant and refugee backgrounds are at the intersection of gender and culture and experience many additional challenges.
For example, the unemployment rate for female migrants is higher than both migrant men and Australian-born women, and one in four women from diverse backgrounds have been forced to scale back at work due to cultural barriers.
A survey SSI conducted in 2020 on the impact of COVID-19 on refugee women highlighted concerns about the economic and social impacts of COVID-19, including job losses in a cohort predominately employed in the hospitality and retail industries.
Employment goes hand-in-hand with financial independence and stability, but the pandemic has highlighted that we cannot segregate newly arrived women to the confines of unstable, low-skilled or low-paid work.
Our efforts to rebuild our society and economy after 2020 must be inclusive. Among other things, we need to enable women and girls from diverse backgrounds to utilise the skills, knowledge, and experience they possess in stable employment with clear career progression opportunities.
In order to fully harness the potential of our population, there needs to be clear career development opportunities for women, in professions they have an interest in. Achieving this not only has benefits for women as individuals and their families, but truly benefits the wider society.
The value and importance of supporting diverse women into leadership positions is just one of the topics I will touch on at the 2nd Innate Power of Women Forum, being held digitally to mark International Women’s Day on March 8.
SSI is also undertaking several initiatives to directly support the needs and advancement of women and girls and ensure they are included in advocacy and awareness campaigns.
This includes SSI’s recently approved submission to the United Nation’s Sixty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which warmly welcomes the Commission’s focus on the full and effective participation of women and girls in decision-making.
SSI, in addition to many other organisations, has responded to the initiative of the Global Refugee-led Network, to endorse the “Refugee Participation Pledge”. This pledge calls on signatories to actively and accountably support the participation of refugees in decisions that affect their lives.
Internally, SSI is taking the time to self-reflect and ask, ‘how can we do better?’ through the implementation of our Women and Girl’s Strategy 2021-2023.
We embarked on developing a Women and Girl’s Strategic Plan in recognition that empowerment of women is an important goal for clients, staff, and multicultural communities.
As a result, we held consultations with women from across the organisation, including several round tables, to hear what our staff want and need from us as an organisation.
Through this process we identified that with an increased focus on wellbeing, leadership and empowerment, SSI can further support our cohort of incredibly talented women to grow professionally and achieve greater professional, financial and social outcomes for themselves and their families.
Our Women and Girl’s strategy will target all women employed and supported by SSI. It will have a particular focus on women from CALD backgrounds due to the significant proportion of our constituency client base they represent.
While crisis may touch all of us, it rarely impacts all demographics equally.
We must be vigilant that COVID-19 and its subsequent effects does not revert progress we have made in closing the gender gap, particularly within multicultural communities, and slow any future advancements to a snail’s pace.
Rather, we must use this upheaval as an opportunity to stop, reflect on, and refocus our work on the areas it is needed most.
SSI CEO, Violet Roumeliotis
bright* client testimonial.
This program was bright*, a two-year initiative based in Darling Square, Sydney, a new urban neighbourhood developed by Lendlease. In 2020, SSI’s small business start-ups program, Ignite, became its delivery partner. The program, which wrapped up earlier this month, was free for budding entrepreneurs or founders of existing businesses who either live, work or study in Darling Square, Ultimo or Haymarket.
Like SSI’s ground-breaking Ignite program, bright* is a Sirolli based program. This methodology is a community-based approach to entrepreneurship, with participants assigned a facilitator who works with the founder on every aspect of the business model in order to form a strong foundation. Facilitators treat every founder and business idea with unconditional positive regard and an eco-system of support is built around the entrepreneur which is drawn from the program’s community-based resource team.
Bright* was able to establish a resource team of 235 skilled local industry experts, business service practitioners, community affiliates and creatives. These people volunteered their time and expertise to assist bright* founders on their entrepreneurial path and provide real world experience and expertise to support founders to overcome any barriers they may be facing in building a successful business.
Bright* was offered free of charge to participants, was not time limited and was completely confidential.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic over the past year, the program made tremendous impact through:
• Over 190 facilitator sessions
• 46 local Darling Square catchment founders becoming clients over the life of the program
• 235 volunteers with broad business expertise
• 5 innovative support programs
On Friday 5 February a final virtual event was held to mark the completion of the program. The event included panel discussion highlighting the views of participants, affiliates, local stakeholders and industry experts around how bright* enabled human connection as well as an abundance of support through a local entrepreneurial ecosystem. As one panellist put it, the program “connected people to the right people”.
SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis also addressed guests at the event. She commended Lendlease on the initiative and highlighted that it was a wonderful example of collaboration for social and community impact.
“When individuals do well, families do well. Initiatives like this activate people’s passions to live good lives. It is heartening to see the results and the outcomes. It’s extraordinary.”
For more information about bright*, visit www.thinkbright.org.au
“We have all left behind various homelands where someone decided or was forced to leave, crossing the ocean that separates Australia from the rest of the world, by whatever means of transport available, migrated and took refuge on this land and called it home.”- Dr Sanaz Fotouhi, Writer and Filmmaker
Last week marked the conclusion of Motherland – Exile/Refuge – Migration (repeat), a multifaceted exhibition exploring the concepts of migration, and displacement, that was displayed at the Australian National Maritime Museum from January 6 to 27, 2021.
Maher Al Koury – Photo by Anna Kucera.
The series was the first major initiative between SSI and the Australian National Maritime Museum since the beginning of a flagship partnership between the two organisations, which aims to build awareness of peoples experiences of migration to Australia.
The exhibition brought together a diverse range of artists to explore the many facets and layers of migration through performance art, painted works, sculpture, embroidery, virtual reality, punch needling and more.
Artists in the initiative include the Rohingya Womens Collective, Sayd Abdali, Hedar Abadi, Carlos Agamez, Maher Al Khoury, Damon Amb, Shivanjani Lal, Nasaphah Nasaphah, Jane Théau and Lynette Wallworth in collaboration with Indigenous Elder Nyarri Nyarri Morgan and Curtis Taylor.
One of the artists, Maher Al Koury said that he was very proud to be participating in the show, particularly as it was one of his first exhibitions since relocating to Australia and his first at a major cultural institution.
“I want to share my story and my art with Australian people. I am proud to be doing this work because I want to share my experience and my country, Syria’s, civilisation with Australians. I think this is important because Australia is a peaceful place,” he said.
Maher speaking at the Australian Maritime Museum – Photo by Anna Kucera.
Maher Al Khoury arrived in Australia as a refugee from his home in Syria four years ago. He is a visual artist and teacher specialising in painting and drawing. He has been a regular participant in SSI Arts & Culture’s Creative Pathways initiative since 2018.
For Maher, art is an essential part of life—supporting the discovery of self and the exploration of the future. This is especially valuable during times of war, when there is little else to keep hope alive. It is also a vital tool for communicating his story.
“I find it difficult to express myself or describe things and my story in words. I am an artist, so I am far better at expressing [ideas] through my pictures,” Maher said.
His two piece artwork ‘Ground Zero,’ was commissioned for the exhibition. It paints a picture of his journey as an artist, losing everything due to the destruction of his homeland and arriving in Australia in search of new memories. His two paintings explore new ways of seeing, the tragic poetry of a life destroyed and visions, of hope for a new future for himself and his family.
Mahers artwork, and the other pieces in the exhibition encompass rich visual and conceptual approaches to the often-conflicting understandings of migration. We invite you to find out more in the exhibition catalogue here.