Representatives from the NSW Police Force, the settlement sector, community associations and leaders, gathered last week at SSI’s head office in Sydney for a roundtable event designed to enhance understanding between police officers and the workers who support refugees and people seeking asylum.
As part of an extensive orientation program, SSI provides refugees and people seeking asylum with information about policing in Australia.
However, as SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said, some new arrivals remained fearful of police officers stemming from experiences in their home countries that can affect interactions between the two parties.
“In 2013, we had a similar roundtable event with the NSW Police Force and what came from that was a wonderful initiative called ‘Coffee with a Cop’, where a uniformed officer engages with an asylum seeker or refugee on that human level; which at the end of the day is what we all desire – to be seen as a human and not as a label or a uniform,” Ms Roumeliotis said.
“These sorts of initiatives are what come from opportunities to discuss very human issues, like this roundtable. We can collectively put our heads together and achieve great outcomes.”
NSW Police Superintendent Peter Lennon, Commander of the Fairfield Local Area Command, said these opportunities were vital for both the Police Force and the community.
“You can’t put a value on how important these informal discussions are. They are certainly beneficial to our officers as I hope they are to the community, including the workers who support refugees and people seeking asylum. A number of settlement issues where police and service providers can cooperate to the benefit of refugees and asylum seekers were discussed,” Superintendent Lennon said.
“It is equally important that refugees and asylum seekers transition as smoothly as possible from being new arrivals to established members of the community.
“We recognise that being in a new country, with no or few friends or family, is difficult and we’re here to assure you that police officers are your friends and we can all work together for a safer community.”
Over the course of the day, more than 60 participants from the police force and settlement sector worked through real-life scenarios where refugees or people seeking asylum might encounter police, with the aim of helping all participants to feel better equipped to jointly respond to such scenarios and achieve better outcomes for new arrivals.
“Volunteering is my spirituality,” Mr Gupta said. “I don’t go to a temple or pray, but when I help serve these people [Ignite entrepreneurs]. I feel like I’m serving God, so the benefits are twofold.”
Mr Gupta is an accountant and business consultant who migrated to Australia from India almost 25 years ago.
He has run an accountancy business for six years and, with his entrepreneurial and accounting background, he believes can provide valuable advice to newly arrived refugees starting a small business.
“Obviously language is one of the biggest challenges to overcome, but conditions in Australia for setting up a business are so different from their home countries,” Mr Gupta said. “They have to consider things that may not even exist back home such as compliance, employee relationships, consumer protection and the lack of a cash economy.”
Under the Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative, the Resource Team supports budding refugee entrepreneurs with information on topics such as product development, marketing, and financial management. The team provides valuable local experience and knowledge in these areas, either on a voluntary basis or at non-commercial rates.
Ignite Coordinator Dina Petrakis said Mr Gupta’s support of the Ignite initiative and its entrepreneurs was invaluable.
“The expert and professional support that Yateender volunteers, as do all Resource Team members, plays a crucial role in assisting our fledgling entrepreneurs,” she said.
Mr Gupta has provided advice about business structures, trusts, and the pros and cons of being a sole trader. Along with his one-on-one work with entrepreneurs, Mr Gupta also occasionally holds business workshops in the evenings for up to 50 people of refugee background who are hoping to start a business.
One of the original Resource Team members, Mr Gupta said he had met a lot of interesting people and really enjoyed supporting them on their journeys.
“I’ve worked with builders and construction companies, restauranteurs, software developers, cleaners and even a barber,” he said.
“I believe that if we can help and give these entrepreneurs a chance, they are going to strive to succeed and they will one day contribute significantly to the Australian economy; it’s a win-win for everyone.”
SSI Ignite Small Business Start-ups
SSI keenly recognises that housing affordability and homelessness is a growing concern among its client base – many who live in Western Sydney – and we were happy to be able to participate in an event where service providers can connect with each other and with people experiencing homelessness in a casual and friendly environment.
