MY parents came to Australia as refugees from South Sudan in 1998.
Their home country was in the midst of a civil war and people were dying and going hungry with extreme food shortages.
They spent two years in a refugee camp in Kenya before being granted permission to travel to Australia.
It was a tough time at first to settle in Adelaide because my parents didn’t know anyone who lived there before they arrived.
But they were lucky. They had met several other people from Africa who were also making the journey and they supported each other at the start.
Learning the language and getting around without a driver’s licence were the main challenges for my parents but, again, they were lucky. They had neighbours – both Africans and Anglo-Australians – who helped.
My parents were supported and made to feel welcome in their new homeland and they will forever be grateful for that.
On Thursday night I went to a dinner put on by Port Adelaide charity partner Welcoming Australia with my teammates Kai Pudney, Jake Patmore and Port Adelaide’s Multicultural Programs Manager Alipate Carlile, General Manager of Community Ross Wait and great supporters of the community programs Ali Serhan and Sam Ghamrawi.
The dinner was held at the Welcome Centre which helps people from different cultural backgrounds connect and access services.
It was a fantastic night with delicious food from all over the world and great company. It was great to meet so many people with amazing stories of where they had come from and what they had gone through to be there that night.
The centre gives people social support and helps them access the everyday services people need to live and thrive in a community.
I can only imagine how beneficial it would have been for my parents to have had access to a similar centre back when they first arrived in Australia.
Knowing what my family has gone through has made me appreciate the opportunities I have been given, especially in getting drafted by Port Adelaide and edging closer to living my dream of being an AFL footballer.
In refugee week, there will be many stories like that of my parents who were extremely lucky.
There will be many who will not have had such a good experience.
Every refugee has a story to tell. It’s a matter of enough people wanting to listen.
If we could all take some time to share our stories, we would all be better educated about the courage it takes to uproot your whole life and go to a new country, and we would better understand the significant contribution refugees and migrants have made to Australian society.
Thank you to Welcoming Australia for your important contribution to our community and hosting us at the dinner.
- Martin Frederick
