Darebin’s Arabic Community includes people from Lebanon,
Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula
as well as their Australian born children.
The second wave of Arabic immigration after the 2nd World War were
mainly Lebanese. The 3rd wave came after 1976 fleeing the civil
war in Lebanon. Then followed refugees from the Iran-Iraq war and
the Gulf war in Kuwait. The most recent are Arabic people seeking
asylum due to the war in Iraq.
FROM DETENTION CENTRES TO DAREBIN
In July 2000 the first bus load of people released from Detention
Centres such as Woomera arrived in Melbourne and Darebin.
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs in charge
of the release would 'leave' these people in Melbourne with a visa,
a few dollars and a hand shake. The trip from Woomera to Melbourne
on a bus would take three days and two nights. People arrived totally
exhausted, hungry, fearful of what the future would hold for them
but overall happy to be released from Detention Centres.
TEMPORARY PROTECTION VISAS - PEOPLE FROM IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN
The majority of people on Temporary Protection Visas were from Iraq
and Afghanistan. Most spoke very little English and had been on
the run for quite a few years. They arrived in a big city like Melbourne
at 6 AM, from a hot central Australian climate into a cold Melbourne
winter.
DAREBIN'S COUNCIL - COMMUNITY RESPONSE
Darebin had an average of 120 arrivals per week in that period.
In the matter of a couple of months many people in the Darebin community
were mobilised to welcome the Iraqi and Afghani refugees. A reception
centre was established in Reservoir where a number of officers from
Darebin Council and other local organisations such as Victorian
Arabic Social Services would co-ordinate the reception, organise
the temporary accomodation and material aid such as accomodation,
food, clothes, toys for kids, furniture and all sorts of things
needed by people who have fled conflict and arrived with nothing.
In December 2000 the Victorian State Government allocated funds
to
to deal in a more professional manner with the arrivals. A network
of settlement service providers were set up and co-ordinated by
the City of Darebin.
FAMILIES UNITED AFTER BEING 10 TO 20 YEARS APART
There are many stories of family members who'd been apart for 10
to 20 years and their emotional reunions upon arrival at the Darebin
Council Offices. Council workers would find women, men and children,
lying on the floor between tables and chairs in the Council Chambers
and the Conference Room resting after the long trip to freedom.
From the Nissan huts in the '50s, Darebin continues to be a place
of arrival and welcome for immigrants.
GABRIELLE FAHKRI
Gabrielle Fahkri was born to Lebanese parents in Dunedin New Zealand.
Her father was born in 1902 in New Zealand and was a hawker. A common
Lebanese occupation in those days. He went to Lebanon and married
Gabrielle’s mother. They came back to New Zealand to live.
Gabrielle is the oldest of 5 children. As an 18 year old, like many
Kiwis she came to Australia on a working holiday. “Mum sent
me to stay with the family in Thornbury, that’s where I met
Tony my husband. He followed me back to New Zealand where we married.
We came back to live in Thornbury in 1971 ”.
COMMUNITY WORK WITH THE LEBANESE PEOPLE
In the early 1980s Gabrielle was employed by the Australian Lebanese
Association to do welfare/community work with the Lebanese Community,
many of whom had fled the civil war in Lebanon that lasted 17 years.
Later on Gabrielle was employed by Victorian
Co-Operative on Children’s Services for Ethnic Groups (VICSEG)
where one of her first tasks was assisting a Lebanese group of Catholic
nuns to set up a 50 place child care centre in Coburg.
WORK WITH REFUGEES
It was through her work at (VICSEG) that Gabrielle became involved
with refugees, greeting them as they got off the buses from Woomera,
Curtain and other detention centres. “They had nothing, not
even a spare set of clothes, with no idea where to go, no money
and few if any rights to federal and state government help.”
Gabrielle saw the need to provide material aid.
FROM BESHARRIE CATHOLIC MARONITE COMMUNITY HOME
TO ASYLUM SEEKER RESOURCE CENTRE - “WELCOME”
For 25 years her own Lebanese Besharrie Maronite Catholic Community,
owned a community house in Dundas St Thornbury. The village Besharrie
is at the base of mountains were the famous Cedars of Lebanon grow.
The Besharrie people are seen as the keepers of the Cedars. The
Community used the Centre for everything, coming together to socialize,
cook, have parties, play cards and meetings. As they settled into
life in Australia the house began to be used less. Gabrielle then
approached the Besharrie Charitable Association. Her husband Tony
was President. Gabrielle asked permission to use the house as an
Asylum Seekers Resource Centre-(ASRC). The Association whose members
had also been through the horror of a civil war in Lebanon agreed
to the house being taken over for this purpose and gave it rent
free.
The Thornbury ASRC opened officially in July 2002 although for
about 18 months prior it had been used as a receiving and material
aid centre for refugees on Temporary Protection Visas-(TPVs). Gabrielle
recalls driving around in a ute with Lina Hassan who had been working
closely along side her as a volunteer. Together they set up the
ASC, picking up furniture, blankets, white goods and clothes. Whatever
was donated to the Asylum Seekers Centre was delivering to places
all over Melbourne.
AWARDS
Gabrielle won a tattersalls “Unsung Hero Award” of $15,000,
using the money to renovate the house, putting in a new toilet,
kitchen and bathroom. The door was open everyday and people came
to know it as ‘Gabby’s House’. The Centre has
no government funding and is mainly run by volunteers. Philanthropic
groups have been approached and several positions had been funded.
