Integreat Queensland Newsletter October 2022

Welcome to the Integreat Queensland October Newsletter.

It’s been a busy month for Intregreat Queensland with a big focus on our strategic priorities. A small group from our Board and staff attended the Social Enterprise World Forum in September which reiterated how important it is for us to understand and articulate the social value in all we do.

On the Queen’s Birthday, we held our first Pop-up Restaurant where many people enjoyed flavours from around the world. Watch this space because in February 23, Integreat Queensland will be launching our Moving Feast Social Enterprise which will support our talented migrant community to showcase their talents.

The fast pace continued last week with 25 community leaders coming together to co-design a social enterprise model for our Little Steps Multicultural Childcare in Gladstone. The energy in the room, the shared values, and the ideas, will enable us to come up with an impactful model.

And finally, this week I am away from the office, enjoying time out bush in Central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory which will give me the great opportunity to reflect on the great work our staff and volunteers are doing – enjoy the newsletter.

Julie Pettett

Integreat Queensland Manager


 

Social Enterprises expected to grow over the next decade.

Integreat Queensland Learning Facilitator Jaclyn Thompson attended the Social Enterprise World Forum in Brisbane last month where she not only learnt about social enterprises and what characteristics, principles and features define them, but where she was also inspired by many of the featured speakers presenting their successful social enterprises throughout Australia and the world.

“The first day of the Social Enterprise World Forum I joined the academic symposium which was a fringe event where they looked at the research around social enterprises and the strengths and weaknesses of the industry,” Jaclyn said.

“They looked at the research around social enterprises and the strengths and weaknesses of the industry which was interesting with researchers predicting social enterprises are going to increase significantly over the next decade.”

Jaclyn said one of her favorite sessions she attended was with Australian former wheelchair tennis player, former wheelchair basketball player, radio host and motivational speaker Dylon Alcott who runs two social enterprises.

“I have admired Dylan for some time now. At the forum, he talked about how all social enterprises need to be inclusive and not just for the disabled or the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community,” she said.

“He believes for a social enterprise to be successful; they need to be inclusive for everyone where everyone can benefit from the services delivered.”

Picture: Dylon Alcott on stage at the Social Enterprise World Forum in Brisbane last month.


Come in and meet Samantha Codrington.

If you have walked into Integreat Queensland’s Gladstone office, you would have been met by the smiling face of Samantha Codrington, our Administration & Review Coordinator.

What you may not know however, Samantha also offers program support and training across most of Integreat Queensland’s initiatives including our Get Work Ready, Learning for the Future, and the Little Steps Multicultural Playgroup programs.

“At the moment, I’m facilitating a Transition to Kindy program at the Playgroup as well as implementing Lunch Box Nutrition and Food Sessions as my background was originally in clinical nutrition.”

Samantha moved to Gladstone with her husband and four children in January of 2019 due to her husband securing permanent employment as a Shipping Pilot.

“It’s been fantastic. My family have really submerged themselves in the Gladstone community which of course usually happens when you have children. We now feel we are a part of this amazing community so much so; we have bought a home and are now truly settled.”

Samantha has never worked for an organisation like Integreat Queensland and said she was inspired to work there due to the association’s philosophy of helping everyone from everywhere integreat into the community.

“Integreat Queensland is opening up opportunities for people through many of their programs which have been specifically designed for the needs of the community,” she said.

“I really enjoy seeing people have access to opportunities and it feels good to be a little part of changing people’s lives for the better. I’ve seen personally how the programs can make a huge impact on whether people stay in our region or go.

“In fact, I’ve seen the success of many of the programs offered. There was one amazing woman I met who attends the Little Steps Multicultural Playgroup. From there, she started attending our Conversation English classes and after a few classes, she quickly learnt about, and became a participant of, our Get Work Ready program which helped her to prepare for getting a job here in Gladstone.

“But what really made me proud of working for Integreat Queensland is how she grew in her confidence which began to shine through via her newly gained independence and social interactions with others.”

