Sudanese community and Human Rights Commission call for compassion and respect

29/11/2007

The Sudanese Community Association of Australia (SCAA) today urged the new Federal Government to show compassion and respect for Africans resettling in Australia.

In a statement released today, SCAA spokesperson Bol Diu Gok urged the new leadership to reconsider the African humanitarian refugee intake.

“At the moment hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees are stuck in the refugee camps without hope. There is still a great need to process humanitarian visa applications from these areas.”

Mr Gok said the community was still in shock and disbelief at being singled out by former Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews.

“Statements made about our community demonizing us as criminals and not respecting the law are unfair and untrue; the whole community can’t be stereotyped because of the bad behavior of individuals.

“We face many challenges as new migrants, but our community has been stigmatized for not adjusting to the system. We feel that this is unfair - our community is adjusting and integrating like any other migrant community.

“Many people from our community are lacking relevant education and work experience that will enable them to find work in a complex and competitive job market, making it difficult to start a new economic life.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission supported the statement. Commission Chief Executive Officer Dr Helen Szoke said the Sudanese community had been unfairly singled out.

“Recent media coverage and public commentary has seen members of our African community singled out and portrayed as a problem,” said Dr Szoke.

“African Australians have embraced Australia as their new home and bring much to Victoria’s diverse multicultural community. As Australians, they have the right to a fair go.”

Dr Szoke also called on the Federal Government to renew its commitment to multiculturalism in Australia.

“Multiculturalism is about building bridges between communities.”

“It is a recognition of diversity that demands the involvement of all institutions of government and civil society.

“The abandonment of a multicultural policy has resulted in divisive statements by Senior Government leaders, and as a result community members have reported an increase in racism and discrimination.”

Media contact: Alex Manning 9281 7144

The full statement from the Sudanese Community Association of Australia is included below.

Sudanese Community statement about the current election outcome

The Sudanese Community Association of Australia in Victoria congratulates the newly elected leadership for winning the Federal Election. In this congratulatory statement, our community would like to thank and appreciate the Australian government and the people of Australia for the warm welcome and the hospitality our community has received at the levels of Federal, State, and the local councils.

We would also like to publicly thank the wider community during the recent crises posed against us by the government in relation to our settlement. In particular, the community thanks our former Prime Minister Mr. Malcolm Fraser and Mrs. Anna Bligh the Queensland Premier for their support to our community in response to anecdotal comments made by former Immigration Minster Kevin Andrews against our community.

We hope that the newly elected government will consider us as a refugee community who came to settle in Australia on humanitarian visas, not on skilled migrant visas. We are a minor group and still not settled properly, therefore, we need the government’s support to project more funds to resettle this category of migrants.

Many people from our community are lacking relevant education and work experience that will enable them to find work in a complex and competitive job market, making it difficult to start a new economic life. We face many challenges as new migrants, but our community has been stigmatized for not adjusting to the system. We feel that this is unfair - our community is adjusting and integrating like any other migrant community.

Some of our community members have become traumatized as a result of civil war and disrupted education caused by previous experience in Sudan during the war. Education and cultural barriers have contributed to low level of understanding the system and how the new society works. Our young men do not form gangs as some people believe in wider society- we are a communal community who likes to socialize in small groups.

We do agree to some extent that there may be a small core of problems that have not been addressed, which may contribute to anti-social behaviour by some individuals. This behaviour does not represent the view of the whole community and is common behaviour of all young people wherever they are regardless of where they come from.

Our community was in shock and disbelief when we were singled out from the wider community. Statements made about our community demonizing us as criminals and not respecting the law are unfair and untrue; the whole community cannot be stereotyped because of the bad behaviour of individuals. Therefore, we urge the new leadership to review the different services being delivered to African migrants.

In conclusion, we urge the new leadership to reconsider the Sudanese/African humanitarian intake. At the moment hundreds of thousands of Sudanese Refugees are stuck in the refugee camps without hope. There is still a great need to process humanitarian visa applications from these areas.