In a relatively plain room sits a group of women sharing much needed me time laughing, knitting and collaborating on the latest gossip.
It could be mistaken as a mothers group however these smiling energetic women hide a past of violence, abuse and torture.
Some of these women have spent up to 18 years in refugee camps where conditions were hard with basics such as electricity and water difficult to obtain.
Often thousands of people may live in a single camp where it can become over crowded and feel like a prison, usually with limited or no access to medical services, health education and preventative health programs.
Most refugees who arrive in Australia are women and children many who have entered under the Commonwealth Government’s Woman at Risk visa.
Other refugees may enter Australia by having a family member or another individual sponsor their entrance to the country.
Additionally there are those that come to Australia without a valid visa for fear of prosecution in there own country.
These people are known as asylum seekers who are compulsory detained in immigration centers until they meet the criteria of the United Nations 1951 Convention Article definition of refugees.
It is not easy to enter Australia with many refugees waiting from four months to 18 years to start a new life.
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Senator Chris Evans says vulnerable refugee women and their children are a high priority within the Australian humanitarian visa program.
“With the support of the Australian government and the community refugees are able to come to Australia and live free from fear of the persecution and terrible violence they experienced in their home countries,” he says.
“Many of these people have languished in refugee camps for years with no possibility of returning to their home so the international community must step in and help resettle them.”
Laughing and teaching traditional craft to others in the group it is hard to imagine that at the age of 30 Petronia Niyokindi lost all her family in the war in Burundi Africa.
Going back to life in Burundi which is Africa’s smallest and poorest nation is not possible with communities struggling daily to overcome poverty, disease and the aftermath of a12 year war.
Petronia sighs and reflects on the three years she spent in a refugee camp in Tanzania seeking safety and protection from the war.
“It was very hard conditions, we had no freedom to come and go it was like a prison. I could not do what I take for granted here like shopping,” she says
“I have six siblings who were killed during the war, now I have six children which I feel very blessed to have, if god gives me more children then I will have more,”
“Life is good in Australia it is not complicated, I feel very peaceful and happy,
“My children go to school and sometimes people are interested in my life which I am pleased with.”
Sitting quietly in the corner is Maree-Jeanne (62) concentrating on improving her sewing skills.
This peaceful moment does not reflect what is currently going on in her home country Democratic Republic of the Congo where houses are burned with children inside and sometimes fathers are raped and murdered in front of their families.
Even though the war is technically over, the International Rescue Committee estimates 3.9 million people have died from war-related causes since 1998.
Maree-Jeanne escaped Congo with her 18 -year -old daughter who gave birth in the refugee camp of Malawi.
“I spent six years waiting in a refugee camp in Malawi; everything about living in camp was hard we had no electricity or water,” she says.
“My husband was kidnapped and up to now I have no idea where he is, I can’t go back to Congo,”
“I wish my children were here, I have seven children in total with one in London and two in Malawi, the rest I don’t know where they are,”
“I don’t miss Congo, even if I had a lot of money I don’t want to go back.”
Wearing a bright purple top and a big smile Aaqila*(35) circles the room making small talk with all the women.
It is hard to comprehend beyond this bubbly personality lies a mental illness.
Sometimes Aaqila* slashes her wrists and legs which is a way of easing the pain of the loss of her parents to the Taleban.
Aaqila* managed to escape from the conformist Taleban regime to a refugee camp in Pakistan for two and a half years.
However Aaqila*constantly worried about the safety of her brother who she has not seen for 10 years.
Fast forward to 2009 Aaqila* now lives in Brisbane and has since reignited contact with her brother.
Aaqila* says she has applied for her brother to come to Australia so that they can live a better life together.
“My only contact is my brother and I do not know the address of where my sisters live in Afghanistan,” she says
“My sister’s husband disappeared; I don’t know what happened to him.”
Aaqila* says living in Australia is very secure and the government is very good with services available to assist with her mental illness.
“Now I see a social worker and three doctors, I am also on a disability pension.”
In a bland office, the clock ticks 4:30pm and Justin Lekot is finishing off the last reports for the day.
