Teacher aide and refugee Yasser Ibrahim has found his calling in youth work. 

Although Mr Ibrahim has faced many challenges, with the support of SSI he found accommodation within a community he loves and completed tertiary studies to pursue his dream job, supporting youth in all aspects of their lives.

After completing a teacher aide course at TAFE, he worked full-time as a Learning Support Officer at Fairfield High School on a year-long contract.

“It was a dream come true that I was offered a job in Fairfield High School as Education Aid, where I supported students in academic achievements in all different subjects,” Mr Ibrahim said.

“Students from years 7 to 12 were approaching me for support in personal issues and life struggles as well.”

Mr Ibrahim has also completed a Certificate 4 in Youth Work and is currently studying a Diploma in Counselling. He has volunteered at youth centres and other organisations in the city for over two years now.

“Teaching is my dream job, and I am very happy where I am now. The whole experience has been very good,” he said.

Mr Ibrahim was granted asylum to Australia when religious persecution caused him to fear for his life.

“My pastor came up with the idea of leaving Egypt as my life was at great risk. If it was my choice, I never would think to leave Egypt but I was so grateful to the Australian government to give me this chance and save my life,” he said.

Despite his deep sense of relief when granted asylum, the move to Australia came with a set of complex personal challenges.

Mr Ibrahim had to leave his three sons (aged 19, 17 and 10) in Egypt with their mother, who had terminated all contact with him as a direct consequence of him changing his faith.

Moving to a foreign country can be a daunting experience, especially when you are completely alone. Mr Ibrahim said when he arrived in Sydney airport he was overwhelmed by a bittersweet sense of loss and gratitude.

“I was excited to come to Australia as I would have the freedom to be myself, which was not the case back in Egypt,” he said.

“But I was worried because I was coming to a place where I knew nobody.”

Once in Australia, Mr Ibrahim received full wrap-around refugee support services provided by SSI’s Humanitarian Settlement Program, including securing accommodation and supporting him to navigate his everyday life.

Mr Ibrahim spent his first three months in a granny flat in Granville, before gaining long-term accommodation in Kings Cross.

“I chose to live in Kings Cross because I wanted to meet with people from different faiths and backgrounds,” he said.

“It’s very safe and I’m trying to make friends from the neighbourhood.”

His case manager worked with him extensively to provide him with relevant information, easing his life in a country where he had no family or friends.

In Egypt, Mr Ibrahim graduated with a degree in agriculture and had worked for many years as a production manager. Since moving to Australia, he has pursued teaching as a career because he has a strong command of English and is passionate about education.

“I am here to make a positive contribution to the society and help others as much as I can.”

Aspiring photographer and Ezidi refugee Salwan Qasm Muhi (L) with Armidale local and freelance photographer Simon Scott (R).

Mr Scott has lived in Armidale for 18 years with a successful career as a photographer, producing images for politicians, universities and organisations including the local youth support hub, Backtrack.

He has also travelled to Africa, teaching photography at an educational institution in Tanzania and documenting life stories for a string of humanitarian organisations and NGOs.

On learning of Armidale’s selection as a major refugee resettlement location, Mr Scott was eager to channel his skills and document the lives of his new neighbours or, better yet, teach them how to document and tell the story of their own lives.

Mr Scott contacted SSI and was connected to Mr Muhi, a young refugee with a desire to hone his skills and pursue a career as a photographer.

After a phone call facilitated by an interpreter, the duo met face-to-face and wandered the streets of Armidale, taking photos and discussing their image compositions.

Despite the language barriers, Mr Scott and Mr Muhi formed a strong artistic bond, with Mr Scott describing Mr Muhi as someone with a warm and positive attitude — and a sharp dresser.

“He just wanted to try something new and be positive,” said Mr Scott.

Mr Scott said that there also were benefits to their meetings outside of photography, as he hoped to assist Mr Muhi to develop his English.