SSI sponsored the event by providing durable shopping bags in which hygiene care packs were assembled and distributed. The bags also came in handy for the clothing, fresh fruit and other items that were available to help support Western Sydney’s homeless and vulnerable people.
Just like many other tenants in Sydney on Centrelink benefits or low income, the people SSI supports from a refugee background or seeking asylum are also at risk of becoming homeless.
All it takes is for the rent to be increased, a sickness in the family that adds to expenses, or someone is unable to work. People seeking asylum are in an even more difficult predicament, not being able to access many subsidies.
The event, which helps to break down stigma and restore some dignity to people experiencing homelessness, saw many participants enjoy a free haircut, massage, hot food and coffee, health screen or a simple hug.
Homeless Connect events are run entirely on donations and by volunteers, and there was an estimated 2500 people at the 2016 event.
SSI Housing supports humanitarian entrants and people seeking asylum to find suitable accommodation by helping them overcome the barriers of having no rental history or references, little English language skills, or money for bond.
As a Community Housing Provider, SSI is working to find more innovative and collaborative ways in which to increase the opportunities for long term affordable housing for all people in Sydney, and working with landlords to manage properties and help keep rental costs at a minimum.
Last year SSI also established an Emergency Housing Assistance scheme in response to the increasing demand for crisis accommodation and to support other Specialist Homelessness Services who are currently at capacity.
To find out more about our housing services, visit:
The forum provided a platform for networking and critical reflection as well as an opportunity for participants to be inspired and grow their practice.
To start the forum on August 19, renowned Chinese-Australian artist Guo Jian, whose work features in the Refugees exhibition corresponding with the forum at the Powerhouse, shared the thought-provoking experience that led him to Australia.
Jian told of how he joined China’s army with the romantic notion “to see the world, and also to follow a girl”. He had always wanted to be an artist, he said and was told by officials he could continue that pursuit in the army.
But on his first day in training, “I realise (sic) my dream to be an artist was totally gone. I was a soldier now”, Jian said.
Jian explained how he angered Chinese officials with his art and, in 1992, was forced to flee to Australia, where he has since continued in safety and became renowned for his work.
Jian’s story provided a neat analogy for the hope that refugee protection can give when it allows a person to continue to follow their dream.
SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis explained why SSI had a dedicated Arts & Culture Program for refugees and people seeking asylum.
“It connects artists, or people who are interested in art, to learn new skills, hone their existing ones, and to build strong connections with others who have faced similar challenges,” Ms. Roumeliotis said. “It’s also linked to a range of benefits, such as health and social benefits, and improvements to psychological wellbeing.
“Refugees and people seeking asylum are the subject of a growing national discussion in Australia; we speculate about them and we make policies that affect them, but rarely do we get to hear from the people who are at the heart of this highly politicised discussion.
“Art acts as a vehicle for the people behind the ‘refugee’ and ‘asylum seeker’ label to tell their stories in their own voices.”
Throughout the day, the forum heard from people working across all disciplines of the arts. Artists from refugee backgrounds spoke about their experiences working in Australia.
Others spoke of their experiences working with, and for, people from refugee backgrounds. Discussions were dynamic with insightful audience participation.
The first day culminated with a Yarning Circle in the open air, around a fire. Yarning Circle celebrates the connection of First Nations people to the land. Participants were invited to join the circle and share a story.
The forum started equally powerfully on day two, Saturday, with the performance of the Treehouse Theatre’s drama therapy group. The program works with recently arrived children from refugee backgrounds to help them overcome the traumatic experiences they have left behind.
“My Syria was a free and beautiful country, where Muslims, Christians and everyone lived together in peace,” said 14-year-old Isha Yukhana in a solo performance. “Then, the war arrived and everything changed.”
In the Q&A that followed the play, Isha, who studies Year 9 at Miller Technology High School, also explained how performing with the Treehouse program in front of his classmates marked the end of the bullying he had been suffering since he arrived at the school.
The panel discussion “Making art on equal terms” followed. The debate brought together the perspectives of young artists, established arts organisations and community groups on the challenges affecting artists from refugee backgrounds.
