SSI has been working hard to start constructive conversations on LGBTIQA+ refugees and culturally diverse people, guided by an internal Gender and Sexual Diversity Working Group. This employee-led group focuses on helping SSI to build LGBTIQA+ inclusion for staff, clients and communities to be their best unique selves.

Historically, the settlement and LGBTIQA+ sectors have had little correlation, despite gender and/or sexual diversity often being a reason for forced migration.

Newcomers who identify as LGBTIQA+ have tended to get lost between sectors, or unable to access services that support their needs holistically. This can contribute to people feeling socially isolated, disconnected and marginalised from their family, their community and the broader Australian society.

In November 2019, SSI partnered with and attended the Queer Displacements Conference, the first conference in Australia to address and discuss the issues faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer individuals who have been forcibly displaced.

In January 2020, representatives of the SSI General and Sexual Diversity Working Group brought this conversation to attendees of the Equality Project’s Better Together Conference. SSI’s workshops at these conferences highlighted the importance of recognising to the many facets of identity, and provided opportunities to consult with the community and receive feedback on our work to date.

SSI demonstrated our unequivocal support for LGBTIQA+ refugee and asylum seeker communities by becoming a signatory of the Canberra Statement, a policy guide that outlines the state of LGBTIQA+ asylum seeker and refugee rights and details policy reforms priorities to ensure access to safety and justice. It was presented at the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum, the first forum of its kind.

A next obvious step was to reflect this focus within local community. To do just that, SSI staff and volunteers set up an “SSI Communi-Tent” at the 2020 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day festival. This provided a community space for people to have a chat and connect.

Kathi McCulloch, SSI Community Programs and Operations Manager, explained that SSI’s main objective in joining Fair Day was to visibly support the LGBTIQA+ community. “It isn’t enough for us to have inclusive practices. We strive to provide clear, visible support for our LGBTIQA+ staff, volunteers and clients,” she said.

SSI is working to combat isolation by creating a workplace and community space where everyone is comfortable being themselves—where all people, including those who identify as LGBITQA+ and culturally diverse, are respected and valued for their perspectives, capabilities and contribution and able to experience a sense of belonging.

Read more about SSI’s work in diversity in SSI’s 2018-19 Annual Report.

With our political leaders and commentators pondering what Australia could look like as it gradually emerges from the COVID-19 shutdown, voices for many interests – political, business, community and labour – are jockeying for position in a heated debate on our immigration policy.

As someone from a migrant background who has spent decades supporting newcomers to our shores, I’m frankly tired of the predictable way we continually return to the same nationalistic, negative and – often – racist finger pointing during times of trouble.

This comes down to our own confused identity as a migrant nation, which began when the first settlers declared Australia ‘terra nullius’ – or legally uninhabited – in order to take possession. We’ve made progress in reconciling with Indigenous Australians since then but have yet to achieve makarrata: a Yolngu word that means coming together after a conflict.

With a tenuous claim to land built on foundations of dispossession, it is no wonder we have had such a complex relationship with subsequent waves of migrants. On one hand, we have welcomed migrants with open arms – think the Ten Pound Poms or those workers who built the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

That is how we’ve reached a point where one in two Australians identify as coming from a migrant background, and where we celebrate our multiculturalism with the annual Harmony Day.

But, in all those years since colonisation, we have never shaken the idea that migrants are an ‘other’ to be feared and distrusted. As we begin the slow economic recovery from this pandemic, we must ensure that COVID doesn’t inflame those fears.

I heartily agree with those who say our post-pandemic economic recovery must help all Australians get back on their feet. But it is incredibly unhelpful to conflate our migration intake with the issues at play in the millions of Australians who have found themselves out of employment as a result of this virus.

With Australia now slowly lifting isolation restrictions, it is paramount that we do have a conversation about how – and when – we re-open our borders. But that conversation needs to be led from communities – not top-down from people who have benefited from the economic perks of migration, without facing the barriers.

Already, terrorism studies experts are warning that elements of Australia’s far-right are using the coronavirus crisis to stoke resentment against migrants. Isolationists and protectionists are also jumping on the bandwagon, leading to rising racist attacks on people of Asian descent.

Some argue that fewer migrants means more job and housing opportunities for Australians but, as we head into an economic recession, we need the increased consumer spending that comes with population growth. Migrants contribute far more to the economy in taxes and social contributions than they receive in benefits, and they are considerably more entrepreneurial than your average citizen, so they actually create jobs.

