People who have arrived in Australia seeking safety or are from a refugee background offer richness and diversity to our community. Their inclusion is critical to a just and equitable society, and also fosters creativity, productivity and innovation.
But the experience for those who arrived in Australia seeking safety is incredibly challenging.
Hostile policies and systemic uncertainty put barriers at every turn. Basic rights – like to access education – are rendered out of reach.
What can we all do to bring about a stronger, safer, and more inclusive society?
This event was jointly presented by the Refugee Advice & Casework Service and UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion.
Whenever I see these policies, it's like you're running from a cheetah but running into a lion. Somalia was the cheetah. Australia is the lion.
Hani Abdile
“When we move from our countries, to sacrifice and to come to Australia or to other countries, we want to see someone who could advocate for us as well as someone who is standing up for human rights and human values.”
Backhit David
“I think we need to walk in the shoes of the refugees much more than we do. We need that empathetic approach to dealing with people. People seeking asylum and people who are refugees are an important part of our Australian story.”
Dorothy Hoddinott AO
Speakers
Hani Abdile is a journalism student, writer and poet. In 2014, Hani left her home country of Somalia to seek protection in Australia. She has received numerous awards for her community work and is an Ambassador for Refugee Advice & Casework Service.
Backhit David is a volunteer interpreter at Mercy House of Welcome, and was previously a volunteer at youth organization, Rotaract Australia. He is currently studying Community Services at TAFE.
Ahmad Sawan is a Solicitor at RACS, which he joined in 2018. Ahmad is responsible for coordinating the RACS data breach project, and works on RACS Stateless Children program, representing clients held offshore on Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
Dorothy Hoddinott was principal of Holroyd High from 1995 to 2018, where one in every three students had been in Australia less than three years and about 60% of students were of refugee background. She established the refugee scholarship fund, Friends of Zainab, in 2002. She was awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal in 2014 for her work with disadvantaged young people and her advocacy for the rights of refugee students.