“He wanted to know the English words for things like family members, aunts and uncles, and, if we can’t explain a word, we use mobiles and sometimes I ask him the translation for words.”

Mr Scott plans to continue mentoring Mr Muhi and hopes to support the young refugee in finding his place within the Armidale community and, ultimately, in developing a body of work that would form his own photography exhibition.

Mr Scott is a strong believer that photography provides people with a platform to connect with others who otherwise would not have the chance to form a friendship, and that it makes communities a more welcoming place.

He said, fortunately, his job allowed him to spend time volunteering — a true passion point for him.

“Helping others allows me to give back to my core values, and it reminds me of how fortunate we are.”

SSI’s international program and Global Refugee Forum (GRF) delegates with UN High Commissioner for UNHCR, Filippo Grandi.

SSI was represented by its international program at the GRF, which came at the end of a tumultuous decade and served as a direct response to the unprecedented rise in the number of refugees displaced worldwide, now over 25 million people.

The occasion was ripe for the international community to advance the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees by mobilising political will, broadening the base of support, and implementing arrangements that facilitate more equitable, sustained, and predictable responsibility-sharing.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said Australia could build a community refugee sponsorship model based on Canada’s scheme.

“We’re urging others to join and endorse the pledge to help get a new community refugee sponsorship scheme up and running,” Ms Roumeliotis said.

“Imagine how proud Australia could be if we showcased an inclusive and affordable model at the next Global Refugee Forum in 2023.”

The GRF received a total of 840 pledges made by stakeholders across government, private and civil society, and served as a collective effort to respond to the needs of refugees and the communities that host them.

SSI submitted pledges in the areas of Solutions and Jobs and Livelihoods, including a joint pledge with the Community Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (CRSI) to continue to establish a community refugee sponsorship scheme in Australia.

SSI International Policy and Project Officer Carmen Ghaly said that SSI pledged to continue to develop partnerships with the private sector and create employment pathways through training and cadetship programs for refugees in Australia and globally.

“We attended various side events of the GRF, including a Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative event hosted by Ben and Jerry’s to build new partnerships with the private sector and learn from global practice.”

Through a marketplace stall that was run in partnership with Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN), International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the University of Virginia, SSI shared its local practices to a global audience, focusing on successful SSI-led community engagement initiatives, including the New Beginnings Festival and the Community Innovation Fund (CIF).

Accelerating refugee participation was a key driver of the GRF, with 70 refugees participating from 52 countries.

SSI supported the development and launch of the Refugee Participation Guidelines at the Forum and co-signed the Asia Pacific Network of Refugees (APNOR) pledge on refugee engagement with the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands.

SSI Gender Advocate and Policy Influencer Najeeba Wazefadost said that the joint pledge sought to formalise refugee inclusion across sectors.

“This is our strategy, to encourage inclusion from the inside out; we want a participation revolution, and a human-centred design approach to refugee policymaking,” Ms Wazefadost said.

“Without a space for these stories and our voices, no policy discussions will be as meaningful and effective as refugees need them to be.”

George Karam takes a “selfie” with his wife, Hana (R), and daughter, Atra (L).

The Karam family received humanitarian visas from the Australian government after they were forced to flee Syria due to the vicious attack on the village that they had once called home.

“We were living very happy and settled life, completed our education, working and our daughters were in a private schools even we had farm there,” Mr Karam said.

“When they attacked our village we had no option but to flee to Lebanon, and from there we applied for the Australian humanitarian visa.”

Unfortunately, the whole Karam family were not able to come to Australia, as Mr Karam’s eldest daughter and her husband could not leave Lebanon due to declined visa applications.

“Hopefully the process of her application to come to Australia will not take much time, as this is extremely distressing for us,” Mr Karam said.

Despite the painful separation from his daughter, Mr Karam explained the sheer excitement and relief that he and his family had felt when they had been given the news about being resettled in Australia. It marked the end to an era of suffering and the beginning of a new life.

