The Ali family and members of the Bass Coast Refugee Sponsorship Group gather with
other local refugee families.
other local refugee families.
By Maddy Harford
REFUGEE Week in Bass Coast is a time for celebration. With a long history (about 15 years) of welcoming and supporting refugees from various corners of the globe, we can reflect on successful settlements and integration and the diversity these have contributed to our community.
Our most recent arrivals are the Ali family who arrived in Wonthaggi from Syria, via Iraq, in November.
Lukman and Khadija Ali and their four young children came to Australia under the new Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP to its friends), which engages groups of everyday Australians to wrap comprehensive support around the new arrivals.
REFUGEE Week in Bass Coast is a time for celebration. With a long history (about 15 years) of welcoming and supporting refugees from various corners of the globe, we can reflect on successful settlements and integration and the diversity these have contributed to our community.
Our most recent arrivals are the Ali family who arrived in Wonthaggi from Syria, via Iraq, in November.
Lukman and Khadija Ali and their four young children came to Australia under the new Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP to its friends), which engages groups of everyday Australians to wrap comprehensive support around the new arrivals.
When the Bass Coast Refugee Sponsorship Group heard about the program, we raised our collective hands to sponsor a family with children and were matched with the Alis.
We undertook the CRISP training, raised funds, researched schools and kinder for the children and language classes for the parents, found a house to rent and furnished it. We each plumbed our community and personal networks for support and the local community responded generously.
Since we collected the family from Tullamarine, we have accompanied them to visits to the doctor, the supermarket, schools, the bank and prospective employers. There have been swimming lessons for the kids and practice lessons before the start of school. One of our members, Sylvia Davey, volunteered to deal with Centrelink. She’s spent many hours on hold waiting to speak to a human being, and then done it all again the next day until she got what she wanted.
Our involvement with the family has been at times heart-warming, exhausting, frustrating, hilarious and deeply rewarding.
The Alis have been in Wonthaggi for seven months now and our group recently sat down with them to review their experiences thus far, together with their goals for the next six months.
We undertook the CRISP training, raised funds, researched schools and kinder for the children and language classes for the parents, found a house to rent and furnished it. We each plumbed our community and personal networks for support and the local community responded generously.
Since we collected the family from Tullamarine, we have accompanied them to visits to the doctor, the supermarket, schools, the bank and prospective employers. There have been swimming lessons for the kids and practice lessons before the start of school. One of our members, Sylvia Davey, volunteered to deal with Centrelink. She’s spent many hours on hold waiting to speak to a human being, and then done it all again the next day until she got what she wanted.
Our involvement with the family has been at times heart-warming, exhausting, frustrating, hilarious and deeply rewarding.
The Alis have been in Wonthaggi for seven months now and our group recently sat down with them to review their experiences thus far, together with their goals for the next six months.
Lukman and Khadija’s goals for their new life in Australia centred on peace and education for their children. They feel very welcomed and supported and free from the anxieties of life on the edge in the Middle East. Their children: Kobani (named for their town in Syria), Ali and Aysha have settled well at Wonthaggi North Primary School, while Rosila is enjoying kinder. They have all made friends and, like most kids, are learning English at a breathtaking rate.
Khadija and Lukman are attending English language classes at Bass Coast Adult Learning (BCAL) and Khadija has great fun at the weekly Multicultural Women’s Group meetings at Wonthaggi Neighbourhood Centre at Mitchell House.
What downsides there are relate to language. Imagine arriving in a country whose language is entirely different – even a different script and alphabet! They miss speaking Arabic with friends. Even so, they often cross paths with locals and share a chat via Google Translate - in supermarkets, at school or kinder or in the street.
As their English improves it will be great for them to get to know others, make acquaintances and develop friendships. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to say hello. They will have their trusty Googler Translate handy!
Khadija and Lukman are attending English language classes at Bass Coast Adult Learning (BCAL) and Khadija has great fun at the weekly Multicultural Women’s Group meetings at Wonthaggi Neighbourhood Centre at Mitchell House.
What downsides there are relate to language. Imagine arriving in a country whose language is entirely different – even a different script and alphabet! They miss speaking Arabic with friends. Even so, they often cross paths with locals and share a chat via Google Translate - in supermarkets, at school or kinder or in the street.
As their English improves it will be great for them to get to know others, make acquaintances and develop friendships. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to say hello. They will have their trusty Googler Translate handy!
The film humankind, which follows the preparation for, and welcome for the Ali family, was screened on Tuesday at the Wonthaggi Baptist Church as part of Refugee Week. The film was made by CRISP to encourage other groups to sponsor refugees.
The same day an Afghan refugee, Zamin, a former Bass Coast Adult Learning (BCAL) student was interviewed on SouthcoastFM.
At the Wonthaggi Cinema at 3pm on Sunday, the South Gippsland Rural Australians for Refugees is showing For Sama, an award-winning film about the war in Syria.
The same day an Afghan refugee, Zamin, a former Bass Coast Adult Learning (BCAL) student was interviewed on SouthcoastFM.
At the Wonthaggi Cinema at 3pm on Sunday, the South Gippsland Rural Australians for Refugees is showing For Sama, an award-winning film about the war in Syria.
Back row, from left, Eleanor Morgan, Cait McMahon, Peter Ghys, Sylvia Davey, Harry Freeman, Lukman Ali, Khadija Ali and Maddy Harford. Front row: Kobani, Rosila, Janice Connor, Ali and Aysha