Refugee Myth busters!

I am damn mad at the way Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard are continuing to demonise refugees and asylum seekers. This short animated video by GetUp! is worth watching if you want to get the real story!

In recent weeks I have heard many stories from Australian citizens who were once refugees or  (gasp!) asylum seekers. They battle incredible odds to survive let alone get to Australia. If they are lucky.

Read Full Post »

Tony Abbott’s archaic views!

Thanks GetUp!

Read Full Post »

A different perspective

I was at a school in western Sydney yesterday. It has a large number of refugee students mainly from Africa. Many of these students came from  Sudan. Three of these students, Theresa, Nebol and Dut, spoke to a group of  us (8 adults – scary!) about their achievements since they arrived in Australia.

I only wish Julia Gillard and Tony Abott had been there. Perhaps then they would stop all the mischievous rhetoric when they speak about  refugees…   “illegal refugees”…”boat people” and  “border protection” .

Theresa, Nebol and Dut were refugees. They did not come to Australia illegally. They did not come to Australia by boat. They came via the UNCHR refugee resettlement program. Their life in a refugee camp prior to this, is another story.

Theresa, Nebol and Dut were stunning. They said it as only young students can. To the point. Blunt. Truthful.

They have learned a lot since they came to Australia. Not just how to read, write and successfully engage in learning. They have also learned what it is like to move from house to house as rents increase. To share a dilapidated house with two or more families.

Theresa, Nebol and Dut have learned about taking on family responsibilities at an early age. Translating forms for their parents from English into Dinka or Arabic. Communicating for their families at school, with landlords, at Medicare…. and so it goes on.

They have also learned how hard it is to negotiate a totally different society, with different rules, laws, different customs, and a different language (Theresa said she still struggles to understand the Australian accent because we speak so fast!!).

What they didn’t say, but was so obviously evident, was how each of their families was still struggling with the horror they witnessed in war-torn Sudan.

But Theresa, Nebol and Dut were all in agreement. They love it here. They appreciate the opportunities they have. They recognise the importance of learning, of knowing, of having a future. And they know they still have a lot to learn, and more struggles ahead.

Even listening to their stories, I found it hard to comprehend just what they have been through – and are still  experiencing.

So to the lady in Shepparton who, when being interviewed by ABC radio, stated that Australia should stop the “boat people” taking  houses that Aussie battlers need, I say………well, I can’t really type it!

I will say…take time to get to know some of the Iraqi refugees in your community and just listen to their stories. Maybe, just maybe, you will see things differently.

Please.

Read Full Post »

Great ad!

If only The Greens could use this ad!! Love The Gruen Nation show on ABC. How else could we make sense of what’s happening with all this political spin leading up to Australia’s federal election??!!!!

Read Full Post »

Priceless!

Read Full Post »

Repeat after me!

Repeat after me.

LBOTE/ESL students are not language delayed if they demonstrate problems in English only; they must be evident in BOTH the mother tongue and English.

Again.

LBOTE/ESL students are not language delayed if they demonstrate problems in English only; they must be evident in BOTH the mother tongue and English.

More to come!

Read Full Post »