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 the 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 well-being, independence, personal well-being, 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.
SSI International Policy and Project Officer Carmen Ghaly (centre) with Salome Gunsch (L) and Carolina Mussi (R) at the Community Sponsorship Champions Summit in Cork, Ireland.
The GRF is an occasion 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.
States and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to announce concrete pledges and contributions that will achieve tangible benefits for refugees and host communities.
SSI will submit pledges in the areas of Solutions and Jobs and Livelihoods.
The GRF comes at the end of a tumultuous decade and serves as a direct response to the unprecedented rise in the number of refugees displaced worldwide, now over 25 million people.
SSI’s strong stance and involvement in the GRF follows the valuable advocacy work of its international program in recent years.
SSI has accelerated its advocacy for a fairer community sponsorship model and in 2017, with the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA), shared key findings after site visits and meetings with 18 NGOs and representatives on Canada’s globally recognised private sponsorship program.
Key learnings have also emerged from SSI’s partnerships and collaboration with the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GRSI), UNHCR and the Community Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (CRSI).
Last month, SSI joined the Community Sponsorship Champions Summit in Cork, Ireland. SSI International Policy and Project Officer Carmen Ghaly attended with representatives from CRSI and Welcoming Australia.
Ms Ghaly said the Summit provided ample opportunity to engage with organisations across the globe that were implementing or exploring the feasibility of a community sponsorship program. SSI gave an update on SSI’s work with communities in Australia committed to sponsoring and supporting refugee settlement.
“We are working towards finding an avenue where we can harness the goodwill of individuals and communities in Australia to take part in supporting and welcoming refugees and contribute to building an inclusive society.”
Ms Ghaly said the pledges to be presented at the GRF would showcase SSI’s commitment to lead by example, exchange good practices and play a role in implementing the Global Compact on Refugees. It would provide an opportunity to highlight SSI’s expertise in strengthening community capacities, fostering inclusion and supporting refugees to participate in social, economic, civic and community life.
“SSI has pledged to share good practice and provide technical support and advice to resettlement and host countries to help build inclusive communities, promote refugee self-reliance and offer practice-based solutions.”
She has establish herself as a member of numerous local advisory and reference groups, including Bankstown Recovery Support Network (BRAS), Universal Access Reference Group, SSI FutureAbility National Multilingual Advisory Group, and the Inclusive Communities Network.Most recently, Ms Farhart has been informing the workforce of disability service providers with Our Voice, an SSI pilot project that draws on lived experience to deliver tailored learning sessions in English.
The project aims to build the capacity of mainstream disability services to better respond to the access needs of people living with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
Held this year on December 3, International Day of People with Disability aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and celebrate their achievements and contributions in society.
In recognition of the day, we caught up with Ms Farhart to hear about her work as a Lived Experience Educator (LEE) with Our Voice and how the project has assisted her professional development, as well as work towards changing the current landscape for people living with disability from culturally diverse backgrounds.
“It’s great to know that I can positively influence people working for disability organisations to deliver more accessible services to people with disability from CALD backgrounds,” said Ms Farhart.
While Our Voice provides many opportunities for mainstream disability service providers, the project also provides a number of professional development opportunities for 11 LEEs.
“With Our Voice, I have delivered several learning activities that have enabled me to enhance my public speaking skills,” said Ms Farhart. “I have gained a lot more confidence in speaking publicly and addressing large audiences.”
A passionate ambassador and disability advocate, Yasmin says it was the project’s unique approach that inspired her to apply to become a LEE.
“Our Voice is unique because, unlike other disability-centred efforts, it uses the power of lived experience to help shape attitudes and break down stigmas,” said Ms Farhart.
“Often the best way to bring about change is through sharing lived experience. Our Voice is a great opportunity for organisations to learn about people’s cultural differences and the challenges that we endure through listening to our lived experiences.”
The barriers experienced by people with disability from CALD backgrounds are complex and far reaching, as evidenced by the low participation rate in the workforce, the NDIS and the wider community.
One of the biggest challenges that Ms Farhart faces is finding employment. Such challenges inspired her to start her own business: Yasmin Farhart — emcee, public speaker and disability advocate.
Our Voice has provided Ms Farhart with opportunities to promote her business to new audiences across the Sydney metro area and beyond, and also to generate independent income as a self-employed Lived Experience Educator.
Through the project, she was referred to SSI Ignite Ability, an initiative that assists people with disability from CALD backgrounds develop their business.
“It is tough to find a job if you are a woman with living with disability,” she said.
“I hope that the message that we are delivering through Our Voice gets through to the community. Hopefully more organisations are able to increase their understanding of the barriers that people with disability from CALD backgrounds face every day, and implement strategies to reduce those barriers.”
HIV-positive survivor and advocate David Polson.
David Polson was among the first 400 Australian men diagnosed with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1984. At the time, the little-understood virus gave diagnosed people a life expectancy of under ten years and there was an intense stigma against those with HIV and the LGBTI community.
Since his diagnosis and under the care of late Professor David Cooper, Mr Polson has participated in 28 drug trials to help the medical community better understand and improve the treatment of HIV. This commitment to finding a treatment and to his community is unique and admirable.
As a speaker with lived experience, Mr Polson shares his journey at a wide range of national public engagements and forums.
In celebration of World AIDS Day on Friday, December 1, Mr Polson delivered the keynote address for the St Vincent’s Curran Foundation’s event at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney.
St Vincent’s Curran Foundation’s CEO Shanthini Naidoo said Mr Polson had become one of the greatest supporters and tireless advocates for the Foundation’s HIV Future Fund.
“David is the ‘face’ of our fundraising campaign to raise $1 million to support HIV research and treatment at St Vincent’s, including care for those most vulnerable people who have nowhere else to go,” Ms Naidoo said.
“He is a wonderfully engaging speaker who can connect with an audience and include them in his journey.”
Mr Polson has featured in several international HIV campaigns, books and documentaries. Currently, he’s writing a memoir that documents his personal experience in a time when Australia, despite a culture of discrimination and stigma, responded to a pandemic and became a global leader in the development of HIV treatment.
With the recent support of Settlement Services International (SSI)’s IgniteAbility® initiative, Mr Polson is reducing the ongoing stigma of HIV by sharing with new audiences his personal story of resilience, hope and courage.
IgniteAbility® is a pilot program established by SSI to facilitate business creation for people with a disability who want to establish a small business or expand an existing one. The program has supported Mr Polson by positioning him as a thought leader with a brand and legacy, paired with an integrated marketing and digital strategy.
“Setting up my website and business cards has helped my professional image enormously,” Mr Polson said.
Mr Polson said that he found the enthusiasm, dedication and depth of knowledge of IgniteAbility® most rewarding.
“IgniteAbility is a fantastic concept with fantastic people helping people with disabilities turn their lives around.”
Mr Polson’s mission for his advocacy work is to continue promoting a healthy and positive life for those living with HIV to new and international audiences.