Despite his initial excitement to resettle, Mr Karam maintained some healthy realism and knew their move would have its set of challenges. He held concerns about the many barriers they would face in settling in Australia; a different law and social system, a foreign language and limited work opportunities.

With the assistance of their SSI case manager Najeeba Wazefadost and the wider settlement services team, Mr Karam and his family are overcoming the difficulties of resettling and rebuilding their lives in a new home.

Since their arrival in Sydney, SSI has supported Mr Karam and his family, meeting them at the airport and assisting them in transitioning into their new environment.

Ms Wazefadost has supported Mr Karam and his family in finding long-term accommodation in Fairfield, where there is also a large Syrian community.

“It’s so nice to run into old friends on Fairfield streets after years of separation and displacement,” he said.

“We don’t feel homesick, and there is no language barrier, which has a positive impact on our settlement in Australia.”

Back in Syria, Mr Karam, known in Arabic music circles as the “Assyrian King”, travelled throughout the Middle East and UAE, performing as a well-known musician and singer in both Assyrian and Arabic.

With a diploma of music education from an array of credible institutions in Syria, Lebanon and the UAE under his belt, he had plans to develop and run the ‘OUD Eastern Musical Instalment’ program before he and his family were uprooted.

Despite his achievements as a renowned musician, initially, it was challenging for Mr Karam to find sustainable work in Australia.

Yet more recently, he has managed to secure a consistent flow of music gigs, including SSI’s annual flagship arts and culture event New Beginnings Festival. He’s determined to continue to find work as a musician, as the cost of living in Australia is the family’s biggest struggle.

Mr Karam’s wife, Hana Karam, who was a long-term employee at a pharmaceutical company in Syria, has been working hard to improve her English language skills.

Ms Karam and her husband have been attending regular English language classes at Navitas and have experienced a positive shift in their overall language competencies.

“Now we are able to communicate with others with no difficulties. We find English grammar very difficult, but our classes along with YouTube and the internet help a lot,” Mr Karam said.

His youngest daughter Atra Karam, a student at the University of Western Sydney, and who frequently acts as her father’s music manager said that she prefers life in Australia.

“It’s more open and safe and not closed, culturally. At least there is no war here.”

When asked what advice he would give to others moving to Australia, Mr Karam said that a positive attitude and persistence is the key to successful integration.
“I would like to tell everyone that in Australia you can work and study no matter who you are or how old you are,” he said.

“And, with determination and hard work, you will reach your target. The most positive advantage living in Australia is law above all and law above religions.”

Learn more about SSI’s Arts and Culture Program here.

I felt a real sense of joy in this because I know it is not something I’ve achieved alone. It is an achievement that began with my parents, whose story I’ve shared before. When I told my mum about this recognition, she said she never would have believed that her family could achieve such things when she arrived on our shores as an immigrant in the 1950s.

My parents lived simple but inherently good lives. Their resilience and capacity for generosity are values they instilled in me and my sisters, and that I now see with pride in my own children.

I think my father, as a former military man, would have particularly loved the idea of me joining an order of chivalry. As I sat in the kitchen with mum and my family, we reflected on my father’s medal, which was framed on the wall behind us. He was a captain in the Greek National Army during the civil war, and was injured and recognised for his bravery.

My dad passed away in his sleep in 1990 when he was 64 years old, leaving a big gap in our lives. He was a man of great value and integrity, who always thought about the common good. My mum, who is now in the twilight of her life, is enjoying seeing her children and grandchildren build a positive cultural, spiritual and political identity in Australia. We are connected to our country of birth but also to our Greek heritage.

That capacity to live with and appreciate an array of beliefs, cultures and perspectives is a thing of great value.

It is not lost on me that the day the Australian Honours are announced – January 26 – is a date that means different things to different people. Many celebrate our national day, Australia Day, with barbecues or festivities. Others receive their citizenship and are able to participate in all aspects our society.