Temporary migrants in particular are either highly skilled and doing jobs we don’t have the skills for in our country, or they are very low skilled and coming in to do the jobs we don’t want to do ourselves. It defies comprehension to point the finger at what is often a very vulnerable group in our society, who regularly experience exploitation.

This pandemic allows us the opportunity to re-set our public narrative on migration – to strike the right balance with permanent migration and have an educated conversation about the social and economic benefits of temporary migration and fairer pathways to permanency and citizenship.

While our politicians continue analysing when it will be safe to open our borders, it is incumbent on the rest of us to show we have evolved beyond our ancestors of the Middle Ages, who used the pandemic of their times – the Black Death – as an excuse to persecute women and ethnic minorities such as Jewish and Romani people.

Let’s not repeat history. Let’s not give time to those who stoke division. Let’s instead use our voices and actions to enhance social cohesion, and to ensure that when this pandemic is over, we’ve left the welcome mat at the door.

Violet Roumeliotis

SSI CEO

After just under two years of being a foster carer, Victoria has developed a passion for providing children with the security, support and connection they need to flourish and grow, showing that fostering can be right for anyone who is ready to make a meaningful commitment in a child’s life.

Victoria immigrated to Australia with her family in 1984 to escape the Lebanese civil war. Growing up in Northern Sydney, she embraced Australian culture, adopting the typical Aussie dinner ‘meat and three veg’, while maintaining a positive connection to her Lebanese background.

She went on to study engineering at university and launched herself into a career that would dominate her life for the next 20 years. Feeling like she had achieved success in her career, she decided to reassess the direction she would take in the next stage of her life.

“I think I got side tracked by work and looking after family members. Then when the dust settled at the age of 40, I realised what I always wanted to do, so I took up fostering,” says Victoria.

During her research into foster care, Victoria discovered SSI’s Multicultural Foster Care program. The program emphasises maintaining the bonds of ethnic background, religion and language when forging foster care placements for children from diverse backgrounds. As a Lebanese woman and Arabic speaker, SSI’s approach appealed to Victoria.

“It’s important to maintain a child’s connection to culture so they can maintain a sense of identity. It’s important that they know where they come from,” she says.

After undergoing the application process, Victoria received her first placement in October 2018. As she continued to work a Monday to Friday job, she chose to do respite and emergency care, looking after children on weekends and during work breaks.

Victoria knows that without a partner or her own children, she would have the time and emotional energy to give her placements the care, attention and structure they need to thrive. Some foster children have never had routine in their lives.

“In my household it is always about routine, discipline, and structure. It’s about early bed times, developing good healthy eating habits, exercising by going to the park, free time, blaring the music, and lots of playing. It works well with the kids,” she says.

She also has two cats, Autumn and Blackberry, who have taken a liking to the children Victoria fosters, stepping into the role of therapy cats.

“The kids love them. They can be rough, and push and pull them, but they just put up with it!” she laughs.

Therapy cats aside, Victoria explained her ultimate goal is to provide the children and teens she supports with security.

“I’m trying to give them security in many different ways; financial, by supporting them to study and get a job; emotional, by helping them be strong enough to say no to situations that are not good for them. Through health, I’m teaching them about eating, exercise and meditation. And I try to give them confidence that they can do something if they put their mind to it.”

While temporarily taking responsibility for the welfare and development of another person’s child may sound like a daunting task, Victoria says she believes foster caring is as easy or difficult as you make it. Victoria explains that what a carer really needs is dedication.

‘To be a carer you have to be dedicated to the children. You need to integrate your life into theirs,’ she says.

When asked what advice she has for anyone considering becoming a foster carer Victoria has a clear message: “Do it yesterday, before tomorrow. It’s very rewarding and very worthwhile.”

Are you considering becoming a foster carer? Visit SSI’s Multicultural Foster Care FAQs or take our quiz to see if you are eligible.

Billingual Guide, Emad Ibrahim and Adam Bujairami ,a HSP team leader – Reception, picking out board games for refugee families stuck at home.

Since mid-March, SSI has supported more than 100 newly arrived refugees to settle in their new home. All our processes were modified early in the outbreak to ensure all staff and newcomers abide by strict hygiene practices and the federal government’s mandatory 14 days of isolation.

Emad Ibrahim is a Bilingual Guide with SSI’s reception team. His job involves meeting refugee families on arrival at Sydney airport and welcoming them to Australia.

“The reception team’s work cannot stop; these families need support,” he said.

