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A scholarship ceremony and multicultural afternoon tea was held at Allianz headquarters in Sydney yesterday, where SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis joined Allianz Australia’s Managing Director Richard Feledy to acknowledge and celebrate the success of the scholarship recipients with their families.

The SSI Allianz Refugee Scholarships were created to minimise the financial barriers experienced by refugees as they participate in the NSW education system. Over $84,000 – including $50,000 from Allianz – has been allocated this year to individuals across the education system: secondary school, vocational education and training, university, and skills and qualifications recognition.

One scholarship recipient, George Najarian, a refugee from Syria, applied for the SSI Allianz University Scholarship to help him achieve his dream of becoming a successful engineer. Mr Najarian and his family settled in Australia in 2017 after fleeing their home in Aleppo, where he had nearly completed a degree in robotics.

“Our family shop had been bombed, my brother had been shot and my sister’s school was destroyed. I was risking my life by going to university,” explained Mr Najarian. “Becoming an engineer will provide a decent life for my mum, my siblings and I, and will allow me to give back to the country which gave my family another chance at life.”

Mr Najarian will put his scholarship towards an Extended Diploma of Engineering at Western Sydney University. The funds will cover the cost of his tuition, the purchase of a laptop, textbooks and engineering software.

This award-winning partnership between Allianz and SSI has been delivering new education and career opportunities for refugees and migrants for three consecutive years now. To date, 130 refugee education scholarships have been awarded, with a combined value of $264,000, and 21 refugees have been supported into permanent employment with Allianz in a variety of skilled roles. A further 20 refugee youths have been supported through pre-employment workshops.

Ms Roumeliotis said the SSI Allianz Scholarships complemented the tremendous work SSI and partner organisations were doing for people from refugee backgrounds, tapping into their strengths, talent and resilience to help individuals reach their potential.

“We believe we have an obligation to support our communities, to add value and strengthen social cohesion,” she said. “Importantly, these scholarships reflect our fundamental view that everyone has the right to meet their potential and to live the life they want to live.

“SSI is extremely pleased that our partnership with Allianz continues to help new members of our community to follow their education and employment pathways, like George, so they can realise their dreams and make their own special contribution to our diverse society.”

Allianz Australia Managing Director Richard Feledy said, “A good quality education can provide people with the opportunity to change their lives and those of their families and communities, and we are thrilled to support the recipients of the Allianz SSI Scholarships for the third consecutive year. The SSI organisation, these scholarships, and our Allianz Refugee Employment Programs all aim to provide these strong individuals with ongoing education and career opportunities so they can fulfil their personal and professional goals, and we are proud to be a part of this important initiative.”

About the SSI Allianz Scholarships 

The SSI Allianz scholarships directly support people from refugee backgrounds to achieve independence.

Refugees who come to Australia face many challenges during settlement, such as financial hardship, dealing with experiences of torture and trauma, and family separation.

Yet Australia is a nation built on immigration and has a long history of providing safe asylum to refugees, many of whom have gone on to make great civil, social and economic contributions to Australian society

SSI and Allianz aim to continue that tradition by providing targeted scholarships to those who are the most in need and willing to overcome social and economic challenges.

“We stand in solidarity with the communities of New Zealand and are united in condemning the attack on one of the world’s most welcoming and generous nations. Like New Zealand, Australia prides itself on being a safe and tolerant place that people of all nationalities and faiths call home. Senseless acts of violence like this call on all members of the community to reach out to the peaceful Muslim community with tolerance and respect,” stated Violet Roumeliotis, Group CEO, SSI.

“On behalf of the communities we serve and represent, we stand strong against racial hatred and anti-immigrant prejudice for which there is no place in today’s society. This shows that once again we have entered times that require the majority of us who seek social justice and peace to demonstrate incredible amounts of vigilance and courage. Our prayers and thoughts are with you New Zealand.”

ends

Settlement Services International is a community organisation and social business that supports newcomers and other Australian to achieve their full potential. We work with all people who have experienced vulnerability, including refuges, people seeking asylum and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, to build capacity and enable them to overcome inequality.

Access Community Services Limited is a leading Queensland multicultural organisation that operates under the umbrella of SSI. Access merged with SSI on December 4, 2018.
Media enquiries: 0413 593 946 | sfoster@ssi.org.au

The exhibits, presented by the Peacock Gallery Auburn and supported by Settlement Services International (SSI), will run concurrently March 9–31, 2019, and will feature seven different artists, four of whom are female.