For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, January 26 is a day of mourning, marking the beginning of the loss of Indigenous land, people and culture. This year, tens of thousands of Australians marched in ‘Invasion Day’ rallies to mark the anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival in Sydney.

For me, January 26 is a day of ambivalence because of our country’s inability to come to terms with this history and to unify with our First Nation’s People. How can we celebrate a day of national unity on a date that excludes so many?

I hope that the year ahead is one of continuing reflection for our nation, and deeper curiosity and understanding about the experiences of our neighbours. I hope that, when we next come together in a celebration of national unity, it is one that includes all the voices, beliefs, aspirations and experiences that add to the rich multicultural mosaic of our nation.

Read more about Violet and SSI’s leaderhip team here.

Nohara Odicho, recipient of the STARTTS’ 2019 NSW Humanitarian Award for a Refugee Community Worker.

Ms Odicho has since channelled her refugee lived-experience to help others in similar circumstances.

STARTTS is a specialist, non-profit organisation that helps people and communities heal the scars of torture and refugee trauma and rebuild their lives in Australia.
Its refugee community worker award recognised a former refugee working on refugee issues with their own or other refugee communities.

Ms Odicho is dedicated to motivating and improving the lives of others. She started with community volunteer roles and more recently began working as a Community Engagement Officer for Legal Aid.

When Ms Odicho first arrived in Australia, she was part of SSI’s Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP). She said that SSI’s wrap-around services supported her in her putting her best foot forward in her new home.

“SSI helped me a lot: accommodation, appointments and referral to support services including Legal Aid,” she said.

“They also guided me in gaining local work experience by connecting me to local community groups for volunteer roles and later gave me my first office job in Australia as a receptionist.”

While gaining her Community Services Diploma at TAFE, Ms Odicho volunteered with CORE Community Services and coordinated activities for Iraqi and Syrian community groups.

“Organising information sessions, activities and excursions really gave me the chance to learn and put what I was learning at TAFE into practice.”

In 2016 Ms Odicho was featured in an article that prompted Mission Australia to contact her and offer her an employment opportunity.

“I always thought that these interviews would be good one day,” she said.

After a successful job interview with Mission Australia’s humanitarian entrants program, Ms Odicho was offered a job in its “happy, healthy minds” initiative.

Four months later she applied for a job at Legal Aid in its refugee services division.

“While at Mission Australia, I started to network a lot,” Ms Odicho said.

“I studied everything about Legal Aid in preparation for my application.”

Today, Ms Odicho manages the Community Legal Education program at Legal Aid Refugee Services, responsible for educating refugees about the free services to which they are entitled.

Working with lawyers, Ms Odicho designs educational sessions about the law, tailored specifically for refugees, making the talks more digestible for newcomer communities.

“I use more pictures and less legal jargon,” she said.

When asked about her future aspirations, Ms Odicho said she couldn’t see herself in a role that doesn’t involve helping others, and as she was studying agricultural engineering back in Syria, her dream would be to eventually work for the UN World Food program.

“I want to merge my interests in community work with agriculture.”

Learn more about SSI’s community engagement programs

Ms Roumeliotis is a staunch advocate of diversity and inclusion.

Ms Roumeliotis has joined the boards of the Australian Council of Social Services, Family Planning NSW, and the Domestic and Family Violence and Sexual Assault Council.

She brings expertise gained over 40 years working in the not-for-profit and community sector, along with a personal understanding of the strengths and unique challenges of culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

As the daughter of Greek migrants, Ms Roumeliotis began her career in voluntary roles within her own community and has always brought a lens of diversity to her work, recognising the many forms of discrimination based on age, race, language, religion or socio economic status.

This focus started early in her career supporting the NSW Rape Crisis Centre and a NSW Housing collective, and continued during her extensive work in the criminal justice system and multicultural services.

Ms Romeliotis is a particularly passionate advocate for affordable, client-centred services and in-language support where required.

