HACN NEWSLETTER Horn Of Africa Communities Network Inc.

DECEMBER 2015 ISSUE # 14

Ethnic Business Awards Pg 3

Multicultural Mental Health Care Pg 4

Africans Buying More Homes Pg 5

Community Outreach at HACN Pg 6

Melbourne Coming Events Pg 7

Community Profile: Sudanese Pg 8-9

In This Month’s Issue:

A CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM HOME

Continued page 2

In your rush this Christmas, to get the

decorations, presents and celebrations organised,

spare a thought for those spending their first

Christmas in Australia.

For many of us, Christmas has become more

than just a religious holiday. When we think of

Christmas, we automatically think of family, friends

and celebrating the passing of the year that has

been. However, for many refugees and migrants,

this Christmas may not be the celebration it was in

previous years.

Often having to leave their family, friends and

homes in war-torn countries and starting their lives

over, in a whole new country, can leave many

feeling isolated, depressed and disconnected from

the community around them.

As a multi-cultural country, Australia has made

many efforts to embrace the many new cultures of

it’s refugee and migrant communities, however, for

many of those new to the country, it can still leave

them missing their connection to their home country

and it’s traditions.

We need to offer our support, caring,

compassion and understanding to those who feel

lost, in all the lights, wrapping paper and

celebrations, they find going on around them.

Gesëende Kersfees

Een Plesierige Kerfees

Rehus-Beal-Ledeats

Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah

Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun

Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu

Shen Tan

Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad

Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova

Shub Naya Baras

Selamat Hari Natal

Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah

Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu

Omedeto

Sung Tan Chuk Ha

Hristos se rodi

Sawadee Pee Mai

Chung Mung Giang Sinh

MERRY CHRISTMAS

FROM THE HACN STAFF & VOLUNTEERS

2

Also not to be forgotten, is that Christmas can

be a doubly hard time of year for those that are

already struggling to get by. When many arrive

here in Australia, they come with (and to) nothing -

no money, no home, no job, no support, but with a

family provide for.

So this Christmas, say Hello to that new family

that just moved into your street, have a

conversation with that new employee in your office

and consider donating to one of the many charities

that DO support these new members of the

Australian Community, and help make it a Happy

New Year for all!

HACN wants to wish all the refugees and

migrants, who have enriched Australia with their

arrival and inclusion in our communities, a Happy

Holiday Season and a Prosperous Year Ahead!

Choose a gift from Australia for UNHCR and help

refugee families in crisis. Your gift can ensure that

refugee families overseas are safe, warm and

provided for this Christmas season.

With gifts ranging from as little as $12, a UNHCR

package is perfect for presents ranging from office

Secret Santa right up to gifts for friends, family

and loved ones. Be it the gift of a Jerry Can,

Malaria Treatment, Sports Equipment, New

Mother’s Pack, Emergency Survival Kit or even a

Family Tent, every little bit helps!

For further information and to make a donation,

check out the ‘Get Involved’ page on the UNHCR

website www.unrefugees.org.au and make a

difference to those in need around the world this

Christmas.

A CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM HOME

Continued from page 1

Give a life-changing Christmas gift this year

Free Migration Services and Consultant

To manage your immigration journey to Australia through our commitment to a personalised and world class service that ensures the

best possible visa outcomes for our communities. Contact HACN to arrange an appointment!

Visitor Visas

Student Visas

Family Visas

Business Visas

Skilled Visas

Employment Visas

E-mail: footscray@hacn.org.au

Phone: (03) 9689 2586

3

A FAMILY who fled war-torn Lebanon, to create

a new life in Australia, has taken out one of the top

prizes at the Ethnic Business Awards of Australia.

The prestigious awards, held recently in

Adelaide, are one of Australia’s longest running

national business awards programs, which

recognise the achievements and entrepreneurialism

of Australia’s migrant communities.

The founder and Chairperson of the awards, Mr

Joseph Assaf AM, said the awards aim to promote

an awareness of the economic contribution of

migrant communities, the benefits their business

endeavours bring to the broader Australian

community and the potential for harmony.