Picture: Integreat Queensland Administration & Review Coordinator, Samantha Codrington.


Skilled migrants feel overlooked by employers.

Integreat Queensland’s Get Work Ready program aims to provide valuable and practical skills and experiences to migrant women looking for employment in central Queensland. The following article from the Courier Mail highlights the issues migrant woman have in Australia and shows despite many of them being highly skilled, the constant barriers they face with finding employment.  To find out about our Get Work Ready program, phone 4903 1931 or email: admin@integreatqld.org.au

New data suggests almost half of migrants actively seeking a job as an engineer are currently unemployed, as job vacancies in the sector rise by 176 per cent.

The National Skills Commission Labour Market Insights to June 2022 found 47 per cent of the group did not have work, although vacancy numbers in engineering continued to be the highest seen since 2012.

Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew said many skilled migrants in Australia could fill these roles but employers were biased against hiring migrants.

“Research shows there is a significant cohort of migrant engineers already in Australia who have long-term difficulties securing employment appropriate to their experience,” she said.

“Our research found that employer bias associated with not being ‘local’ — whether it’s experience, networks, standards, references, or qualifications — was the biggest culprit.

“Tapping into this under-utilised talent supply offers one immediate means of easing skills shortages.”

Picture: Karen Huang says being from overseas makes finding skilled employment much more difficult.

Cultural background a factor

Karen Huang said she was not surprised migrants were struggling to find work in the sector.

Ms Huang moved to Australia from Taiwan in 2012 with a university degree and career aspirations.

Like many other skilled immigrants, she could only find work in hospitality.

She has lived in the Pilbara for about four years, surrounded by the country’s mining and resources sector, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described as the “engine room of the economy”.

Ms Huang, now the chair of the Northwest Multicultural Association, said many members moved to the region to work in the resources sector, but struggled to get a foot in the door, despite being qualified.

“It’s very difficult when you come from a non-Australian culture, especially when it comes to interviews,” she said.

She said language skills could also be a barrier to employment.

“You can get knocked back from an entry-level job for a grammar mistake in a cover letter. They assume you’re uneducated because your English isn’t perfect,” she said.

Ms Huang said she was hopeful more migrants would be able to find work in engineering and resources.

“I think if you want to do something, just do it, don’t limit yourself, if you want to chase it, just keep trying, even if it take maybe hundreds of times or thousands of times, you’ll get there,” she said.

Experience not valued

Engineers Australia is the federal government’s approved authority to assess skills and competencies for the engineering profession.

Ms Madew said the organisation ran a migrant skill assessment to test people looking to become engineers.

“We’re looking to see if their overseas qualifications and skills are comparative to the requirements of being an engineer in Australia,” she said.

After completing these programs, migrants can prove to employers that overseas studies and industry experience qualifies them to work in skilled professions.

Participants also satisfy English competency standards to confirm their language skills are up to scratch.

But even when there was recognition of prior learning and work, migrants who have completed these courses overwhelmingly said their international experience was not valued or was overlooked.

Picture: Romilly Madew says poor hiring practices result in skilled migrants being overlooked.

Ms Madew believed employers held an unconscious bias towards hiring non-Australians.

“It comes back to an idea that since they don’t have local experience or networks that they won’t succeed in the Australian workforce.”

This article first appeared in ABC News.


 

The Moving Feast.

Integreat Queensland were proud to showcase tastes of the world at our first Pop-up Twilight Restaurant – the Moving Feast.

Held on the Queen’s birthday, more than 50 people from the community got to experience international flavours from India, Italy, Venezuela, France, and the Australian outback in Gladstone.

What is the Moving Feast? The Moving Feast is Integreat Queensland’s new food van but it’s more than just a food van. In fact, it’s a social enterprise to inspire our multicultural community to create their own micro-businesses and give them experience in a real-world situation.

“At Integreat Queensland we have a vision,” Integreat Queensland Manager Julie Pettett said.

“A vision of celebrating multiculturalism through food and a vision of giving members of our community the opportunity to showcase their skills and for the rest of the community to enjoy and experience flavors from around the world.