The partnership between the Peacock Gallery Auburn and SSI, now in its second year, acknowledges the need for artist representation and provides access to exhibition opportunities for artists from refugee backgrounds. For many of the artists involved it is their first curated exhibition in Australia.

Fragments of Iran is a solo exhibition presented by Mehrdad MehrAeen, a professional Iranian visual artist with over 17 years of artistic experience. His work draws on traditional Iranian forms of art, including Iranian poetry and “Tazhib” — the geometry found in traditional Iranian paintings.

“I am so excited for my first exhibition in Australia,” said Mr MehrAeen.

Mr MehrAeen arrived in Australia in 2013 and continued his artistic practice but, after finding himself homesick and alone, he began to explore these feelings through his artwork.

“Improvisation through the art-making process is the hallmark of traditional Iranian art; most of my art is made through the unconscious mind.”

ANA/MAN/MA — ME (Arabic) / ME (Farsi) / US (Farsi) — is a collective exhibition featuring the work of a diverse range of artists from Arabic, Iranian, and Ghanaian backgrounds, including experienced artist, graphic designer and teacher, Maher Al Khoury.

Mr Al Khoury arrived in Australia from Syria as a refugee in 2017. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1988, he had a dynamic arts career working across the Middle East as a university lecturer and artist. Mr Al Khoury was exhibited in his home country in Syria and Abu Dhabi at esteemed arts exhibitions; however, ANA/MAN/MA will be his first curated exhibition in Australia.

Young artist Emmanuel Asante arrived in Australia in 2015 from Ghana and started painting and drawing as a way to deal with depression.

“Art is my escape from reality,” Mr Asante said.

“I’m quite excited and looking forward to seeing new people and discussing these artworks and ideas.”

Mr Asante’s work has already been exhibited in numerous youth forums. In 2016 he received the Art for Planet Award from Campbelltown Council.

Exhibition dates: March 9 – 31, 2019
Gallery opening time: Tuesdays to Sundays, 11 am to 4 pm
Location: Peacock Gallery, located in Auburn Botanic Gardens, Corner of Chiswick and Chisholm Roads, Auburn NSW 2144
Cost: Free

 

About SSI:

Settlement Services International is a community organisation and social business that supports newcomers and other Australians to achieve their full potential. We work with all people who have experienced vulnerability, including refugees, people seeking asylum and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, to build capacity and enable them to overcome inequality.

SSI self-funds arts and culture initiatives ranging from artist professional development projects to its flagship New Beginnings Festival, aiming to ensure that refugees and newly arrived migrants have equitable access to arts and culture programs and opportunities.

Media enquiries:

SSI Communications Officer Rebeka Selmeczki 0468 998 300 or rselmeczki@ssi.org.au

Settlement Services International (SSI) Strategic Policy Manager Astrid Perry said she very much welcomed any increase to funding in this area but hoped the investment would also include provisions to meet the unique needs of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

“NSW as a state has very limited targeted domestic and family violence services that focus on migrant and refugee women. Other states, such as Victoria, have explicit funding for services working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities,” she said.

“We have a pressing need for a dedicated service that helps women who are new to Australia safely escape domestic and family violence.”

The key feature of Labor’s proposal is an $18 million investment in new beds for women escaping violence at home. Ms Perry welcomed the pledge but warned investment must go beyond accommodation to ensure these spaces consider the needs of all women.

“Often, the available accommodation is not ideal for women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds because there are rarely interpreters, limited responses to cultural needs and few spaces for large families,” she said.

“In many cases, this accommodation also does not include sufficient support from a social worker or domestic violence specialist. Settlement workers in our community are increasingly reporting that women come out of temporary accommodation without having resolved any of their issues related to their relationship or secured ongoing housing.”

This is disappointing given the additional challenges these women must surmount in order to leave a violent home situation in the first place, said Ms Perry.

“Women of migrant or refugee background are less likely to seek assistance due to barriers like lack of knowledge about their rights, fear of deportation and removal of children, lack of English language skills, or shame and the need to maintain family honour. In other cases, women on temporary visas have little or no independent income,” she said.

There is a real and pressing need for funded domestic violence services that are tailored specifically for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds, Ms Perry said.

“We must ensure all women have access to safe accommodation, regardless of their visa status,” she said.

“While we welcome the release of funding to keep more women and children secure, we call on both the NSW Government and NSW Labor to consider funding services that will ensure support is appropriate for all women.”

About SSI:

SSI is a community organisation and social business that supports newcomers and other Australians to achieve their full potential. We work with all people who have experienced vulnerability, including refugees, people seeking asylum and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, to build capacity and enable them to overcome inequality.