“It is not like this is just a task or job. It is something you feel you must do, because these families, they need assistance. They are just like us, they could be my family or friends.”

He explained that he and his team are comfortable in their safety while greeting new arrivals due to the strict hygiene and physical distancing practices that have been implemented. Some of the precautions taken include supplying staff and new arrivals with masks, strict documentation and reporting of any flu like symptoms, no contact deliveries of food and quarantine entertainment, and strict physical distancing.

“We are doing this in the proper way. If you do your work correctly, you can protect yourself and others,” said Emad.

Emad said some new arrivals are reuniting with family or friends in Australia that they have not seen for months or years.

As overseas arrivals must self-isolate for 14 days due to COVID-19, one newly arrived refugee family had to find a creative way to keep physical distance when meeting their sponsors prior to the introduction of more rigorous restrictions on reasons for leaving the house..

“There was a fence at the house, and I told them: you stay on one side of the fence and you on the other about six meters apart. They all seemed very happy. It was very nice that we could help them meet despite the circumstances,” he said.

Moments like this are common for the reception team, who go above and beyond every day to ensure newly arrived refugees have everything they need and feel at home in Australia.

With the introduction of 14 days of isolation, the team has been making regular trips to buy puzzles and games for refugee children and families to help get them through their first two weeks at home.

Learn more about SSI’s Humanitarian settlement program here

Read the story of the refugees helping to build testing centers as part of COVID-19 response here

 CEO Violet Roumeliotis speeking at Metropolis 2019.

Now, as the curve appears to flatten, the impact of the virus is clear. Thousands of Australians have had to change the way we live. An estimated 3.4 million or us will lose our jobs, and our country’s business sector, once considered our economy’s powerhouse, is suffering.

From the beginning of the outbreak, the Australian government has stepped up to minimize the impact of the pandemic on individuals and their livelihoods by offering free childcare, subsidising wages and nationalising private hospitals.

Unfortunately, not all of corporate Australia has been so community minded, with companies including Virgin Australia, Star Entertainment Group and womenswear retailer Mosaic Brands now moving to lay off tens of thousands of staff to remain solvent.

Virgin Australia’s announcement to move into voluntary administration is particularly concerning as the company employs about 10,000 people and supports another 5,000 indirect jobs.

I’m a firm believer that when our external environment forces us to look for ways to reduce costs, cutting staff should not be a knee-jerk first response. Every employee is an individual with their own bills to pay. Many have families to support, and some, due to their age, will face serious challenges re-entering the workforce.

While it is clear job losses are unfortunately inevitable in some industries, the move of big companies to make swathes of staff redundant is a major disappointment. It highlights our need, as business leaders and a society, to prioritise people over profits and transition towards more values-driven leadership.

We need to think innovatively and explore alternate solutions, like reducing leadership salaries, moving staff to shorter weeks, or diversifying into new areas. Follow the example of Sydney licensee Alex Cameron, who has turned his popular restaurant into a takeaway joint.

As he said: “We just want to scrape by during this period with enough revenue to cover wages. We’ll worry about rent and bills down the track.”

Or Archie Rose Distillery, which normally makes gin, whiskies, vodkas and rums, is now producing sanitiser.

“Some of our staff have been with us from the start, and we were pretty distraught when it looked like we were going to have to stand them down. But now we’re in a position due to the popularity of the hand sanitiser where we can actually go out and hire people from the broader hospitality community as well,” said Master Distiller Dave Withers.

The pandemic marks one of the greatest health challenges the world has seen for over a century.

Now is the time for many of Australia’s corporates and businesses who advertise their values and commitment to social purpose, express the strength of their leadership and and commitment to employees, to put their words into action.

I believe as a leader, your values should provide a filter through which you make business decisions — something you not only believe but actively demonstrate through your actions.

Values-driven leaders create values-driven companies, which generates benefits that extends beyond their customer or consumer base to the broader community.

This pandemic is an opportunity for organisations to demonstrate they can act on their values, and in turn educate Australians as to which companies can be trusted to put staff, and thus the community, before profit.

It is an opportunity for leaders to reflect on our own behaviors and reassess and respond to the values that remain true.

In order to lead in today’s complex environment, we should take heed from two great leadership academics, Lee G Bolman and Terrence E Deal in “Reframing Organisations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership.” The state that: “Crises are an acid test of leadership” – how we respond to environments characterised by complexity and ambiguity will either make us look weak and foolish, or set us apart, emerging from the chaos with credibility intact.