“The Moving Feast will travel throughout central Queensland as a Pop-up Twilight Restaurant showcasing multicultural cuisines and provide opportunties for members of the migrant community to not just offer their food, but for people to experience their culture.”

Proudly sponsored by Warechair – Gladstone Chair Covers 4 Hire & Decorations, the Gladstone Business Centre, and Audio & Lighting Wayne Dunnett, Julie said the night was well received and welcomed by everyone who attended.

“The feedback from those who attended was sensational and we’ve already started a waitlist from not only those who want to attend the next event but from multiple people who want to get involved and showcase their skills and international cuisines.”

If you would like to get involved with our Moving Feast Pop-up Twilight Restaurant or even have it at your next event, please phone 4903 1931 or email: admin@integreatqld.org.au


Meet a Board member.

Integreat Queensland would like to introduce you to Integreat Queensland Board member, Jill Armstrong. Jill is currently the Regional Manager of Multicultural Australia where she leads a team working in central Queensland, the Darling Downs and Townsville.

Jill’s high-level communication and mediation skills have been developed through 12 years’ experience working in a variety of roles within out-of-home care and settlement organisations, and she has also worked extensively with Life Without Barriers, delivering services within foster care, disability support, aged care, and mental health.

Jill said after graduating from the University of Queensland in Psychology in 1993, a few years later she moved into a career in child protection working in intensive foster care and residential care and in 2015, she applied to be the Regional Manager for Multicultural Australia based in Rockhampton.

“I was very interested in working with people from other cultures,” she said. “Whilst these sectors were very different, it allowed me to continue to assist people to celebrate their culture, build their skills and take their place in the community however, our greatest challenge is assisting people who were seeking asylum in Australia.”

Jill explained that she currently manages several programs at Multicultural Australia including ParentsNext, Skilling Queenslanders for Work, Community Hubs, and Community Development.

“These programs work with people from different parts of our community with all of them assisting people to build their skills and confidence and prepare them to work and participate in the community,” she said.

Jill believes multiculturalism helps build a stronger and more diverse community where everyone is valued for their unique skills and knowledge.

“Multiculturalism helps us to be accepting of difference, to be curious and open, and to be proud of who we are as individuals and as a country,” she said.

“I am proud to be a Board member with Integrate Queensland because it helps me to learn more about the great work the organisation does and get to know the community better. I hope that I can contribute to building the association and working to make our communities inclusive and welcoming.”

Picture: Regional Manager for Multicultural Australia Jill Armstrong.


 

The Beach Day Out.

In September, Integreat Queensland attended the Beach Day Out in Rockhampton. The Beach Day Out is an all-accessible beach party held at Emu Park every September to celebrate Disability Action Week.

The Beach Day Out is for children with disabilities and special needs which gives them access, and for many for the first time, to the beach and ocean, due to a ramp that runs from the park down to the beach.

“We were just one of the many organisations that attended the Beach Day Out,” Integreat Queensland Early Years Childhood Educator Karen Edwards said.

“The day not only provides access for children with disabilities, but it also provides ways for people to find out about support, services, and resources available in their community”

From stalls, games, beach activities, live entertainment, including a great variety of free, inclusive activities that were engaging and fun for people of all ages and abilities, Karen said Integreat Queensland had a stall at the event to promote our services.

“It’s important we showcase the services Integreat Queensland provide as some of them are unique to Rockhampton especially within the multicultural sector,” she said.

“Importantly, we wanted to join with many of the other services available throughout the region as we believe by joining together, we make our region stronger and through our range of programs, services, events and networks, we’re helping shape a diverse, inclusive community where people want to live.”


In June this year, Integreat Queensland held our Flourish Festival in Biloela. The festival coincided with the return of the Nadesalingam family to Biloela after being in detention in WA since 2018. We’ve followed the story closely and we were proud to celebrate their return at the Flourish Festival with the Biloela community. On the 10th of October, the following article appeared in the Courier Mail which gives the history of the family, their circumstance as to how they ended up in detention, and their subsequent return to Bilioela.