Media enquiries:

SSI Communications Officer Hannah Gartrell 0478 679 078 or hgartrell@ssi.org.au

A new Settlement Services International (SSI) policy paper, to be released in Sydney on February 13, argues that a more comprehensive and culturally competent response is needed from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to meet the diverse needs of people with disability.

The paper, Still outside the tent: Cultural diversity and disability in a time of reform, questions the goals and vision of the National Disability Strategy with a particular focus on barriers and enablers for people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

It suggests ways forward for that demographic to achieve greater social and economic inclusion.

Co-author of the paper, SSI Research and Policy Manager Tadgh McMahon, said, “Evidence indicates that people with disability from CALD backgrounds have half to one-third of the rate of usage of mainstream services that people born in Australia have had, and there is no evidence to suggest that this is a reflection of their preferences or that they need less assistance.

“What is needed are more ‘soft’ and ‘multiple’ community-based entry points to the disability service system to help these marginalised groups access services such as the NDIS.”

Still outside the tent: Cultural diversity and disability in a time of reform will be launched at an SSI Speaker Series event — “When Disability and Cultural Diversity Meet: The role of community in driving inclusion” — at TripAdvisor HQ in Redfern, Sydney, on Wednesday, February 13.

To obtain a copy of the policy paper or for more information about the Speakers Series, contact Greg Clennar, 0417 687 064 or gclennar@ssi.org.au.

Yesterday’s federal government announcement of $78 million in funding for women and children escaping violence at home included a $60 million grants program to provide emergency accommodation.

Settlement Services International (SSI) Strategic Policy Manager Astrid Perry said while she very much welcomed any increase to funding in this area, women from newly arrived communities were still falling through the gaps.

“Investment must go beyond accommodation in order to ensure these spaces are welcoming and consider the needs of all women. Often, the available accommodation is not ideal for newly arrived women because there are no interpreters, limited responses to cultural needs and few spaces for large families,” she said.

“In many cases, this accommodation also does not include sufficient support from a social worker or domestic violence specialist. Settlement workers in our community are increasingly reporting that women come out of temporary accommodation without having resolved any of their issues related to their relationship or secured ongoing housing.”

This is disappointing given the additional challenges newly arrived women must surmount in order to leave a violent home situation in the first place, said Ms Perry.

“Women of migrant or refugee background are less likely to seek assistance due to barriers like lack of knowledge about their rights, fear of deportation and removal of children, lack of English language skills, or shame and the need to maintain family honour. In other cases, women are on temporary visas that do no enable them to earn an income,” she said.

There is a real and pressing need for funded domestic violence services that are tailored specifically for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds, Ms Perry said.

“We must ensure all women have access to safe accommodation, regardless of their visa status,” she said.

“While we welcome the release of funding to keep more women and children secure, we call on the government to consider funding ancillary services that will ensure this support is appropriate for all women.”

About SSI:
SSI is a community organisation and social business that supports newcomers and other Australians to achieve their full potential. We work with all people who have experienced vulnerability, including refugees, people seeking asylum and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, to build capacity and enable them to overcome inequality.

Media enquiries:
SSI Communications Officer Hannah Gartrell 0478 679 078 or hgartrell@ssi.org.au

 A total of $100,000 has now been shared among 12 grassroots community initiatives, with recipients in the second round of funding joining five projects that were allocated funding during the first round in early 2018.

Successful applicants and their projects (see further down for descriptions):

• The Peacemakers Ensemble – Learning English Through Song
• Al-Muntada (Iraqi Australian University Graduates Forum) – Iraqi Folklorama
• St Thomas Chaldean & Assyrian Catholic Diocese – English language course
• The Mandean Women’s Union – Learn and Work for Our Future
• The Chaldean League of NSW – Technology Support not only computers with basic English skills
• Sophie Bejok – Laziz Project
• Diversity Disability Alliance – Strength through Peers Support

The Community Innovation Fund was established in 2018 with a unique approach to funding that builds on the strengths and assets of community organisations and leaders in south-west Sydney, so they can develop and enhance their own approaches to supporting newcomers.

“Encouraging individuals and groups to identify areas of concern in their own community, and the resources they can harness, gives that community a voice to shape its own priorities,” said SSI Community Engagement Coordinator Kat O’Neill.

“It enables the community to have agency in the areas that matter most to them.

“When solutions are driven by the local community — by people who live and breathe their specific challenges and aspirations — the capacity of that community develops to find the most effective ways to meet their own needs.”