His co-workers slap his back and laugh finally it’s the end of another long day.
Sitting in his cushy chair and drinking a soft drink it is hard to imagine that A.C.C.E.S.S Services employment case worker Justin once feared for this life.
Just a few years ago, Justin was in a refugee camp in Kenya which he uses as inspiration to others who are following in his foot steps.
“I was in a refugee camp for five years it was very difficult and hard, I was separated from my immediate family, I don’t know if they are alive,” he says,
“If you are not strong enough living in a refugee camp will break you down.”
Justin says in the United Nation Convention there are three options.
“One is that if you are in the neighboring country you fled for your life,” he says
“You can’t go back to your country, for Sudan it is a long term war, it was the war we were born into and it did not seem to be ending by the time we were in the camp,
“It became possible for the second option to integrate within the host community
Kenya as it is a third world country there is no option but to remain a refugee for as long as possible,
“The final option is settlement into a third country that process is very difficult to achieve; when I came there was 22 million refugee’s world wide seeking opportunities,
“There are only a few opportunities for other countries mainly North America, Canada, Europe and Australia,
“I applied to United Nations who accessed my case to see if my application merits further process and then I realised I was to come to Australia.”
Since then Justin has gone on to complete a university degree and has just completed a graduate certificate in Development Practice.
Justin helps over 500 people gain employment in a year and says most refugees want a job but can’t find a job.
“We don’t have many problems these people are very enthusiastic and want to work and in most cases they want to work to settle here,” he says.
“The problem is lack of language and communication skills in English.”
A.C.C.E.S.S manager of housing division Charlie Wise agrees language is a major problem with 60 percent having no language skills.
“Culturally it is a problem, it is so much different here to where they come from,” he says.
“It is learning how to basic daily things we take for granted here,”
“It can be a pretty daunting experience if you are in a camp site with a really basic situation like no running water and 48 hours later you are in a city with traffic and people speaking a different language,”
Charlie says some refugees have never seen a washing machine.
“We do a tenancy training program and show them the Australian culture and try to make their transition as comfortable as possible,” he says.
“One of the main jobs of this company is settling migrants and refugees we do the initial welcome,”
“We handle their connections to the government such as Centrelink and essential things they have to do on arrival.”
Even though the refugees are highly motivated they lack the skills needed to survive in this country.
“It is just a matter of getting in there and trying to identify what they most need in a situation,” he says.
Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma home work club coordinator Elise Barton agrees saying it can be hard to make the initial transition to Australia.
Elise explains that most of the problems with newly arrived people include settlement issues such as housing, money concerns and worries about fitting in.
“Intergenerational conflict is the biggest issue in our youth team,” she says.
“We do a lot of refugee specific training; while we are a youth team we also take the whole family approach,”
“At the same time we are sympathetic to the fact that being a teenager is hard enough without everything else,”
“They are trying to find that balance between staying true to their cultural beliefs and norms while also going to school and having to fit in with the western world as well,”
“It is finding a balance and making the parents aware of that situation as well it is hard for them.”
Elise admits that sometimes families put a lot of pressure on there children to achieve well in school.
“Some times that can have a negative effect on the young, they might have learning difficulties or issues getting in the way of them succeeding,” she says.
“When the students arrive, there are a lot of problems such as communication and concentration, they find it really hard to sit in a classroom and listen when they never had to do that before,”
Elise says she sympathises with the students and sometimes they can be mistaken for being naughty.
“They are just having trouble adapting and not quite grasping what the subject is about, they are not dumb just struggling with other issues,” she says.
“If there are things going on at home they are not going to go to school and focus,”
“They may have trouble when they go home and as a result put home work aside,”
“They may have little sisters or their parents needing cooking done and there is that expectation that they do it.”
Elise says she is proud of the number of students that have gone to University and TAFE.
“We have students that have been accepted into tertiary scholarships where they basically do prep subjects for university,” she says.
“They will start at a basic entry degree but we had some become doctors and lawyers,”
“They may not do it straight away but if they want to do then they will achieve it, never underestimate them.”
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