“We all have the responsibility of sharing and

celebrating our many differences and of working

together to build a great and harmonious

multicultural society,” said Mr Assaf.

The awards are comprised of three categories –

Small Business, Medium to Large Business and

Indigenous in Business.

Joseph Kairouz, who won the Medium to Large

Business category, started out working with his

brother in the meat industry to support their 10

siblings. Today, Cedar Meats Australia, based in

Brooklyn, Victoria, employs more than 400 people,

exporting to the US, EU and China.

“Multiculturalism is not a passing fancy. It is not a

hobby. It is not a government policy. It is not just a

‘nice thing to do’ or a marketing opportunity.

Multiculturalism is a way of life - these awards

celebrate all of that,” said Mr Assaf.

For more information on this year’s awards, or to

nominate someone you think deserves to be

celebrated, check out the EBA website at

www.ethnicbusinessawards.com.

A new book celebrating the work of Victorian

refugee and migrant writers was launched last

week by Mr Ross Alatsas, Deputy Chairperson

of the Victorian Multicultural Commission.

“Home Truths: An Anthology of Refugee and

Migrant Writing”, is a collection of stories, essays

and poems written by a diverse group of writers,

mostly from Africa and Asia.

The anthology is filled with first hand

experiences of war and dislocation and of feeling

at odds in a new culture. “Sharing our stories

not only honours the diverse voices and

experiences of new Australians, it also helps

capture the hearts and minds of the wider

community,” said Mr Alatsas.

Jill Parris, a counselling psychologist and

herself a refugee who initially worked with many

of the authors, using writing as extension of

trauma counselling, says the project was about

giving people a voice. “We wanted to introduce

our fellow Australians to our home countries. We

wanted them to understand how and why we had

to flee and why we needed their goodwill to

flourish in our new homes,” she explained.

Importantly, all sales proceeds of this

book will be donated to charities that support

refugees.

“Home Truths an Anthology of Refugee and

Migrant Writing” is available for $20 from

Readings bookstores or online at

www.readings.com.au. Grab one for your

friends - and one for yourself!

LOOKING FOR A GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING?

4

The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils

of Australia (FECCA) welcomesd the

Government’s recent announcement on a

complete mental health reform, following the

National Mental Health Commission’s Review of

Mental Health Programme and Services.

FECCA Chairperson Joe Caputo said, “We are

very pleased the Government has taken steps

towards a comprehensive mental health system. It

is encouraging that all Australians suffering from

severe and complex mental illness will have

access to person-centric integrated care packages,

which will be rolled out in local communities.”

However, as Joe Caputo has said, “While the

reforms make reference to multicultural

communities, it is our recommendation that a

strong focus is placed on these communities in the

implementation.”

According to the National Mental Health

Commission’s Review ‘Contributing Lives, Thriving

Communities’, people from diverse cultural

backgrounds may be less likely to disclose signs or

symptoms and may not feel comfortable seeking

help. Also identified in the Review were gaps in

culturally competent, sensitive and appropriate

mental health and suicide prevention services and

programmes.

FECCA urges the Government to ensure that

culturally and linguistically diverse communities are

recognised as a vulnerable group in the mental

health system and considered as a priority,

requiring their unique mental health needs to be

met in a culturally sensitive and appropriate

way. The knowledge and insights developed

through the Mental Health in Multicultural Australia

(MHiMA) project are essential in this regard.

Special consideration in the reforms

implementation should be given to new migrants

and refugees, particularly in view of the additional

humanitarian intake and refugee experiences of

torture and trauma. FECCA also acknowledged

that with current measures around countering

violent extremism, there is a need for access to

tailored mental health services for individuals and

families.

“We are committed to working with the

Government and the key stakeholders in

multicultural community mental health to ensure

that these reforms achieve positive outcomes for

our constituency”, said Joe Caputo.

We want to feature more stories and information about multiculturalism and our community!

