Refugee Week 2011: Refugees & Asylum Seekers - Histories & Experiences
2011 Refugee Week was marked with a forum on Thursday June 23rd in St George at the Rockdale Town Hall. The forum provided an opportunity for people in the region to hear about refugee experiences and recent research on Human Rights issues related to refugees and asylum seekers. The forum was jointly organised by the St George Migrant Resource Centre, the Inner South West Community Development Organisation and Rockdale City Council.
The event opened with the short film ‘Villawood Mums’. Made by local film makers,Villawood Mums examines the experiences of two different mothers coming to Australia and staying at the Villawood Detention Centre, one in the 80s and one in the early 2000s. Film maker Guido Gonzales, introduced the film on the night said "There are a few things that separate the arrival of Maria and Zahoor at Villawood: ten years, a few policy reforms and two very large fences." Villawood Mums is a film from the Stories Project presented by CuriousWorks. Visit thestoriesproject.com.au for more.
Following the film, a panel discussion was held, with speakers included:
1. Director of the Human Rights Unit of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Kate Temby, who spoke about the Commissions latest report on the Villawood Detention Centre.
2. Micheal Grewcock, lecturer in Law at UNSW who spoke about the history of race and migration in Australia that has led to the current immigration policies and;
3. Two Afghan refugees who have recently been released from an immigration detention centre sharing their experiences of incarceration, and what it has meant for them.
These speakers provided a rounded insight into the issue – from the experience of being incarcerated in immigration detention, through the history of mandatory detention and the facts about the current situation.
This free & timely event has shed some light on recent debates and discussions on refugees and asylum seekers. A local St George refugee group was formed following this forum.