Refugee Week starts on Sunday - a celebration of the positive contributions refugees make in Australian society.
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Events planned for central Victoria include a Welcome Dinner in Bendigo on Friday, and are detailed below.
But the true signs of the success of refugees in our community are the smiles on their faces, a world away from the pain that drove them to our shores.
![HELPING HAND: Sue Napier with Sher K'ri, who was a Karen refugee. Mrs Napier met Sher K'ri and her siblings while volunteering to help the family with its English literacy Pictures: GLENN DANIELS HELPING HAND: Sue Napier with Sher K'ri, who was a Karen refugee. Mrs Napier met Sher K'ri and her siblings while volunteering to help the family with its English literacy Pictures: GLENN DANIELS](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/CCCaSEL78QLqvgEaPeVcbz/5e682f6d-54d8-4c45-88b6-efe3483c73e1.JPG/r0_0_5184_3456_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Sue Napier first met Sher K’ri and her siblings more than seven years ago, when they were new to Bendigo.
Her role was to help to the teenage children of the Karen family develop their English literacy.
These days, their relationship is more akin to that of a close friend.
Mrs Napier has been a guest at two weddings and present for the birth of two babies.
When Sher K’ri gave birth to daughter Olivia, Mrs Napier was there to support her.
“We are so lucky to have you,” Sher K’ri said of her friend.
Mrs Napier has maintained her weekly visits, in which she helps with written correspondence.
Before our interview on Friday, she helped Sher K’ri communicate with her real estate agency about the renewal of her lease.
Mrs Napier also helped demystify the pre-election correspondence arriving in the family’s mail, and a letter from Centrelink.
“My thing now is to try to encourage them to be independent,” she said.
She is encouraging Sher K’ri’s mother, Eh Moo, to take up her original role and listen to the little ones read.
![STRONG TIES: Sher K'ri with daughter Olivia, volunteer Sue Napier with Sher K'ri's daughter Emily, and Eh Moo with grandson Andrew. Picture: GLENN DANIELS STRONG TIES: Sher K'ri with daughter Olivia, volunteer Sue Napier with Sher K'ri's daughter Emily, and Eh Moo with grandson Andrew. Picture: GLENN DANIELS](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/CCCaSEL78QLqvgEaPeVcbz/f04edce1-1f56-4b75-845d-72d6cd96c060.JPG/r0_0_4722_3274_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The family moved to Bendigo in 2008, about a year after they arrived in Australia from the Mae La refugee camp in Thailand.
They first settled in the Melbourne suburb of Laverton, but decided to move after hearing from another Karen family in Bendigo of the community’s welcoming attitude.
Sher K’ri said she found Bendigo to be more inclusive of her and her family than Laverton had been.
“Aussie people come and see our family and chat to our family,” she said.
There is also a strong Karen presence in Bendigo, which has enriched the family’s social life.
Sher K’ri met her now husband, Taw Gay, on the shores of Lake Eppalock years ago during a fishing trip.
Little did Sher K’ri realise, but her husband had been a friend of one of her brothers in the refugee camp.
She just hadn’t noticed him until fate threw them together in central Victoria.
The pair now have three children. The youngest, Emily, is about a month old.
Eh Moo said she felt fortunate most of the family was in Bendigo.
All that’s missing now is one of her adult daughters, who remains in a refugee camp with her family, awaiting processing by the United Nations.
![FRESH START: Olivia was born in Bendigo to Karen parents who spent much of their lives in refugee camps in Thailand. Picture: GLENN DANIELS FRESH START: Olivia was born in Bendigo to Karen parents who spent much of their lives in refugee camps in Thailand. Picture: GLENN DANIELS](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/CCCaSEL78QLqvgEaPeVcbz/a706105c-1bf0-47fe-87f0-bcda591da1f0.JPG/r0_0_4020_2823_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
How many refugees have settled in Bendigo?
The Karen community makes up the bulk of central Victoria’s refugee population, and is estimated at between 700 and 1000 people.
The region is also home to a number of families from Afghanistan.
“These people bring a lot to our town,” Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services executive officer Noemi Cummings said.
Karen Organisation of Bendigo secretary Michael Moo Wah Shi said the Karen people first settled in Bendigo about 2007.
He believes the population in central Victoria will continue to grow.
Mr Moo Wah Shi said Karen people preferred living in rural communities to big cities.
He said Bendigo was also friendlier than a big city like Melbourne.
“Because in a big city, we don’t talk to each other much,” he said.
The Karen community in Bendigo is supportive and has positive relationships with the broader community.
