Vincentian Family Australia – Refugee issues

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.