Life after detention: The hidden trauma signs still haunting Bilo girls.

After a David and Goliath battle, the Tamil family are settling back into their ‘dream’ life in the Queensland town of Biloela but the years of trauma locked in a detention centre are still heartbreakingly evident for the young children.

In a storage cupboard in the carport of their rented three-bedroom brick home, boxed in Australia Post packaging, thousands of handwritten letters and cards are a legacy of the epic battle of Australia’s most famous asylum-seeking family.

The Nadesalingam family – Nadesalingam Murugappan (Nades), 45, Kokilapathmapriya Nadesalingam (Priya), 46, and their daughters Kopika, 7, and Tharnicaa, 5 – are back in Biloela, 120km southwest of Gladstone in Central Queensland, after being granted permanent residency, following more than four years of immigration and community detention in Melbourne, Christmas Island and Perth.

The family’s removal from their rented home in Biloela by Australian Border Force immigration officers and Serco guards in a 5am raid on March 5, 2018, one day after Priya’s bridging visa expired, sparked outrage from the community and set in motion a battle of David and Goliath proportions – of a small regional town against the might of the federal government.

A determined group of friends of the family – led by social worker Angela Fredericks – spoke out about the family’s treatment. The Sri Lankan Tamil family, who had lived in Biloela for more than three years, who had worked and contributed to the economy and whose daughters had been born in the town, became the face of a national “Home to Bilo’’ campaign.

Picture: The Nadesalingam family – Nades and Priya with their daughters Kopika, 7, and Tharnicaa, 5 – at their home in Biloela, Queensland.

This crusade to save the “Biloela family’’ ultimately gathered almost 600,000 petition signatures of support and crowdfunded $765,555 that was used to pay for more than half a million dollars in legal fees, as well as billboard and newspaper advertisements. The relentless campaign humanised the image of an asylum seeker for many Australians.

It shouted loud and long about the conditions the family faced in their various forms of detention – how guards checked on them at night as they tried to sleep in their beds; how Priya could not breastfeed her baby without a guard watching; how toilet doors had to be kept open; how the screaming girls were separated from their mother and held by immigration officers during a deportation attempt; how Kopika began biting herself and pulling her hair from anxiety; and how very sick Tharnicaa became before she was eventually flown to a Perth hospital for treatment for pneumonia and blood poisoning.

Picture: Tharnicaa Nadesalingam was medically evacuated to Perth after being hospitalised on Christmas Island with a suspected blood infection (septicaemia).

The family was twice put on planes to be deported to Sri Lanka – the first time a week after their removal from Biloela when they were flown from Melbourne to Perth and then boarded on to another plane. A last-minute legal injunction saw them removed from the aircraft and returned to Melbourne.

The second deportation attempt, in August 2019, saw the family forced on to a plane in Melbourne that was chartered for their removal and had no other passengers on board.

A legal injunction received while the plane was in the air but not yet out of Australian airspace saw them diverted to Darwin and then transported to detention on Christmas Island where they were the only inmates of the facility for almost two years.

In 2021, the Morrison government’s Department of Home Affairs, responding to questions on notice in the Senate, stated the cost of the family’s detention on Christmas Island alone, from August 2019 to January 2021, was $6.7m.

And so, with information about the family’s plight kept on the Australian public’s radar by their Biloela friends-turned-activists, the letters and cards sent to the family kept coming.

The mountain of correspondence to them over four years is filled with words of sincere support from people across Australia, sending hope and wishes that the family’s detention and uncertainty would end and that one day they would indeed be allowed to return to “Bilo’’. Often, parcels included gifts for the family or presents of clothing or toys for the girls. And while all were appreciated, it was the accompanying notes that Priya held dear.

During her family’s detention, when Priya experienced intense stress and crippling anxiety for her family’s safety, in dark periods when she was enveloped by depression and hopelessness, these kind, heartfelt, compassionate words, written and sent to her family by everyday Australians from all corners of the country, kept a spark of hope alive.