While Community Innovation Fund recipients drive their own project management, they are supported by SSI with skills coaching and connections to contacts in SSI’s networks, including the NSW Settlement Partnership, local governments, community groups, leaders and organisations.

With Round 1 proving successful in building stronger communities and growing the confidence and capabilities of recipients, SSI is excited about the opportunities to further develop community strengths in Round 2.

“It is inspiring to see the recipients mentor each other, form connections, develop their projects and apply for other grants to expand their work,” said Ms O’Neill.
The successful applicants

The Peacemakers Ensemble is a community choir based in Fairfield with members of refugee backgrounds from Mesopotamian-Australian communities. The choir has established a project called Learning English through Song (LETS), helping recently-arrived Syrian and Iraqi refugees in south-west Sydney acquire English language through the beauty and diversity of Australian song. Through the study, understanding and performance of Australian song, the project will increase English conversational skills and foster a sense of belonging and engagement with the wider Australian community, life and culture.

Through the promotion of cultural and educational activities that promote social cohesion, Al-Muntada aims to assist the emerging Iraqi community in south-west Sydney to participate in their new Australian community. The group has held a series of workshops around the folkloric music, song and dance of the diverse Iraqi communal groups, including Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Assyrian and Gypsie cultures. All cultural groups danced together at the Shanasheel Iraqi Cultural Festival in November 2018.

The St Thomas Chaldean & Assyrian Catholic Diocese recognised that many community members, especially mothers and the elderly, were not able to attend the government’s Adult Migrant English Program although they wanted to learn English. In response, St Thomas has partnered with the Australian Catholic University (ACU) to develop and run English language classes for people from newly arrived refugee backgrounds.

The Mandean Women’s Union’s Learn and Work for Our Future is an introductory course to hairdressing for women from Mandean newly arrived refugee backgrounds. The project aims to foster the professional development of participants by introducing the basic concepts of hairdressing in Australia, providing them with connections to the hairdressing profession, and enabling credit towards hairdressing qualifications through the Union’s partnership with TAFE.

Increasingly newly arrived refugees are required to navigate online forms in English for services crucial to their everyday life, such as online banking and Centrelink. The Chaldean League’s technology support project aims to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence of newly arrived refugees to use technology and advance their English language skills. The project was developed by Raghda Aziz, a volunteer caseworker with the Chaldean League. Raghda arrived in Australia in 2011 with her family after fleeing persecution in Iraq. She has seen how simple mistakes on forms can affect people’s lives and is now known for her expertise and willingness to support newly arrived members of the community. This is the second time this project has been assisted by the Community Innovation Fund. Raghda has expanded the program and has brought on an English language educator who is supporting the classes with English language learning.

Sophie Bejok had been in Australia for only six months when she applied for the fund after fleeing Syria with her family. Auspiced by Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre, Sophie is managing the Laziz Project, which aims to enable women from newly-arrived backgrounds to meet new people and gain employable skills through cooking classes. The participants, from the Liverpool area, will undertake cooking sessions at the Refugee Welcome Centre in Callan Park, and will gain a Food Safety Certificate at the completion of the course.

Through its Strength through Peers Support project, the Diversity Disability Alliance aims to provide an opportunity for people from newly arrived refugee backgrounds and with a disability to build their peer support networks and receive one-on-one support from a peer mentor while addressing cultural attitudes and issues related to disability. This will be achieved through an introductory peer support course, a peer mentoring program, and Peer2Peer cafes, where peer facilitators and newly arrived people will meet others in the community with a disability.

Learn more about the Community Innovation Fund.

A former Bahraini national footballer, Mr al-Araibi found refuge and safety in Australia after fleeing torture and persecution in his home country.

Now he is languishing in immigration detention in Thailand and could be deported to certain danger in Bahrain.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said, “As an organisation responsible for the settlement and inclusion of refugees in Australia, many of whom have experienced torture or trauma, SSI expresses serious concern for the welfare of Mr al-Araibi, an Australian resident.

“This course of action taken by the Thai and Bahrain governments contravenes international human rights law and places Mr al-Araibi, a recognised refugee and torture survivor, at grave risk of imprisonment and torture if forcibly extradited.”

She said torture was an abhorrent practice and instrument of terror that could never be justified.

Torture could have severe and long-lasting health and mental health consequences for the victims and its impact could extend to the survivors’ families, friends and the community as a whole, she said.

“Under no circumstances should Mr al-Araibi be removed to Bahrain or to any other country in which he would be at real risk of serious human rights violations,” Ms Roumeliotis said.