Panellists agreed that more should be done to support refugee artists and to share their work with the mainstream. Jiva Parthipan from the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), railed against the labelling of people as refugee artists.
“They are artists regardless of their humanitarian status and that distinction between refugee artists, migrant artists, and the like can be even negative for them long-term, as it might divert them from the mainstream channels,” Mr Parthipan said.
The Forum wrapped up with the words of Saba Vasefi — feminist filmmaker, poet and Asylum Seekers Centre Ambassador — who brought to light the double marginalisation suffered by refugee women.
According to Ms. Vasefi, women are depicted exclusively as a vulnerable group by the media and are underrepresented in the main spaces for decision-making of advocacy groups and international organisations.
“I came to Australia as a refugee by myself and I didn’t feel vulnerable or need anyone to save me,” Ms Vasefi said. “What I needed was a platform to speak and participate; this is what refugee women are still lacking nowadays.”
The Arts and Refugee Forum 2016 was organised by SSI’s Arts & Culture Program in partnership with Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and with the support of CuriousWorks.
To be held at the Parkroyal Parramatta from November 3–4, the National Multicultural Women’s Conference 2016 – Influencing Change: Vision and Impact (NMWC) will create a platform for sharing knowledge and celebrating the outstanding contributions women from diverse backgrounds make to Australian society.
SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said the conference would facilitate a lively and productive dialogue about the unique lived experiences of women from diverse backgrounds, with the aim of influencing a shift in how women are recognised and supported in Australia.
“Women from diverse backgrounds contribute so much vitality, talent and enthusiasm to our communities,” Ms Roumeliotis said. “They are nurturing mothers, inspirational leaders and talented entrepreneurs, and yet the challenges and opportunities they face are often different than their male counterparts.
“The National Multicultural Women’s Conference will provide a unique platform to share perspectives, innovations and approaches affecting women, and drive further collaboration and change across sectors.”
The program of speakers will include NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian, Royal Australian Navy Strategic Adviser on Islamic Cultural Affairs Captain Mona Shindy, and Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.
In a mix of panel discussions and presentations, speakers will cover topics including changing expectations around race, identity and belonging; reframing the narrative when it comes to gender, equality and culture; and making an impact through culturally competent practice and service provision.
Registrations are now open for the inaugural event, which is the outcome of a partnership between SSI and the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA), with support from Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW.
Sponsorship opportunities are also available for organisations that work with or support cultural diversity and immigrant and refugee women. A range of sponsorship packages have been developed to ensure a successful outcome for sponsors and stakeholders. Click here for more information.
Dr Faruqi will join a line up of speakers facilitating a lively and productive dialogue about the unique lived experiences of women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds at the National Multicultural Women’s Conference 2016 – Influencing Change: Vision and Impact (NMWC), which is a joint initiative between SSI and the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA).
“Conferences like this are so important to give a platform to women from a multicultural background who are so often invisible in the mainstream debate and media,” Dr Faruqi said. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to meet and connect with multicultural women from around the country.”
From November 3 to 4, the NMWC will create a space for sharing knowledge and celebrating the outstanding contributions women from diverse backgrounds make to Australian society.
“This conference will be a great opportunity to network and share ideas. We will hear diverse perspectives but with a common thread of multicultural women’s experiences,” Dr Faruqi said.
Dr Faruqi, who holds a range of portfolios for the Greens NSW, including Environment, Transport, Status of Women and Multiculturalism, will join a panel discussion on changing expectations around race, identity and belonging at the NMWC.
A civil and environmental engineer by trade, Dr Faruqi migrated from Pakistan to Australia in 1992 with her young family and has since focused her work on developing real solutions to social and environmental challenges.
Since entering politics in 2013, the Greens NSW MP has advocated for important issues affecting women of all backgrounds, including just last month introducing a historic bill to NSW Parliament that, if passed, will decriminalise abortion in the state and enact safe access zone to prevent harassment and intimidation of women accessing health clinics.