As we move out from beneath the shadows of the pandemic, and into economic uncertainty, it is abundantly clear that in order to find balance as a country, we need to find a compromise where the value of our society is not just measured by our economic output.

New Zealand’s ‘wellbeing budget’ or the UN’s sustainable development goals are judicious examples of initiatives that focus on an individual’s wellbeing as a measure of success equal to that of economic performance.

Although it will be a long, hard journey, I firmly believe that if we move towards more values-driven leadership, we can become a productive society with a strong economic output that still looks after its most vulnerable community members.

As I recently said in Beyond Covid-19 Welfare on The Project, COVID-19 has taught us the vital importance of robust invest in healthcare, education and welfare and highlights that a society is only as strong as its most vulnerable member.

As a single woman, you may think that she does not fit the mould of a typical foster carer. But when Victoria talks about the children she supports through the SSI Multicultural Foster Care program, one thing is abundantly clear—she is a born carer.

Construction began in Marrickville on April 17, supervised by architect and disaster and emergency response specialist Professor Robert Barnstone and P&G (Purpose and Growth) director Douglas Abdiel.

P&G is an Australian not-for-profit manufacturing firm which is partnering with other organisations to rapidly deploy a range of health facilities in conjunction with disaster relief teams in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Increased community testing will be crucial to Australia’s path out of COVID-19 restrictions to ensure “second wave” infections can be quickly identified and contained.

Professor Barnstone said, “Purpose-built testing centres will be invaluable for frontline workers all over the world and can be built quickly using off-the-shelf materials in abundant supply.”

Mr Abdiel said P&G had the ability to rapidly expand its workforce to suit government demand.

“We are deliberately building these facilities with the help of our newest Australians, many of whom arrived in this country just a few months ago,” he said.

“Not only are they eager to contribute to their new homeland, but their skills are representative of those that exist throughout the developing world. These designs will be within the reach of the entire globe.”

The testing centre is based on a shipping container, which doubles as the packaging for transport.

It is intended as a drive-through place to conduct COVID-19 tests and either process them when a fast test is available or store them for shipping to laboratories. It has an open-plan design and complies with social distancing recommendations to reduce risk for health workers and the public.

In addition to the testing centres, P&G also has designs for hospital structures housing ICU bays and a nurses’ station.

Professor Barnstone said, “As the number of coronavirus cases increases, Australia faces a serious shortage of hospital beds and will need to look at solutions like field hospitals.

“We have designed a way for governments to quickly create more space using locally available, mass-produced and easily assembled materials.”

By using recycled shipping containers as the core structure, the price of the buildings will be less than a third of the cost of conventional designs. Both designs use prefabricated panels for exterior and interior walls. 

Read more about SSI employment programs here. 

Read more about P&G and how to get involved in COVID-19 relief here. 

Some refugee children have it even tougher during the COVID-19 lockdown without access to suitable technology.

Rana Kareem Loqa arrived in Australia as a refugee with her three children and husband in November 2019 after spending one year in limbo in Lebanon.

Ms Kareem Loqa and her family are from a Chaldean background and had fled Iraq due to the war. Her husband had held a respectable job in a media firm before their lives were turned upside down.

SSI’s Humanitarian Settlement Program has provided Ms Kareem Loqa and her family with wrap-around refugee support services, including securing accommodation and supporting them to navigate their everyday lives.

Over the past six months since their arrival in Sydney, the family has mainly been focused on settling into their new lives. Ms Kareem Loqa spends her days tending to her children and domestic household needs.

Since NSW has enforced the COVID-19 lockdown measures, Ms Kareem Loqa’s children, aged 11, 14 and 18, have had to be home-schooled like many other children in the state.

When asked how she felt about the prospect of home-schooling her children, she said that it presented a new set of challenges as they did not have access to the appropriate technology at home.

“My children are studying online, but they are using a phone,” Ms Kareem Loqa said.

“They do not have a computer or iPad, and we don’t have any technological devices. It’s hard for them.”

Ms Kareem Loqa said the household of five was sharing two basic mobile devices that they had brought with them from Iraq to educate three children and support two adults through their English course.

“My husband and I are also studying English online, and we are required to study every day,” she said.

“It’s really hard for my children as they cannot access some programs that the teacher has asked them to do. Sometimes they cannot complete their homework.”

Ms Kareem Loqa said that learning English wasn’t proving to be such a big challenge because they could support each other.