People using the Centre must either be asylum seekers on no Centrelink
payments or refugees on Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs). Originally
it supplied furniture, blankets, clothing, food and other material
aid. Currently it is open on Thursday and Saturday mornings, running
a food bank, legal advice and advocacy, English classes, playgroups,
children’s programs, community lunches, social and recreational
activities.
The many groups who use the Centre include Iraqis, Iranians, Afghans,
Assyrians, Chaldians, Palestinians, Timorese, Ugandans, Somalians,
Sri Lankans, Syrians, Lebanese, Sudanese, Egyptians, Kurdish and
Saudi Arabians.
DAREBIN CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
In 2002 Gabrielle was awarded Darebin's Citizen of the Year for
her commitment to improving asylum seekers conditions and raising
public awareness. She also received the Centenary of Federation
Award for her services to refugees and immigrants.
LINA KAMEL HASSAN
A WAR TORN CHILDHOOD
Lina Kamel Hassan was born into a Muslim family in 1963 in Tripoli,
the 2nd largest City in Lebanon. She grew up in the Civil War. Her’s
was a war torn childhood. Lina remembers always living in fear with
her mother hiding the children in the basement for weeks on end.
Family members were killed in the conflict, her sister was injured.
At school Lina had Christian and Muslim friends and at different
times to protect each other, they would hide one another.
“The word would get out, they are killing Muslims, come and
hide at my house. The war was not between the people but from outside
forces”. They tried to keep a sense of normality. Lina had
a public school education and studied acting for 3 years. She performed
in plays and a film in Beirut. Lina also studied soil testing for
4 years followed by 1 year in Chemical Science.
FLEEING TO KUWAIT
In 1982 she and her family were forced to flee to Kuwait. Her father
who had been in Kuwait for 8 years because he had not been able
to continue work in Lebanon arranged their travel. Lina then went
to live in San Francisco where her daughter Tina was born.
AUSTRALIA - COBURG TO RESERVOIR
In November 1986 Lina and Tina arrived in Australia and lived with
relatives in Coburg before moving to Fawkner, Greensborough, Thornbury
and Reservoir. On her mother’s side members of the
Al Mohammed family numbered 200 and they were spread between Melbourne
and Sydney. They had left Lebanon not because they wanted to but
due to war. Many arrived in the late ’70s
. LEARNING ENGLISH AND EMPLOYMENT
The early days were very difficult. Lina had to learn English, she
knew only Arabic and French. While learning English as a second
language, Lina did 5 TAFE courses in administration/office skills.
During this time she also owned a restaurant for 4 years, ‘La
Virage-International Cuisine’. Her first employment after
completing her studies was at the Royal Childrens Hospital in the
safety centre as a ‘peer educator’ in the Arabic language.
From there she worked for more than 10 years at the Darebin Community
Health Centre as a welfare worker to support newly arrived Iraqi
refugees . Lina then worked at Victorian Arabic Social Services
(VASS), working with many Arabic groups, the Iraqi womens refugee
group and people on (TPVs).
ASYLUM FOR REFUGEES
It was through this work that Lina Hassan met Gabrielle Fakhri.
The two women worked tirelessly to set up the Asylum Seekers Refugee
Centre in Thornbury.
“The policy is we are all human beings, we look after each
other, we’re all here now, I don’t let people say I’m
better than you or my religion is better than that one, I am very
firm early on to make sure people get along”
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AWARD
In 2003 Lina Kamel Hassan received a Northcote International Women’s
Day Award presented by Hon Mary Delahuntly MP, Member for Northcote,
for her work with refugees under the theme of “Women &
Peace.”
COMMUNITY WORK
Lina continues to work with VASS as well as Darebin Community Health
Centre, Maternal & Childcare Centre at The Reservoir Civic Centre,
is still assisting Iraqi families on TPVs, works at the Safety Centre
at The Royal Childrens Hospital employed as an Arabic bi-lingual
worker and at Consumer Affairs Victoria also as a bi-lingual worker
to pass on information to the Arabic Community.
She has worked on projects with the Women’s Hospital and Mercy
Hospital for consultation regarding Arabic Women’s Health.
THEATRE & HEALING
Lina has also worked with the Brunswick Women’s Theatre Group.
“It was a big challenge because we explored the deep dark
stories of war, it was like a nightmare for me, but now I feel relief.
It’s opened me! My stories are out and I am not feeling as
painful anymore. My experiences working with refugees, helping them,
supporting them has given me so much strength, happiness, pleasure
and given meaning to my life. My husband Raafat El Kashef who is
a psychologist has given me so much encouragement and support. I
owe so much of what I’ve achieved to him.” Her 18 year
old daughter Tina Said is studying Business Administration at RMIT
and has recently completed an Arabic Leadership course for young
people.
“Darebin is home to us because it is a stable life, I’ve
been back to visit Lebanon. Tripoli today is wonderful, the way
I never saw it as a child, but I would not stay. Australia is home”.
WHO IS A REFUGEE
A refugee is a person who has fled their home country because of
fear of, or actual persecution due to their race, religion, nationality
or political opinion. A refugee is unable, or due to a well-founded
fear, unwilling to return to their country. People also flee their
country and become refugees because of war and a fear that they
and their families will be persecuted, tortured or killed. Refugees
often leave their homes with few belongings and with no knowledge
of where they will live or if they will ever be able to return home.
Of the 20 million refugees in the world today, approximately half
are children. United Nations High Commission for Refugees