“We express our deepest concerns regarding the continued detention of Mr al-Araibi and urge the Thai government to respect Hakeem’s refugee status and to take steps to facilitate his immediate release so that he can be safely reunited with his wife and rebuild the new life the Australian government has granted him.”

Amnesty International Campaign: Save Hakeem – Tell Thailand to release refugee footballer

#SaveHakeem

Background information

Mr al-Araibi fled Bahrain in 2014 after he was convicted in an unfair trial of vandalising a police station, even though he said he was abroad and playing in a televised football match at the time.

He has been detained in Thailand since he arrived in Bangkok for a holiday with his wife on November 27, 2018.

On February 4 Mr al-Araibi appeared in court, denying the Bahrain extradition request and refusing to be sent back. He will be remanded in prison until he appears in court again on April 22.

There are fears that, if extradited, the Australia permanent resident will face the death sentence in his home country.

The Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights said that harsh sentences handed down last month — including death sentences against political detainees and a life sentence against the country’s opposition leader — were a serious indicator of what was waiting for Mr al-Araibi if extradited to Bahrain.

It said there were currently over 4,000 prisoners of conscience in Bahrain. Eleven citizens died as a result of torture in Bahrain’s prisons in 2017.

Mr al-Araibi has already described being tortured in Bahrain before his arrival in Australia. He said after his arrest in November 2012 security forces “blinded me. They held me really tight, and one started to beat my legs really hard, saying, ‘You will not play soccer again. We will destroy your future.’”

Mr al-Araibi’s public comments, in addition to concerns raised by the United Nations Committee Against Torture, lends credibility to Mr al-Araibi’s fear of being subjected to torture once again should he be returned.

In its 2017 report, the committee states it was “concerned that there continue to be numerous and consistent allegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment of persons who are deprived of their liberty in all places of detention”.

The UN committee expressed concern over numerous and consistent allegations of widespread torture in Bahrain and “the climate of impunity which seems to prevail”.

The GCM is a historic opportunity for global cooperation on issues surrounding international migration. On December 10 and 11, the GCM will be adopted by over 180 UN member states at an intergovernmental conference in Marrakech, Morocco.

All countries in the Asia-Pacific region will be signatories with the exception of Australia.

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia’s Director, Carolina Gottardo, who attended most of the consultations and negotiations as a civil society representative said, “This public letter is a powerful demonstration of civil society’s disappointment and concern about the Australian government’s recent decision to withdraw from the Global Compact on Migration. We will continue to hold the Australian government to account on these kinds of decisions.”

She said, “For the Australian government to suggest that we do not need the rest of the world to manage the inherently international phenomenon of migration is puzzling. No country can address migration on its own. Adopting the Global Compact on Migration is the right thing to do if we want to fulfil our humanitarian obligations and improve our cooperation with states in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.”

Among the other signatories are the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA), the Federation of Ethnic Community Councils of Australia (FECCA), the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and Amnesty International Australia.

Paul Power, Chief Executive Officer of the Refugee Council, said, “The Global Compact seeks to build international cooperation on migration matters, recognising the rights of people involved in migration and also the right of sovereign states to set their own policy.

“Any Australian who takes the time to read the Global Compact will be surprised by the political controversy about it, particularly when they see that preamble clearly states its non-binding nature.”

Dr Graham Thom, Refugee Coordinator at Amnesty International, said, “By refusing to sign the Global Compact on Migration, the Government is highlighting how woefully out of step it is with the rest of the world, while at the same time undermining Australia’s national interests by turning away from our region and our ability to work constructively to provide genuine solutions for people on the move.”

Please see the full text of our public letter.80.35 KB

List of signatories (in alphabetical order):

Access CEO Gail Ker with SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis

While Access will come under the umbrella of SSI, it will continue to provide the same valuable local and state-wide services for clients in Queensland.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said, “This is a great alliance which will build on the already strong collaboration between our organisations and enable us to work together to deliver programs and services for clients and the community.

“Access has made a considerable contribution to the settlement and wellbeing of newly arrived Australians over the last three decades and we’re proud that we are joining forces, particularly as demands in the community grow.”

Gail Ker, who will continue as Access’ CEO and lead the team in Queensland, said, “The partnership with SSI is the start of a new chapter for Access and we are excited to be part of a larger community organisation that develops and delivers a broad range of services and programs for vulnerable communities.”

About Access

Access Community Services has decades of experience in the provision of settlement, employment, training, youth support services, housing and social enterprise opportunities with a focus on support for migrants, refugees and Australian-born clients, with services delivered across Queensland.