The Vincentian Family in Australia gathered to focus on “Refugees – Who are they and why should we care?” The June 24, 2012 event “Act Justly – Refugees and Asylum Seekers” was held at St Vincent’s Ashfield and attended by some 60-70 people.
Following a Welcome to Country and a Reflection focussed on Refugees, Paul Power, CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia and who has had a long association with the St Vincent de Paul Society, delivered a talk dealing with the reality of the refugee situation from Australia’s experience and viewpoint. His talk, accompanied by a power-point presentation and statistics, put into perspective that while Australia is contributing to helping with refugees, society, government and the media could be doine a lot better.in comparison to many other countries, and in respect of its own obligations.
Highlights of the afternoon were the talks given by two very articulate people – one from Iraq and the other from Southern Sudan. Both of these were very articulate and told their own personal stories of what it was like being refugees, and finding a new life in Australia. There was also time given over to questions and andd discussion.
Photos below are courtesy of Lisa Bright (FamVin). See also Paul Power – Act Justly for photos.
Thanks to Tim WIlliams, CM of the CM Australia website.
Tags: Australia, Homelessness, refugees, Vincentian