“It’s no problem — we can help each other learn English in the home.”

When asked whether they had found the lockdown particularly isolating, Ms Kareem Loqa said that they understood why the measures were in place and that life felt much the same because they were keeping themselves preoccupied at home.

“No, we feel normal, because the situation is the same for everyone,” Ms Kareem Loqa said.

“Life is normal, and we are sitting at home. We understand the situation.”

Ms Kareem Loqa said that they understood the lockdown measures were not permanent and that they were grateful to SSI and the Australian government for the supports that they had received since their arrival.

“SSI supports us a lot, whenever we need anything. We are very grateful.”

Event attendees network at an information session co-hosted by SSI in Melbourne.

Settlement Services International (SSI)’s Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Service (IAAAS) and the Australian Multicultural Alliance (AMA) organised the session for the significant Latin American population in Melbourne unable to return home due to fear of persecution.

In late 2019, SSI met with the AMA to discuss the escalating political situation in Latin America with a particular focus on Chile.

They identified a common knowledge gap in the Latin American community about protection visas and how to access support.

They wanted to provide individuals on temporary visas with information about the Australian migration system and available migration pathways.

AMA CEO and Chilean community leader Eliana Aldunate is passionate about serving and keeping her community well informed with the latest migration advice in Australia. She said that the event was an opportunity to do just that.

“I love to serve my community and bring them together whenever there is an opportunity to do so,” she said.

“With the current situation in Chile, some people are not able to return home. The event was a great way of educating them on possible migration pathways in Australia.”

SSI IAAAS Program Manager Melinda Mann said that having Mary Hanna, the Principal Lawyer of Mary Hanna Lawyers, speak about Australia’s migration system and protection visas was a real bonus for attendees.

“Mary’s insights into Australia’s migration system and the humanitarian settlement program were valuable, and attendees got the opportunity to talk to her one-on-one afterwards,” Ms Mann said.

One attendee, a young woman from Colombia, said that she found the information session useful in helping her navigate the Australian migration system.

“I am so glad I came. I need to apply for protection but did not know what to do or how to get help, and I thought I would have to go back to Colombia, which is very dangerous for me.”

Since the event, SSI’s IAAAS program has seen a steady flow of inquiries from members of the Latin American community, who have been referred to relevant migration agents and other related services at no cost.

If you or anyone that you know is not able to return to their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution, please ask them to contact the SSI IAAAS program directly 1800 932 082 or info@ssiiaaas.org.au.

They will have a discussion with any persons seeking asylum to determine if they are likely to be eligible for free professional migration services. Please contact us here to find out more.

Through their work with SSI’s Ability Links program, Rizwana and Shabana noticed that despite having an abundance of skills, refugee and migrant women were often socially and professionally limited by a lack of connections in Australia.

“I went through the same situation when I came to Australia and it was really hard. This is how I know refugees and migrants don’t want to just sit at home getting benefits, they want to have focuses and find employment,” explained Rizwana.

To combat this challenge, they developed the Skills Development Support Network (SDSN) ― a community based multicultural network that brings together culturally and linguistically (CALD) women from all different walks of life to share their skills and talents. It aims to support women in four different areas: social inclusion, education, employment and mental health and wellbeing.

“Our aim is to provide a platform where group members are able to break their isolation and eventually become a part of the community and play positive role in the diverse multicultural environment of Australia,” said Shabana.

SDSN also identifies educational opportunities for CALD women and finds innovative solutions to any financial challenges they face. So far, the group has assisted over 50 people to gain a certificate or diploma, with many attendees focusing on business, social work and community services certificates.

In July last year 35 participants, alongside Rizwana, graduated with a Diploma of business. One of these individuals was Sana Hussain, a young woman who arrived in Australia from Pakistan in 2009. Sana was eager to re-enter the workforce after raising two young children.

Rizwana, Shabana and SDSN supported Sana to partake in weekend classes as part of a Business Diploma, and organised funding to cover program fees.

While studying her diploma, Sana began work experience at a community service organisation, and she has now gained employment with a major NDIS provider.

Sana explained that finding the SDSN proved to be a turning point in her life. She has embraced all the positive changes that have come with her continued education. She is eager to continue progressing her career.
“Rizwana has been very helpful. Owing to her selfless help, I started gaining my lost confidence back and this helped me to take a new beginning as far as my professional career is concerned.”

You can learn more about SSI’s Ability Links here
Visit the Skills Development Support Network Facebook page here