Other speakers joining Dr Faruqi at the NMWC include Workplace Gender Equality Agency Director Libby Lyons, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, Australian Multicultural Council Chair Dr Sev Ozdowski, and the Royal Australian Navy’s Captain Mona Shindy.
For more information or to register for the event, which will take place at the Parkroyal Parramatta, follow the blue link below. Earlybird registrations close August 31.
National Multicultural Women’s Conference 2016
A team of SSI staff, refugees and people seeking asylum participated in the iconic City2Surf fun run, which took them from Hyde Park in Sydney’s CBD to Bondi Beach. SSI volunteers welcomed the runners at the finish line with cheers and a beach-side picnic.
With only three weeks until donations close, the team is three-quarters of the way towards its $10,000 fundraising goal. Just $25 can help SSI provide hot meals to people seeking asylum, while $50 can facilitate sports and community activities that reduce isolation and improve mental and physical well-being. Every little bit counts.
SSI team member Roopa Patel said she hoped the group’s effort had also encouraged some people to shift their perceptions about refugees and people seeking asylum.
“Refugees need support, which anyone can offer,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be a donation; it could be by volunteering, even if it’s just for one day. Every little bit helps.
“My parents were refugees, so it’s an area that’s a passion of mine, having known the challenges they faced when they arrived in the UK but also for me as a migrant who came to Australia in 2006.”
Ms Patel now calls Sydney home but can trace her roots back to India, via Uganda and the UK. Her family arrived in Uganda when it was still a British colony but, decades later, they were among the 80,000 people of Asian descent who then-President Idi Amin expelled from the country in 1972.
“Soldiers stormed into their homes and said, ‘You have to leave. Pack a small bag and just go’. My parents had little money and hardly any belongings when they arrived in the UK,” Ms Patel said.
“It was very similar to what refugees experience in Australia now but unfortunately there wasn’t an agency like SSI my parents could go to that delivered services to provide them with support.”
Ms Patel, who now works for SSI, is fundraising to support programs such as the Community Kitchen — a fortnightly social event where community members share a meal with people seeking asylum.
“When my dad recently came to visit me in Australia, he offered to cook at the Community Kitchen and he was amazed by the services being offered to newly arrived migrants,” Ms Patel said. “Dad said, ‘If we had something like this, it would have really brought the community together’. It’s different now but back in the 70s they had to build their own community.”
“In the country I came from – Burma – I didn’t know about study because education was not very valued there. So when I came here, I realised education was important and that’s why I’m studying English at Navitas at the moment. Hopefully after, I’ll be able to get some qualifications from TAFE and get a good job. I’d like to be a cook or a beautician,” she said.
The big factor driving Ms Bahadurmia’s educational ambitions is her six kids, who range in age from three months to 14 years.
“I want to take responsibility for helping my kids become good people who can give back to the community,” she said. “I need to study myself so, for example, I can tell whether my children are doing their homework or not. I’m taking my own education seriously so that I can be a good mother.”
Ms Bahadurmia is from the Rohingya people – an ethnic minority in the predominantly Buddhist country of Burma. Along with her husband and children, Ms Bahadurmia left her village in 2013 and undertook a hazardous journey spanning thousands of kilometres to seek refuge.
“All my life we were abused and suffered a lot. When I reached Australia I felt like I was finally in a safe place and I would be happy from now on,” she said.
While awaiting the outcome of her application for refugee status, Ms Bahadurmia started volunteering, becoming a regular chef and contributor at SSI’s Community Kitchen – a fortnightly event where people seeking asylum connect with their peers and community members over a free meal and other activities.
“I was inspired by all of the case workers at SSI and the way they treated me. I wanted to do something and be happy helping someone else. I wanted to give something back to Australia,” she said.
“When I went to Community Kitchen, I met people from different cultures and countries, and I felt good there. I felt like I could learn something from them and I could also explain my culture to them. It helps everyone to learn about each other.”
