“My family and I came to Australia because it gave us the chance to build a new life, free from war, poverty and persecution. I am very grateful to Australia and its people for the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from being part of an inclusive, strong and prosperous community. As Refugee Week Ambassador, I want to tell not just my story but the stories of many others like me who came here from around the world in search of hope and opportunity and are now proud to call themselves Australian. I’m also producing a range of “Dumplings not Detention” T-shirts and donating the proceeds to support the important work of the Refugee Council of Australia.” – Nahji Chu, Refugee Week Ambassador Dear friends and supporters of the Refugee Council, This week (16-22 June) is Refugee Week, an annual national event to raise awareness about issues affecting refugees and celebrate the many positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. The theme of Refugee Week 2013 is Restoring Hope, reminding us that, while a refugee’s journey begins with danger, it also begins with hope: they hope to find freedom from persecution and safety for their families, and be given a chance to start a new life. The story of Refugee Week Ambassador, Nga Chu (better known as Nahji), epitomises the hope at the centre of the refugee journey. Born in Luang Prahbang, Laos, in 1970, Nahji escaped with her family from the Pathet Lao Regime in 1975. For years, they eked out a meagre living in Thai refugee camps before becoming one of the first Vietnamese-Laotian refugee families to settle in Australia. Nahji is now a successful restaurateur and caterer, and has been dubbed “The Queen of Rice Paper Rolls”. The Australian Refugee Visa on which Nahji and her family entered the country in 1978 now appears on the menu at her famous misschu tuckshops, a powerful symbol of the contributions made by former refugees to their new country. We need your support to promote hope for people now facing the challenges Nahji once faced. All over the world, people seeking protection do not have even their most basic needs met – safety, adequate food and shelter, health care, the right to work to support themselves, education for their children. Two-thirds of the world’s refugees continue to live in protracted situations, many for 20 years, with no prospect of a solution to their plight in the near future. New crises continue to emerge: thousands are fleeing daily from Syria in a refugee crisis fast becoming one of the worst in recent history. In the face of these challenges, international cooperation and solidarity is desperately needed. Unfortunately, the Australian political debate continues to focus overwhelmingly on the relatively small numbers of asylum seekers arriving by boat. While the Government has taken the very positive step of expanding Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program to 20,000 places annually, it has also re-established detention centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, denied work rights to asylum seekers who arrived by boat after 13 August 2012 and created barriers to family reunion which will see many refugee families separated indefinitely. The Federal Opposition has pledged to reintroduce the punitive temporary protection visa regime, restrict appeal rights for asylum seekers, turn back boats at sea and automatically deport all Sri Lankan asylum seekers without assessing whether they need protection. Rarely has the international protection environment been so challenging and the standard of national political debate on refugee issues so low. Now more than ever, we need your support to speak up for humane and practical policy alternatives and to counter the negative and distorted political debate. With your support, the Refugee Council will continue to work with government and the non-government sector to find sustainable and constructive solutions for refugees in Australia and around the world. Your end of financial year contribution will help to ensure that our important work continues. All donations before 30 June can be claimed in this year’s tax return. To make a donation online, go to refugeecouncil.org.au/donate Yours faithfully, Paul Power Chief Executive Officer Refugee Council of Australia
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:28:00 +0000