Whether you are from an agency or service, or you are just an individual within the

community with an inspirational story to share, we would love to be able to provide the opportunity to help you share your knowledge,

experiences and services!

Please contact us, if you have stories or content you’d like to share,

at admin@hacn.org.au.

Calls for Multicultural Communities to be a priority

in coming Mental Health Care Reforms

5

According to Africa Media Australia, the city of

Wyndham in Melbourne’s West is not just the fastest

growing municipality in Australia, it is also home to

increasingly more African-Australians.

The suburbs of Tarneit, Truganina, Hoppers

Crossing, and the surrounding areas, now have one

of the highest concentrations of African-Australian

homeowners in Melbourne and probably in the

whole of Australia. It’s an encouraging sign for this

new and emerging group of the Australian

population whose members have often come from

quite challenging backgrounds.

Moses, a South-Sudanese Australian resident of

Tarneit since 2008 says that “African-Australians are

moving in the Wyndham area in big numbers and

they are not just renting, they are buying houses

because there are more affordable house and land

packages that are made available here, compared to

other areas of Melbourne and beyond”.

Whilst there are no official statistics about home

ownership within African-Australian communities,

anecdotal evidence suggests that the percentage of

Africans now living in their own mortgaged

properties is probably the highest it has ever been

since Africans started entering Australia, en masse,

approximately 30 years ago. The city of Wyndham

in Melbourne’s West, the city of Greater Dandenong

in the South-East, as well as Whittlesea in the North

of Melbourne, are the main areas where many

Africans are now buying houses in big numbers.

Nick Tshibala is a Congolese-born Australian who

has been a Wyndham resident for over ten years.

He applauds the growth of home ownership amongst

Africans in general and in his local area in particular.

“Its a great thing that Africans are now more settled

and they are integrating better in Australia than

before, taking up the Australian culture which views

home ownership as an essential thing in life”, he

said.

This father of three says “Australia is not just my

second home as most migrants would say, for me it

is just my home, period. I am not thinking of going

back to live in Africa and I am also pleased to see

that many more Africans are now working hard,

learning to live like any other regular Aussie Blokes

and Sheilas, and they see Australia as their home

and their future, both for themselves and their

children”.

To read the full article and get further information on

this growing trend, check out the Africa Media

Australia website at www.africamediaaustralia.com.

The HACN offices in Footscray, Dandenong and

Hoppers Crossing will close on the 24th of

December and will re-open on the 4th of January

2016.

Our Staff and supporters would like to wish

everyone a Safe and Happy Holiday Season and

New Year, and we look forward to connecting and

contributing to the community, again, in 2016.

6

CALD WOMEN’S SEWING GROUP

With their traditional skirts almost finished, next

year our Sewing Group will be moving on to

learning how to sew traditional wedding dresses

and more. The feedback from our members has

been that it is a great skill for them to learn how to

make their own clothing, and the possibilities it

opens up for them are positive and empowering. If

you or someone you know would like to join our

Sewing Group, please contact us on 0468 858 304, to join us every Friday, again, from the 5th of February.

CALD SENIORS SOCIAL GROUP

This month we’ve had some great times with our

CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse)

Seniors Social Group!

We’ve had representatives from the Ethnic

Communities Council of Victoria come out to have

a chat to our members, to find out what services

they need and what factors hinder them from

accessing those services, such as a lack of

transport, English language skills and knowledge

of exactly what services are available to them.

We’ve had a

lovely trip to the

beach - with

perfect weather

- and a trip to

the Point Cook

RAAF Museum!

So, if you or someone you know would like to join

this group, please contact us on 0468 858 304 to

join us every Thursday, again, from the 4th of

February 2016.

CALD WOMEN’S COOKING GROUP

Things are really heating up for our Cooking Group!

They have been learning cooking techniques and

terms in order to create a variety of foods - and

improving their English Language Skills - all at the

same time. Our hope is that these women will learn

enough culinary and English skills, in order to start

their own Catering Companies, thereby providing

them with a new source of income and confidence.