While Ms Bahadurmia is now safe in Australia, family and friends who remain overseas are never far from her thoughts.
“I’m happy but I’m thinking about the people who are suffering in my country,” she said.
Aid workers on the ground in Burma are one of the main humanitarian lifelines for the Rohingya people. August 19 marks World Humanitarian Day – a time to acknowledge the risks these workers take to help people like Ms Bahadurmia and to mobilise everyday people to advocate for a better world.
Click here for more information about how you can mark this important occasion.
SSI has helped 22,000 refugees settle in Australia since 2011. Please help us support refugees, and make a donation.
The exhibition was the culmination of an art therapy program at SydWest designed to bring seniors together to explore art, break social isolation and enhance their overall wellbeing.
Funded by the NSW Department of Family and Community Services, the 12-week pilot Living Active Life Program involved more than 40 participants across Greater Western Sydney. Participants were mostly from non-English speaking backgrounds and many took part with the support of interpreters.
The program also included some participants with vision and hearing impairments. The first session saw one visually impaired woman create art for the first time since losing her sight 20 years ago.
Other women, who had spent up to 20 years living in refugee camps, were able to use crayons, pencils and paints for the first time in their lives.
Some even credited the program with improving their mental and physical wellbeing.
SydWest Multicultural Services CEO Elfa Moraitakis said these were among many positive outcomes from the program, which had helped to bring together seniors to explore their creativity, create meaning from their art and break social isolation.
“Exploring such themes as eldership, community, the seasons, joy and life journeys, this creative program has revealed the power of art and the importance of creating human connections to people’s overall wellbeing,” Ms Moraitakis said.
Visit SydWest’s online Multicultural Seniors Art Therapy Exhibition, which showcases some of the processes and artworks from its innovative program.
SSI’s Women at Risk Committee developed the social support group, in partnership with CORE Community Services through its Multicultural Communities service, as a means for refugee women to build social connections, while also receiving important information that will help with their settlement.
External facilitators present to the group each week on topics that change each term based on feedback from participants. The terms run for six to eight weeks and have so far covered topics including employment and health.
The group is currently in the middle of an eight-week Families In Cultural Transition (FICT) program that covers families, money, children, gender, trauma and young people in an Australian context, and is delivered by bilingual cultural educators from the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS).
Syrian refugee Sokaina Badal said she enjoyed coming along to the group each week because it helped to improve her understanding of life in Australia.
“Today we spoke about families and how to raise children,” Ms Badal said. “I’m not married but I enjoyed hearing from the other women and learning about the differences here in Australia.”
“I enjoy interacting with the other women and also finding out about the systems and culture of Australia. I’ve made friends with some of the women who attend and I like seeing them each week.”
SSI Manager Humanitarian Support Services Yamamah Agha said the group was a good way for vulnerable women to develop the social skills and networks that lead to better settlement outcomes.
“Under the HSS program, SSI provides new arrivals with practical support to help them settle in Australia, but we’ve also recognised the benefits strong social networks can deliver during that process.
“There are many things that seem confusing and foreign when settling in a new country, so having friends who are going through similar experiences can help women to feel more supported while dealing with these challenges,” she said.
The information women receive in the group sessions complements the tailored case management support they receive from SSI, which helps to connect women with links and services in their community such as social groups, employment, education and health.
“Participants have made new friends and even reconnected with women they knew back in their home countries, all while absorbing important information in a relaxed environment where they feel comfortable asking questions,” she said.
CORE Women Settlement Worker Rowena Assaad said the project targeted vulnerable women who had migrated to Australia from war-torn countries and are dealing with low self-esteem and other issues.
“Women have told us how this group activity has helped them become more independent and confident in navigating services and integrating in the Australian society,” she said.
The social support group began with less than a dozen participants but has proven so popular that SSI and CORE are now looking to move to a larger venue to extend the group’s benefits to more new arrivals.
More than 20 women regularly attend sessions, with interest growing thanks to word of mouth, referrals from partner organisations, and success stories from existing participants.