Anglicare News - Refugees
Support to refugees
Tasmanian parishes are rapidly and proudly becoming ambassadors of the world-wide church, by embracing the spirit of internationalism and volunteering their time and resources to helping refugees in their community.
Anglicare's research into the experiences of refugees settling in Tasmania has found that refugees make up one particularly disadvantaged group in the community. Their life experiences mean that they have endured extreme financial, psychological and physical hardship and that this has significant on-going consequences while they are settling in Tasmania. Their life experiences also have major implications for the services they use.
Anglicare's research found that good service and community support in the early settlement phase increases the opportunities for refugees to successfully integrate and in the community.
Parishes such as Cygnet and Glenorchy, St James' New Town and St John's Launceston are living examples of the research findings. They have found different ways to support refugee families in their communities.
Parishes have been trying to meet a need in the community which, on the whole, they have found rewarding.
The Parish of St James' New Town and St Andrew's Lenah Valley was approached to provide support for Sudanese refugees. Archdeacon Neil Vearing from the parish said, 'Even though the parish found some language barriers, the engagement with the Sudanese community was worth it and the parish would be willing to undertake further refugee support.'
St James' New Town was also a part of an ecumenical service with the Parish of Cygnet to remember the Rwandan genocide with Rwandan survivors last year.
The Parish of Cygnet actively supports the Rwandan Coffee Club and has also acted as a co-sponsor for some Rwandan refugees for the past three years. The Revd John Middleton said, 'There has been an increase in understanding about the needs of refugees and compassion that follows.'
Through their early support of Rwandan refugees Cygnet parishioners found that when people come to another country as refugees and are not struggling to survive everyday, they then struggle to find ways to fit in and look for ways to make their lives meaningful.
And so Rwandan Coffee Club was born.
The formula of the coffee club has been really successful as it enables the refugees involved to send money back to their families of origin. The Rwandan Coffee Club is still growing and the parish hopes to find more ways to provide support.
Anglicare's research into refugee experiences in Tasmania found that ongoing support provided to refugees by volunteers is invaluable as they cope with the magnitude of the task of creating a new life for themselves and dealing with new legal, medical, educational and social systems.
Local Tasmanian parishes have become a part of the network of support for new arrivals to our country and as they have become experienced in providing refugee support they have found that the more educated we can become about different cultures, the more we are able to help them.
This is the true spirit of internationalism.