If you, or someone you know, would like to join us in

the kitchen, please contact us on 0468 858 304, to

be a part of this fun team, starting again from

7

The Art of Hand Beading by

Twitch

This exhibition will showcase

and demonstrate the innovative

and contemporary beading

produced in Dandenong, by The

TWICH Women’s Sewing

Collective. It is a sewing training

program for women run by & for

women from South Sudan.

When: Monday to Friday,

10am-4pm and on the

first Sunday of the month, 12pm-

4pm, until 29 January 2016

Where: Heritage Hill

Museum and Historical Gardens,

66 McCrae Street, Dandenong

Cost: FREE

Transform Your Life

Join internationally renowned

teacher and Buddhist monk, Gen

-la Kelsang Khyenrab for an

extraordinary public talk on how

to transform your life through

meditation and Buddhist wisdom.

When: 5th January 7pm-

8:30pm

Where: The Square,

Federation Square

Cost: FREE

Vietnamese in Australia: 40

Years of Settlement

Celebrate the Vietnamese

community of Australia.

Their migration story began 40

years ago with terrible loss and

desperation - it is now a story of

survival, hope and achievement.

When: Daily 10am - 5pm Until

30 Jun 2016

Where: Museum Victoria

Cost: FREE ENTRY

8

Geographically the largest country, combined, in the

continent of Africa, North Sudan (officially the

Republic of the Sudan) and South Sudan (The

Republic of South Sudan) measure almost 2.5 million

square kilometres, boarding nine other African

nations: Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic

Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,

Kenya, Libya and Uganda.

South Sudan only gained independence from Sudan

in 2011, after decades of conflict. With an estimated

population of over 35 million, the people of Sudan are

ethically diverse. Approximately 600 ethnic groups

exist, with over 400 different languages identified.

This means the Sudanese identity is not mono-

cultural but multifaceted; based on physical, religious,

cultural, linguistic, regional and historical factors.

RELIGION differentiates the people of Sudan:

Muslims, Christians and those who follow indigenous

or animist beliefs. Recent evidence suggests that

while most citizens of the country identify strongly

with both Sudan and their religion, Arab and African

supranational identities are much more polarising and

contested.

CUSTOMS and courtesies are an important aspect

of the Sudanese culture. Core values tend to include

family solidarity, respect for elders, hospitality towards

guests and strangers, obedience to parents at all

stages of life and remaining close to family. As with

many cultures, matters of potential shame to families

include: disrespect to elders and the family,

unmarried children moving away from home,

marriage outside of religion, tribe, country or ethnic

group, men and women living together outside of

marriage, being involved in crime and being involved

in dishonest business.

Many customs differ between northern and southern

Sudanese and can differ between families and

individuals. Typically, northern Sudanese greetings

tend to be formal with a handshake extended to

member of the same sex. In public, often, Sudanese

Muslims will not make physical contact with the

opposite sex. However, greeting friends with an

embrace is common. Typically South Sudanese will

greet friends and relatives with handshakes—both

men and women.

LANGUAGES spoken in Sudan and South Sudan

vary widely and, as not all Sudanese languages are

written, it can often make translating and interpreting

services even harder. However, those who were

educated in Sudan before 1990 are more likely to be

able to converse using English because, until that

time, schooling in Sudan was conducted in English,

along with much of their professional life and

business transactions.

Although the official language may be considered to

be Arabic, it is not necessarily understood by people

speaking Sudanese-Arabic or the Sudanese creoles

Nubi or Juba. For example, it is important, when

contracting the services of an Arabic interpreter for a

Sudanese person, that the service providers ask for a

Sudanese-Arabic interpreter, otherwise the clients

may well be unable to understand either the

interviewer or their interpreter!