“What is clear from my work is that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds face additional challenges and gaps in support that increase their vulnerability. But they also have many unique strengths and contributions to make – provided they receive appropriate support,” she said.

“I am committed to ensuring no-one falls through the gaps because of something outside their control like their cultural or linguistic background.”

Read more about Ms Roumeliotis and the rest of SSI’s leadership team here.

Cultural perspectives on gambling offered by Nepalese community members in a November focus group will inform an Advance Diversity Services project that aims to reduce gambling harm in the community.

Funding through the NSP — a consortium of community organisations, led by SSI, delivering settlement services in NSW — will allow Advance Diversity Services (ADS) and Auburn Diversity Services Inc. (ADSi) to explore new ways to provide migrant and refugee settlement services to Nepalese communities in the Auburn (Cumberland Council) catchment area.

A $50,000 grant announced in November activated the collaboration to test a new service delivery model that builds on the local connections of each partner to maximise reach and impact.

ADS Community Services Officer Rishi Acharya has a strong history of working with the Nepalese community. He has been appointed to drive the project, which aims to extend into the Auburn area core settlement support now offered to the newly arrived Nepalese community residing in the St George area.

He said the Nepali-speaking population in Australia had increased significantly, with 62,002 members counted in the 2016 Census compared to 27,155 in the 2011 census. There had also been a huge upsurge in Nepali students in recent years.

“Auburn now has the largest population of Nepali-speakers in Australia, followed by Rockdale,” he said. “Hurstville is currently in third place. Hurstville and Rockdale are in the St George area where I’ve spent the last eight years building strong and supportive pathways for new Nepali-speaking arrivals.

“I’m excited to be using my knowledge and collaborative skills to ensure Nepalese communities in the Auburn area will be well supported by the Australian Government’s Settlement Engagement and Transition Support Grants (SETS) program.”

SETS supports humanitarian entrants and other eligible permanent migrants in their first five years of life in Australia. The program focuses on social participation, economic wellbeing, independence, personal wellbeing and community connectedness.

Mr Acharya will collaborate with ADSi and the Nepalese Australian Association to tap into the needs of recently arrived Nepalese migrants and refugees, identify gaps in service provision, and offer practical face-to-face support to community members.

“We were awarded the grant from the NSP’s Settlement Innovation Fund because our project clearly promotes service experimentation and improvement across its network of partners,” he said.

“Our goal now is to be innovative with purpose!”

SSI Community Appreciation Awards recipients (from top, clockwise): Colyton Collective, Shyamla Eswaran with SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis, and Shazia Mia-Duman with Shyamla Eswaran

The awards, announced by SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis at the conclusion of SSI’s Annual General Meeting on November 28, recognise people whose actions have made a profound and sustained positive impact on the lives of the communities SSI works with.

Each year, SSI draws on the contributions of hundreds of volunteers to deliver services to vulnerable communities. During 2018-19, more than 250 active volunteers contributed approximately $3.4 million in time to the communities SSI supports.

“That sounds like a lot,” said Ms Roumeliotis, “but actually the social impact volunteers and supporters have on SSI clients and their value working with our programs is priceless. We are extremely grateful for their ongoing contributions to the community.”

Present to receive their awards were New Beginnings Festival Ambassador Shyamla Eswaran, Welcome2Sydney Ambassador Shazia Mia-Duman, and Community Hub volunteers at Colyton Public School.

Ms Eswaran specialises in cultural dance and has toured her workshops and solo shows to regional and remote areas around Australia since 2013, often making news along the way for speaking out against racism and cultural assimilation, and emphasising the need for a more open dialogue and nuanced understanding of race and culture within Australia.

She performed at this year’s New Beginnings Festival with the amazing Bindi Bosses, an urban Indian performance company that provides a platform for South Asian artists to collaborate and share stories of mixed cultural upbringing and heritage through fusion dance.

