Cricket has been something of a saviour for Tamil asylum seeker Uthay, since he came to Australia. Uthay, his preferred name, is originally from Sri Lanka and is awaiting assessment for refugee protection. He is a Tamil man, 27 years old, and the potential consequences for men like Uthay in Sri Lanka are such that his full name and image can’t be revealed.

SSI’s Storytelling and Film-making Workshop program culminates this month with a showcase of short films. On November 14, SSI friends, staff, volunteers and clients are invited to a special screening of films made by SSI’s asylum seeker clients during the six-week workshop program.

SSI clients who live in Sydney’s west while seeking asylum, headed east to Mosman on October 24, to start regenerating a neglected harbourside national park. It was the first day of a 10-week volunteering project arranged by SSI and NSW’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

SSI case managers have continued their efforts to show the various local charities just how much they are appreciated by sharing a morning tea. One team of Community Support Program staff from SSI Parramatta paid a visit to the Salvos charity store in Fairfield, on October 9, delivering treats for staff and volunteers, sharing stories and thanking them for their support.

Staff involved in SSI’s Playtime program were given a guided tour of the Owl's House Early Education Centre at the University of NSW last month, to observe how the service operates. Owl's House is a specialist childcare centre with a focus on early education that has provided support to SSI’s Playtime program. 

Wearing pink saris, SSI staff joined the South Asian women’s network, SAHELI, in Parramasala’s Opening Night Parade in Parramatta last month. SAHELI – a Hindi word that translates to ‘sister’ – and SSI staff took part in the Pink Sari Project, led by NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service, at the Parramasala Parade to help raise awareness about breast cancer and breast screening.

SSI took 34 young clients on an ‘Amazing Race’-style adventure around Sydney, during the recent school holidays to provide some fun and educational entertainment.

SSI Ignite Small Business Start-ups’ client and artist Bassam Jabar is attracting attention for his hand-made glass etchings, with interest from a renowned Victorian gallery.  Bassam, originally from Iraq, made his way to Australia via Syria after being granted a humanitarian visa in August 2013.

Sarah Yahya, 19, was born hearing impaired in Iraq in 1995, to a Mandaean family that lived in fear for their safety. The Mandaean ethnic-religious group has been increasingly persecuted since not long after Sarah arrived in the world. In the cover of night, aged six, Sarah, her sister and mother, were whisked from their home and driven 12 hours in to Jordan. Once there, they went immediately to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to seek protection. Their father had been arrested and was in prison, serving four years for his beliefs.

The lives and settlement experiences of young refugees will be explored at the fourth and final Speakers’ Series event for 2014 hosted by Settlement Services International (SSI). Titled The strength of youth: young people and their refugee experiences, the event on Tuesday, November 11, will begin with three young people from refugee backgrounds sharing their stories.

Sport is renowned for bringing people from all over the world together, and now cricket has united two seemingly disparate groups of men. Refugees and people seeking asylum have joined members of Knox Grammar School’s ‘Old Boys’ association to hone their bat and ball skills together in the lead up to cricket season.   The weekly pre-season cricket clinics at Auburn District Cricket Club on Saturdays have resulted in a mutually beneficial partnership for the 18 or so refugees and asylum seekers, who are clients of SSI, and members of the Old Knox Grammarians’ Association.

Yoga Raja has a talent for “food carving” that is finding appreciative audiences at Sydney weddings and functions. Yoga, 32, is an artist and food – watermelons, carrots and white radish – is his medium. From a watermelon he can carve a life-like human portrait, and from carrots and radish he sculpts bouquets of flowers that people approach to smell as if real.

They have escaped crises and horrors around the world to find some peace of mind on soccer fields in western Sydney. Now, seven months after a generous community campaign helped them join a Sydney soccer club, this team of refugees and asylum seekers will challenge for a championship.

This week marks the second anniversary of Settlement Services International (SSI) delivering support programs to asylum seekers in NSW. From about 15 staff supporting 75 clients in 2012, SSI now has 160 staff members.  Manager Humanitarian Services David Keegan said it was a testament to staff and team leaders that the organisation had successfully and efficiently negotiated the large growth in such a short timeframe.

Nothing brings people together like food. So, after 30 days of daylight fasting, the Eid al-Fitr holiday to celebrate the end of Ramadan is the ultimate unifying feast. SSI’s Community Kitchen Eid event brought together asylum seeker clients to enjoy delicious food while reflecting on the experience of practicing Islam in Australia. Tuxedo-clad toddlers with tambourines ran around the Auburn Centre for Community among about 200 SSI Community Support Program clients, who are asylum seekers living in the community on temporary visas while their refugee status is being assessed. On the lawn, clients set up cricket games, using double-stacked milk crates as wickets; others kicked soccer balls with the kids, and people inside played boardgames.

Each person asked about Ramadan is sure to describe its meaning in their own considered, subjective terms. Jawad Hussain described what Ramadan meant to him, as about 120 SSI Community Support Program (CSP) clients broke their daily fast at a Community Kitchen Iftar meal.  “Ramadan means to fast, but not only from food; (it’s to fast) with eyes, with mind; we have to be good person,” he said. “It means to be really nice, gentle man. You make a special effort. If you practise Ramadan, you believe it will bring some change in your personality.” Jawad came to Australia from Pakistan and, like most people at the Iftar, is awaiting assessment for refugee status. He is a regular at Community Kitchens who volunteers to prepare food and set up and tidy the community centre.

Hamid Shirvani, 43, from Iran, has taken out one of the top categories at the NSW Taekwondo State Championships and now hopes to pass on his skills as a coach. Mr Shirvani lives with his wife and baby daughter in South Wentworthville. The family fled Iran about a year ago and is awaiting the outcome of their assessments for refugee status. This means Mr Shirvani is unable to work and has limited access to the training resources that other taekwondo competitors could afford. But this didn’t stop him winning a gold medal in the open men’s 80 to 87 kilogram black belt category at the State Championships on May 11. Mr Shirvani is no stranger to success in taekwondo. The sport is much more popular in Iran, where there is a professional league of taekwondo. Mr Shirvani said he was a top-five contender in the country’s professional competition for 10 years. He won several national tournaments, he said, and qualified for international events but was never allowed to leave Iran. Now in Australia, he hopes to pass on the skills he has learned over 30 years of training and coaching in the sport. “Taekwondo is something that I grew-up doing,” he said through an interpreter, “it is part of my life and I will always be practicing it. This is what I have dedicated my life to. I have years of experience and I think I can teach and improve taekwondo in Australia.”

About 300 staff, volunteers and clients celebrated Australia’s cultural diversity on Harmony Day, with a halal sausage barbecue, music, dancing and a game of soccer. At the event on Friday, March 21, Settlement Services International Humanitarian Services Delivery Manager Yamamah Agha said the message for people to consider was that “everyone belongs”.  “Today we are […]

Harmony Day, this Friday, March 21, celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity and coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. To mark the occasion, Settlement Services International Case Manager Nedhal Amir tells her story of arrival in Australia.   Nedhal Amir came to Australia from Iraq with her husband and four […]

Staff and clients from the SSI Humanitarian Settlement Services team in Fairfield are going to “do the right thing, put it in the bin” this Tuesday. The group will volunteer its time to take part in the annual Clean Up Australia event, which aims to “keep Australia beautiful”. Acting Team Leader Nedhal Amir said staff […]