Employment strategies for refugee and humanitarian entrants
This report analyses solutions to the barriers that refugee entrants face in making the transition to meaningful, sustainable employment in Australia.
Read more about: What Works
Refugee Week Ambassadors
Refugee Week Ambassadors have taken a pledge to:
- Celebrate the contributions refugees make to Australian society;
- Inform the Australian public about who refugees are and why they have come to Australia;
- Promote understanding of the many challenges refugees face when seeking protection and settling in Australia.
Our Ambassadors have either come from a refugee background themselves or have been committed to refugee issues in Australia. Each has a unique perspective and a personal motivation for being involved. We encourage you to contact us to arrange for an Ambassador to be a part of your celebration for this year’s Refugee Week.
Abdul Kargbo
Abdul arrived in Australia in late 2009 having fled Sierra Leone. Abdul was orphaned at 11 years of age when rebels raided his village, Makassie. He is now a Year 11 student at Menai High School, NSW.
In Abdul’s words;
"I was 11 years old when the rebel soldiers raided my village and I lost my Mum and Dad. The rebels chased me and my brother and sister into the bush. They wanted to kill us too.
We were very, very scared. We hid in the bush for a few days until we could not hear them searching for us any more. We knew that we could not return to our village because the rebels would catch us and kill us. So we built a shelter from palm tree leaves. There were no walls and the floor was the dirt. This became our home. There was not enough to eat. Usually I would have about 4 meals every week. We got our water from the lake. There was no shower, no toilet, no bed, no blankets. All our clothes wore out. Of course, there was no electricity and so, none of the things that need electricity to work, like TVs. The only fun we had was to sing and dance and clap our hands. But this was lots of fun. There was no school where I could learn and make friends. But worst of all, there was no one to look after us. People knew we were there, but no one came to help".
Menai High School actively promotes and supports educational and social opportunities for young people of refugee and migrant backgrounds at their school in Sydney's Sutherland Shire. (Thanks to the Menai High, in particular the Principal and Deputy Principal for supporting Abdul in being a Refugee Week Ambassador)
Carina Hoang
Carina fled Vietnam aged 16 with her sister and brother. They travelled on a boat with 373 other people from Saigon in June 1979. After months on an uninhabitated island and having witnessed horrors at sea and on land, Carina and her siblings were resettled in the USA. After achieving multiple qualifications in the area of Science (Chemistry), Carina moved to Western Australia with her husband and daughter. Carina has just published a book, Boat People.
Eva Cox AO
Writer, academic and prominent feminist Eva Cox was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Vienna in 1938. Following the annexation of Austria by Hitler and the consequent disenfranchisement of Jews, her mother sought refuge with her children in England. They later travelled to Australia, where their relatives had earlier sought refuge. Eva has had a long and distinguished career an activist and sociologist. She is a long-time member and spokesperson for the Women’s Electoral Lobby and a prominent advocate for women’s rights and welfare. She has served as Director of the New South Wales Council for Social Service, Advisor to the shadow spokesperson on Social Services and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney, as well as being a widely-published writer. She became an Officer in the Order of Australia in 1995.
Michael Gawenda
Michael Gawenda is one of Australia’s best known and most distinguished journalists. His parents fled Poland in the wake of the German invasion in 1939. Few of their family members who remained behind survived. Michael’s career in journalism began in 1970 when he undertook an internship at The Age newspaper. The internship was the beginning of a successful and fulfilling 37-year career with the newspaper, where he worked as a feature writer, news writer, foreign correspondent, editor and editor-in-chief. Michael has won three Walkley Awards throughout his career. He was appointed inaugural Director of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for the Advanced Study for Journalism in 2007.
John Marsden
John Marsden is one of Australia’s most influential and successful authors. His titles include So Much to Tell You, the Tomorrow series and the Ellie Chronicles. More than 2.5 million copies of John’s books have been sold in Australia alone. He is also an international best-seller and has many major awards to his credit. His recent picture book, Home and Away, was nominated for the Children’s Book Council Picture Book of the Year in 2009. The book is a fictional account of an Australian family who become refugees after war breaks out in Australia.