“The Colyton Collective” is a group of Community Hub volunteers at Colyton Public School. The women dedicate their time, energy and warm, loving open arms to people who enter the Community Hub.

With the skilled leadership and guidance from their Hub leader, Lisa Gobo, they have created a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.

Their extraordinary culinary skills ensure that there is always a feast of international fare prepared with love for community members to enjoy. As a collective, they have created a special environment that exemplifies the welcome that Australia has to offer.

Welcome to Sydney aims to encourage newcomers to explore and develop a sense of belonging. Hosted by volunteer Ambassadors, welcome activities include social, cultural and recreational activities that match individual interests. Shazia Mia-Duman joined the Welcome2Sydney team of Ambassadors in May 2019.

In general, Ambassadors are only required to commit once a month for an activity. Ms Mia-Duman has at times committed three to four times a month to Welcome2Sydney on top of regular text messages and coffee with participants. She also attended other SSI events such as the City to Surf, where she carried everyone’s bags and kept them safe.

Ms Mia-Duman used her personal connections to promote SSI’s strategic goals, connecting SSI’s fundraising team with her employer (one of the 10 major donors in Australia) and connecting SSI’s RESP team with employment opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers. She also helped to secure gratuity tickets and the support of the Western Sydney Giants (AFL) for Welcome2Sydney.

Two award recipients, former Fairfield Police Superintendent Peter Lennon and Armidale Sanctuary, were unable to attend the presentation.

Armidale Sanctuary Humanitarian Settlement, formed in 2003, is a not-for-profit organisation staffed entirely by volunteers. It aims to assist individuals and families who are seeking or have obtained resettlement on humanitarian grounds.

Since SSI established services in Armidale, Armidale Sanctuary has been one of the most valued local community partners, and has collaborated in many areas, including: informal support for newly arrived families in the home and community, assisting with airport arrivals, the coordination of a Bike Safety Day, coordinating a bike drive among the Ezidi community, financially supporting three Ezidi children to attend Armidale Community Preschool, excursions to Uralla, Armidale Pine Forest and a local farm, organising a Jillian Triggs visit and lecture in Armidale, and the introduction of a home reading program.

Superintendent Lennon established a community engagement initiative, Coffee With A Cop, as a strategy to build rapport between uniformed officers and members of the local Fairfield community. The initiative has been tremendously successful and adopted across most parts of NSW.

He also led broader strategies for NSW Police on how NSW Police can better engage members of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, being both an asset and advocate for newcomers. He retired this year after 40 years of esteemed service.

Superintendent Lennon sent his apologies and expressed his appreciation for SSI and the work it did in the community and its ongoing work with NSW Police to ensure communities were safe.

This was essential cooperation, he said.

Children meeting Santa at Community Kitchen

The event brought together individuals and families from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds with western Sydney locals to share a delicious biryani lunch, create fun Christmas crafts and celebrate the successes of 2019.

Guests were treated to a performance by a local singer and African drummers, while a surprise visit from Santa brought a touch of Christmas spirit to the children with small gifts and candy canes.

Community Kitchen volunteer Mohamed said volunteering throughout the year has been a great experience that allowed him to meet many interesting people.

“Every fortnight you get to celebrate a different culture and get to know new people. It has been amazing to see so many people smiling.”

This year Community Kitchen has held 22 events and provided 70 different workshops on topics ranging from employment advice, sign language classes and group arts projects.

A team of volunteers have served more than 3,070 complementary meals since January. Each meal has reflected the diversity of Sydney’s west, allowing people to share their culture through the universal language of food.

Community Kitchen began as an opportunity to share a meal and has developed into a space for people to celebrate their cultures, learn about others, gain skills, build friendships and community connections and gain knowledge about local support services.

SSI appreciates the support of everyone who has attended, volunteered and worked at Community Kitchen throughout 2019, and we look forward to another exciting year in 2020. Community Kitchen will restart events in late January 2020. For more information on Community Kitchen, click here.