You too were strangers …
LAST week in Melbourne there were several violent incidents involving the Sudanese community following the annual Miss South Sudan Beauty Pageant. Up to 2000 Sudanese youths from across Australia travelled to Melbourne over the Easter long weekend to watch the beauty pageant and attend a series of afterparties in the following days.
Three violent incidents in just three days did not create much positive publicity for the Sudanese refugee community. Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu responded by saying “Anyone who breaks the law will be dealt with by the law. But we do have to recognise there are problems in some communities and they have to be addressed.”
Indeed, there is no justification for the violent behaviour that took place. Alcohol should not be used as an excuse. Most of the Sudanese refugees who have migrated to Australia fled their country’s civil war, which officially ended in 2005 after 23 bloody years, and many have struggled to adjust. They grew up in the constant shadow of war and violence, seeing family members tortured, raped and killed. After escaping persecution in Sudan many spent more than a decade in refugee camps where life was anything but normal and safe. The post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by most of the refugees is profound, and no doubt has a big impact on their integration process. These are the deep-seated issues that Baillieu refers to.
One Sudanese leader recently remarked that in Sudan they were “educated how to use a gun rather than how to use a pen or a pencil”.
Improving literacy is one major challenge that newly arrived refugees face. They also need to learn English, find a job, financially support family left in Sudan, get a qualification, and deal with regular racist insults.
Whilst their traumatised history, coupled with their distressing current circumstances, does provide some context, there is still no justification for the recent violent behaviour.
There has been a wave of anti-refugee sentiment in the media this week with comments like “send them back home, they don’t deserve to live in this country”, and “they are ruining our Aussie culture and way of life, it is not safe any more.”
What can be done to better integrate the Sudanese into Australia, as opposed to further alienating them?
The Torah’s advice is straight to the point: “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the Lord, am your God.”
It is surely not by chance that the most frequently repeated verse in the Torah is that “you were slaves in the Land of Egypt.”
The very core of our tradition – the story of our liberation from Egyptian slavery which we just celebrated – is a story about freedom and liberation.
Inspired by this exhortation to embrace the stranger and show compassion towards them, Jewish Aid Australia has been working closely with a group of newly arrived refugees from Darfur and the Nuba Mountains, two areas of Sudan that were decimated by the war.
We started building the relationship with them seven years ago with monthly picnics and outings, and today we have homework clubs, women’s groups, men’s groups and an employment program.
Every week, more than 50 Jewish Aid volunteers in Sydney and Melbourne work in one of our six programs, with the aim of empowering the refugees to build their capacity and learn about Australian society.
By building long-term friendships and making the stranger feel welcome, we feel we are taking positive steps towards their integration and success in this lucky country.
The antisocial behaviour displayed by the Sudanese youth needs to be condemned and punished. At the same time we should double our efforts to help these youth deal with their trauma and build a new life in Australia.
Idris Mohammed, who is head of the Darfuri community in Melbourne, recently said to me: “When we arrived in Australia, we approached the Muslim communities and the Arab communities to ask for help, but they did not want to help. We were desperate and it was the Jewish community who helped us learn English and feel at home.”
As survivors of a genocide, our well-resourced community is uniquely placed to provide moral support and friendship to the Sudanese. If not now, when?
Gary Samowitz is CEO of Jewish Aid Australia. If you’re interested in volunteering with Jewish Aid, contact gary@jewishaid.org.au.
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