Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The theme of this year's Refugee Week is 'finding freedom'. It highlights the role that family plays in the refugee experience. Refugee Week acknowledges and celebrates the remarkable resilience of refugees and people seeking asylum not only here in our Australian community but also beyond our shores, where it's estimated that today there are some 80 million displaced people on the move globally.

Australia receives one of the highest numbers of refugees per capita in the world, and our refugee settlement program is second to none in the world. Australia is a welcoming country to those who have escaped the violence of war, persecution, the effects of climate and socio-economic circumstances. Multiculturalism is about our unity within a culturally diverse Australia. Multiculturalism rejects divisive discourse, and Australians can be proud that our communities embrace and support those who have sought refuge and safety in our country. In my own electorate we have received some of the highest intakes of refugees from Iraq and Syria and other places of conflict around the world. More recently our community has received families and children fleeing the violence in Gaza. I want to pay tribute to the resilience and courage of my local refugee community.

I spent this past week attending some of the many refugee events that have taken place in Calwell. Last week at the Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School the school community, under the amazing leadership of principal Paul Sedunary and vice-principal Leanne Murray, put on a morning tea for the refugee families that this wonderful school cares for, at a rate of 70 per cent of the overall student population. The school, in celebrating the resilience of its students and their families, created a video that captured the voice of recently arrived refugee families as they told their stories of leaving their home country, their journey and their settlement in Australia. This video, inspired by the theme 'Finding Freedom: Family', encapsulates the profound journey of resilience, strength and unity that defines the refugee experience by shedding light on the transformative power of familial bonds, emphasising the crucial role families play in providing solace, support and a sense of belonging to those forced to flee their home. This video will be used within the school community to help inform people within the Good Samaritan community of the enormity of the journey and the achievements of the local refugee community.

Vice-principal Leanne Murray, in her opening comments, stated:

We hear your stories, we learn from your journey, we keep in our prayers those still searching for freedom and those on the journey to freedom, we also keep in our hearts the many displaced people who are involved in the conflict in Gaza.

Leanne went on to thank the families of the school students:

… for sharing your stories and trusting us to share in the care of your children, you teach us about courage, you teach us about resilience.

Our local refugee community have settled in the area, but the pain of displacement and loss is carried with them always. For my local refugee community, solace, comfort and hope is, in addition to the local service providers and community organisations, found in their places of worship. Theirs is a strong faith, and it's integral to their identity and connection to what they left behind, and the many family and friends that perished in the conflicts they fled from.

I work with all our local faith leaders, and I want to recognise the importance and value of their stewardship to our local community and in particular to our local refugee community. I begin by thanking Father Thair, of Our Lady Guardian of Plants Chaldean Catholic Church, who was present at the morning tea at the Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School last week. I want to thank him for his work and dedication to his community. I also want to welcome Father Stephanos to our community. He himself arrived recently as a refugee from Syria and is using the Kalkallo Community Centre on a Sunday morning to administer mass to an emerging Antiochian Christian community.

I also want to pay tribute to the celebration of Refugee Week at the Australian Chaldean Family Welfare association celebration event last Saturday. I want to thank Ms Dalal Sleiman, the chairperson of the association. We were given the opportunity to join with members of our culturally diverse communities to hear stories of courage, survival and relief from the many refugees present. I want to thank everyone in my community for embracing our multiculturalism, supporting community harmony and building the unity that defines the refugee experience and contributes to our social cohesion.

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