Mr Moo Wah Shi said there were also more job opportunities in Bendigo than bigger cities.
![LEARNING TOGETHER: Volunteer tutors Liz McDonnell and Lindsay Jolley work with Poe Thei and Mu Mu on the English words for numbers at the Karen family's home in Long Gully. Picture: GLENN DANIELS LEARNING TOGETHER: Volunteer tutors Liz McDonnell and Lindsay Jolley work with Poe Thei and Mu Mu on the English words for numbers at the Karen family's home in Long Gully. Picture: GLENN DANIELS](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/CCCaSEL78QLqvgEaPeVcbz/9d4c3646-265f-4b49-963b-f7850d5f3e7d.JPG/r0_0_4539_3066_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
On helping – and being helped
Karen refugees Mu Mu and Poe Thei have been in Australia about two years and are determined to learn English.
Just over a month ago, volunteer tutors Liz McDonnell and Lindsay Jolley came into their lives.
Mu Mu has already learnt to count to 100 in English. The tutors visit for an hour each week.
Mrs McDonnell, who has a background in nursing, said being a volunteer tutor required more commitment than just that hour.
Preparing the sessions can be time-consuming. But Mrs McDonnell said it had been worth it.
“I walk out of here and I feel elated – I can see they are happy to have us here and enjoy the hour,” she said.
Mr Jolley and Poe Thei have bonded over the game of dominoes, which has proven to be both a source of enjoyment and an educational tool.
It was a pleasant surprise for Mr Jolley to learn his student was already be familiar with the game.
“I was thinking of how to tackle the numbers – I had an old set of dominoes,” he said.
“You’re trying to find common ground.
He has qualifications in teaching English as a second language, but training for both his and Ms McDonnell’s roles is provided through the Adult Migrant English Program.
Both tutors have accessed that training through Bendigo TAFE.
“A lot of it is just listening and repeating for them to hear me speak English,” Mr Jolley said.
Ms McDonnell said she was careful to structure sessions around words she thought Mu Mu would need to use in everyday life.
Tutoring Mu Mu has made her aware of the challenges of speaking a totally different language to that of the community you’re immersed in.
But volunteers such as Mrs Napier are excited about the skills presented by the generation of Karen children born or growing up from a young age in Bendigo.
Eh Moo’s youngest child, Natalie, is five years old.
The more her English proficiency grows, the more confidence Mrs Napier said Natalie was gaining.
She said Natalie enjoyed sharing, in English, all the gossip from her days at school in Bendigo.
![FRIENDSHIPS FORMED: Volunteer tutor Liz McDonnell and Mu Mu at the Karen family's home in Long Gully. Picture: GLENN DANIELS FRIENDSHIPS FORMED: Volunteer tutor Liz McDonnell and Mu Mu at the Karen family's home in Long Gully. Picture: GLENN DANIELS](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/CCCaSEL78QLqvgEaPeVcbz/fa768a04-cba1-4943-bacc-096b0876e50b.JPG/r0_0_4230_3281_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
What’s on this Refugee Week?
Interested in partaking in Refugee Week in Bendigo? These are some of the big events.
World Refugee Day Rally: Saturday, June 18, 10.30am. Meet at the fountain end of Rosalind Park, Bendigo.
Words that work: A communication workshop presented by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Rural Australians for Refugees. Explores messages and language to advocate more effectively for the rights of people seeking asylum. Two sessions at the Capital Theatre in Bendigo on Monday, June 20: 1pm - 3pm, and 5.15pm – 7.15pm. RSVP: rarbendigo@gmail.com
Film Festival: Monday, June 20 – Saturday, June 25 at Bendigo Library.
The Refugee and Asylum Seeker Experience: Tuesday, June 21, 10.30 am - 2.30pm. Bendigo Library.
Chris Cummins: A Working Life with Refugees: Tuesday, June 21, 5.30pm at Bendigo Library.
Film: “Chasing Asylum”: Wednesday, June 22, 7pm. Bendigo Cinemas.
Welcome Dinner Project: Friday, June 24, 6pm – 9pm. A chance to welcome newly arrived community members. St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral Hall in Bendigo. Free entry, but bookings are essential and can be made online via Eventbrite. Bring a plate of food traditional to your culture. No alcohol.
Refugee Week closing ceremony: Saturday, 25 June, 11.30am - 1.30pm at Bendigo Library. Karen dancers, unveiling of a ‘Welcome Refugee’ sign, a Q&A session with refugees, and multimedia displays.
Belonging in Bendigo: Saturday, 25 June, 2pm - 4pm at Morley’s Emporium, Mitchell St, Bendigo.