What do you give a refugee for Christmas?

Sydney
22 December 2002

Madonna and Christ child by Fra Angelico

Clouds, silver linings and life

Bl Mary in the Eye of the Beholder

Catholic Welfare concern at reforms

Old boys go back to Marist school after 50 years

'Phone home' - a mother's plea

Where do you get it?

What if Egypt's border guards had turned the Holy Family back?

Transport, food need at lunch

Schoolkids deliver petition, armbands and a warning of the plight of kids overseas

Sydney dinner to honour Coptic leader

What do you give a refugee for Christmas?

How the 'Sacred Heart six' came to the rescue

Editorial: Time of prayer, hope

Letters: Euthanasia

Conversation: Stephen Said - pastoral support services co-ordinator - Helping children cope with crisis

Practical tips for the festive season

Roses greet a saint in a year of turmoil

Where Christmas is celebrated every day of the year

What do you give a refugee for Christmas?

Left and above: The young boy sat sewing bright colours of felt ... his contribution to decorations in his classroom

By Aileen Crowe

As I was driving out to visit a refugee family I began to ponder what you would give them for Christmas.

A Temporary Protection Visa would be second only to permanent residency. A job for either or both parents would be another great gift.

Maybe an annual subscription to the ambulance service as two of the children have serious asthma, and the family has no car.

After that I thought maybe some money so that they could buy suitable gifts for themselves - but how much, $50 each or a little more?

I left the house feeling quite down. This family came to Australia on an acceptable visa and were able to get work and education for their young children.

They engaged a solicitor to process an application for refugee status.

After three years they discovered that their application had not been processed as the solicitor had disappeared with their hard earned $6000.

When approached by the Department of Immigration they were told their visas had run out.

They were given bridging visas but no permission to work and no Medicare card.

They lived off their savings for the next year and, as the finances dwindled, the mother called for a secondhand furniture valuation - only to be told that all their furniture would be worth a mere $200.

When I began to help them, they were living mostly on boiled noodles.

During the visit I discovered that in their desperation and in my absence overseas, they engaged a barrister to take up their case.

As a special favour he agreed to do it for $3000 which they could pay off gradually.

Some friends who were leaving Australia for another country gave them $500 which immediately went to the barrister.

They also received some furniture, so were able to upgrade the beds the children were sleeping on.

Both parents told me of how they desperately want to work but are frustrated by the fact that if they do they would jeopardise their opportunity for assessment and put employers in a difficult position.

The father said "I feel as though I am in detention".

While we were chatting, the young boy sat busily sewing bright colours of felt on his green felt cut-out of a Christmas tree - his contribution to the decorations in his school classroom.

There was a brighter moment as they invited me to inspect the little garden the father of the family had built in their tiny back yard.

With great pride he pointed out the various plants which were thriving under his tender loving care.

As I drove away my eyes welled up with tears of frustration.

To sit with people so willing to participate in society, so gifted and yet feeling so shackled, especially now that the third child is also in school.

I know that the little money I gave them for a month's supply of food and medicine will be skimped so that some can be set aside for the barrister.

Money is what they need and if I give a little extra for Christmas, Christmas gifts will come second only to barrister's fees as they desperately fight through the courts to prove that they are genuine refugees.

I have been able to assist this family and a couple of others only because of the generosity of school children, parishes, a religious congregation, a legal company and the Archbishop of Sydney.

Thus I take this opportunity to thank all those who have generously given money, from the lady who read about the appeal in The Catholic Weekly and went to a lot of trouble to find out where to send her $50; the children in a primary school who held a secondhand toy and book sale and raised more than $700 (see below); the group of boys in a secondary school who volunteered to perform some street dancing for the school community who then made a donation to attend the performance; the teacher co-ordinating the fundraiser who told how a year 8 student came to him the following Monday with $50 that he earned working on the weekend; parishes who dipped into special accounts as well as organised special collections; and several schools, both primary and secondary, who have taken the time to raise funds and whose substantial contributions have been accepted with gratitude.

I remain hopeful that this small contribution to the bigger picture of the needs of refugees in this country will be able to go ahead through the continuing generosity of people in the Archdiocese of Sydney, as we all try in our own small ways to work to alleviate some of the suffering that some people are experiencing in our country.

Sr Aileen Crowe can be contacted at the Justice and Peace Promoter Office, 90 Underwood Rd, Homebush 2140, or by telephone on 02 8714 5685 or email at japp@erc.org.au