SPEECH TO BATHURST CITY COUNCIL
AT THE LAUNCH OF
REFUGEE WELCOME ZONE
5 MAY 2004
by David Bitel*
1. I would like to start by acknowledging the traditional owners of
the land, the Wiradjeree Nation. The indigenous people of Australia
have been generous in receiving and welcoming all of us, new
Australians, refugees and non refugees, to this great country we call
Australia.
2. I would like to commend Bathurst Council for taking this important
step. In so doing it joins 45 other Councils around Australia,
including Ku-ring-gai, Willoughby, Mosman and North Sydney in making a
commitment to welcome refugees into your community. Further, the
Declaration signals the intention of Council to uphold the human
rights of refugees, demonstrate compassion for refugees and enhance
cultural and religious diversity within our community.
3. As the peak representative body in Australia working with and for
refugee communities and the agencies that support them, the aim of the
Refugee Council is to promote humane, flexible and constructive
policies towards refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons. In
recent times a number of local government Councils throughout
Australia have demonstrated compassion for refugees and asylum seekers
through a variety of community activities, events and within council
policy. The Refugee Council of Australia would like to take this
opportunity to publicly acknowledge the work of local government in
this important area of community service and promoting community
harmony. Since the end of the Second World War, Australia has become
home to over 600,000 refugees and we have a proud history of settling
refugees from all over the world who have made an enormous
contribution to our economic, social and cultural well-being.
4. Too often, however, responsibility for assisting refugees is seen
as being solely the domain of the Federal Government. It is important
not to lose sight of the fact that the 600,000 refugees who now call
Australia home, and the 12,000 who will come in the next 12 months,
have each joined local communities such as your own. Their refugee
experience means that they have lost a home and a homeland. Their
future depends on them regaining a sense of security, trust and
connection … and on them being made to feel welcome in their new home.
This is not something that can be legislated for. It is very much a
person-to-person thing and this is at the level where local government
has its greatest strength because you are closer to the people.
5. This Declaration is simply a commitment in spirit to welcoming
refugees into our community, upholding the human rights of refugees,
demonstrating compassion for refugees and enhancing cultural and
religious diversity in our community. This public commitment is also
an acknowledgment of the tremendous contributions refugees have made
to Australian society in the fields of medicine, science, engineering,
sport, education and the arts. By making this Declaration it is hoped
that local government will be encouraged in their continuing efforts
to support the men, women and children who make the difficult journey
to Australia to seek our protection.
6. In addition to signing the Declaration, many Councils have
initiated new policy relating to refugees and asylum seekers, some
have funded community based projects that support refugees while
others have held public forums and community events. While the Refugee
Council of Australia does not stipulate that signatories to the
Declaration undertake such activities, any initiatives which provide a
positive contribution to the support of refugees and their communities
will be welcomed and supported by the Refugee Council of Australia.
7. This is why the Refugee Council initiated the Refugee Welcome Zone
project and why we are so pleased that Bathurst City Council is
signing this declaration.
8. I would like to tell you something of my own background. I am
Jewish, and my grandparents were refugees from Russia. My people
suffered greatly in the Holocaust when 6 million Jews were killed
merely because they were Jewish. Others also suffered in the Holocaust
like gypsies, who are now called Romany. Since the Second World War
there have been other genocidal actions in places like Cambodia and
Rwanda. In Australia now, we have recently been receiving refugees
from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan and also in recent years from former
Yugoslavia. Refugees come from every country and are the most
vulnerable in our community.
9. We who live permanently in Australia are largely fortunate to be
happily assimilated into our countries. We have learnt from our past
traumas and we have a responsibility to assist those persons and
communities who are now undergoing traumas and who arrive dispossessed
and homeless, powerless and vulnerable. They deserve our help and
support, not contempt or hostility.
Community education is of course fundamental and we must all play a
role in the education of our community, participating in broader cross
community activities. Only with our support will the evils which cause
the refugee outpourings be removed.
I conclude by acknowledging the commitment of Bathurst City Council to
this humanitarian cause and thank them for facilitating this event.
I have always been moved by the following poem which I would now like
to share with you
"First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out –
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out –
because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out –
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak out for
me."
Attributed to Pastor Niemoeller (victim of the Nazis).
* President, Refugee Council of Australia and Managing Partner, Parish Patience Immigration