9

IMMIGRATING Sudanese, settling in Australia,

have often spent years in refugee camps in countries

outside their homeland. For some, there is even a

national identity crisis, as a person may be 10 years

old when he/she arrives in a camp in another African

country, such as Ethiopia, and then spends up to a

decade there. Is that person still entirely Sudanese

in terms of culture, or has he/she been influenced by

local conditions and behaviours? For children of

Sudanese parents arriving in Australia, this sense of

displacement can be magnified by the gulf of

difference between their pre-embarkation

experiences and their new life. Disconnectedness

appears to have arisen due to the feeling of being

caught between two - or more - cultures, trying to fit

into both and yet not succeeding to fully belong to

any.

EMPLOYMENT, or lack thereof, can lead to low

self-esteem, family conflict and depression. Although

many from Sudan are strongly motivated to work,

many qualified individuals are forced to work in

manufacturing and labour-based jobs, as their

overseas qualifications are not recognised or

respected in Australia. There is also the problem

many migrant communities face - lack of Australian

work experience - which can often disadvantage

jobseekers from a new migrant background.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

The 2011 Australian Census recorded, of the Sudan-

born*:

There were 19,369 in Australia (an increase of

1.7% from the 2006 Census) with Victoria having

the largest amount (6,085)

The main languages spoken in Australia were

Arabic, Dinka and English.

Of the 18,255 who spoke a language other than

English at home, 79.7% spoke English very well

or well while 16.9% spoke English not well or not

at all.

The major religious affiliations were Catholic,

Anglican and Islam, while only 0.9% stated ‘No

Religion’.

61.1% arrived between 2001 - 2006 and 14.6%

arrived between 2007 - 2011.

The median individual weekly income for those

aged 15 years and over, was $294, compared

with $538 for all overseas-born and $597 for all

Australian-born.

43.9% aged 15 years and over had some form of

higher non-school qualifications compared to

55.9% of the Australian population.

29.7% aged 15 years and over, were still

attending an educational institution.

The participation rate in the labour force was 49%

and the unemployment rate was 25.4%. The

corresponding rate in the total Australian

population were 65% and 5.6% respectively.

Of the 5,594 who were employed, only 25.5%

were employed in either a skilled managerial,

professional or trade occupation.

SUDANESE ORGANISATIONS IN MELBOURNE

Multicultural Sudanese Centre Inc.

Address: 12 Holland Court, Flemington, VIC, 3031

Phone: 9376 6513

Sudanese Community Association of Australia

Address: P.O. Box 2328, Dandenong North 3175

Phone: 9706 8933

Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning

Program Inc. - SAIL

The SAIL program provides free English support &

community services to the Sudanese refugee

community in various locations around Victoria.

Phone: 03 9679 3272

Website: www.sailprogram.org.au

Email: info@sailprogram.org.au

*July 2011, the Republic of South Sudan became independent from the Republic of Sudan.

Consequently, country of birth figures as completed by individuals at the time of the 2011 Census

may not fully reflect this change.

10

Contact Us

3/9 Motto Court

HOPPERS CROSSING

Ph: 0468 858 304

E:hopperscrossing@hacn.org.au

3 Pilgrim Street

FOOTSCRAY

Ph: 03 9689 2568

E: footscray@hacn.org.au

11/249 Lonsdale Street

DANDENONG

Ph: 03 8759 6550

E: dandenong@hacn.org.au

OR EMAIL admin@hacn.org.au

Check out our website: www.hacn.org.au

ABOUT HACN

The Horn of Africa Communities Network is

a not-for-profit community organisation.

Our mission is to provide practical and moral support to refugee

and migrant communities, of all nationalities, that now call

Australia home.

Covering all areas of Melbourne, we offer a number of services

to community members including advocacy, referrals to social

support services, community based programs and general

advice and information.

If you or someone you know is in need of help, please consider

contacting us either in person, via phone or email.

HACN would like to acknowledge the support provided by staff and participants in all of it’s offices,

in the preparation and distribution of this Newsletter.

FREE LEGAL ADVICE Thanks to the generous aid of legal volunteers, community members can now

take advantage of our legal advice service.

Sessions are run every Tuesday evening between 6 and 7pm. To make use

of this service, please phone or email us to arrange an appointment.

Phone : 03 9689 2586

Email: footscray@hacn.org.au