Picture: Priya Nadesalingam with some of the letters sent to her family while in detention.

When the Nadesalingam family was finally given permission in May to return to Biloela on a bridging visa (and soon after granted permanent residency), it was not an option for Priya to throw those treasured words away. These letters are her reminder of an Australia that cared about what happened to her family.

They also tell a story she will share with her daughters when they are old enough to know.

She will show them the hundreds of thousands of words written to them, the words that wish them a happy Australian life, that beg common sense and human decency to prevail, that show just how many people stood in their corner.

And her daughters will understand their story of how they came to be living safely and peacefully in Australia, in their regional Queensland town, in the community they now call home.

In May, a newly elected Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party fulfilled a pre-election promise to allow the family to return to Biloela on bridging visas.

On June 10, the family finally set foot back in the town, in perfect time for the town’s June 11 Flourish multicultural festival that celebrates some of the 21 different nationalities who live in the area. The celebrations continued for Tharnicaa’s fifth birthday – her first outside of detention – on June 12.

Then on the afternoon of August 5, the family was visited by two Department of Home Affairs officers who, with some paperwork and a phone call confirming ministerial intervention, finally granted the family permanent residency.

It had been the news they had been waiting so long to hear but for Priya, the experience was more surreal than joyous. The ordeal of the past 4½ years has been so great and her mind so “lost’’, Priya says she was initially “numb’’ at the news.

“I was happy but my heart was numb,’’ Priya says. “Melbourne (detention) was a hard time. Deportation is a very tough time. Never will I forget in my life. I pray I forget this past life but no … sometimes, I remember again.

“Now I know it is real. Now Bilo is my home. It is a dream (to be) back to Bilo. I will stay here. No moving. My life is saved, my girls (are) safe, happy. My girls (will) have good education. I will teach my girls to help other people.’’

Picture: Kopika, 7, and Tharnicaa, 5, at their home in Biloela.

To Kopika, the Home Affairs officers in her house signified danger. Fredericks, who has been by the side of this family the whole way, saw Kopika quietly go to her room during the August 5 meeting.

“Kopika just disappeared and took herself to bed,’’ she says. “She was scared because every time that there had been a meeting or officers had come to see the family, something big happened.’’

There are other signs of their trauma too. Tharnicaa became inconsolable at the idea of a week-long holiday for the family in Brisbane during the June-July school holidays. She thought they were leaving Bilo and not returning because, in her short life, she has no memory of leaving a place and then returning.

Picture: Kopika, 7, and Tharnicaa, 5, on their first day of school in Biloela. The Nadesalingam family are former asylum seekers who were in detention for more than four years before being granted permanent residency.

Today, living in their modest patch of suburbia, with its backyard brick barbie, Hills hoist and mango tree, Priya, Nades, Kopika and Tharnicaa are relishing their freedom, knowing they can finally call Australia home.

On the day of Qweekend’s visit to their Biloela home, Priya and Nades warmly welcome us with a cup of homemade masala chai. There are soon also plates of delicious Sri Lankan fish cutlets and freshly baked banana bread.

The family is settling into their new, permanent Australian life with the girls attending Biloela’s Redeemer Lutheran College – Tharnicaa in prep and Kopika in Year 2 – chosen because of the stability of its prep-to-Year 12 program. The family has been embraced by the school community where they have arrived at shared morning tea events armed with plates of food. Redeemer Lutheran College principal Eureka Coetzee says the girls have settled in, have made friends and are doing well.

“These girls are so resilient and accommodating to the Redeemer way, it seems as if they have been here forever,’’ she says.

“They are very social, always laughing and participating in activities with zest. They are also very capable students and the teachers are frequently commenting on their excellent manners.’’

Picture: The Nadesalingam family – Priya and Nades with their daughters Kopika, 7, and Tharnicaa, 5, photographed at their home in Biloela.

Priya is enrolled in English lessons at the local TAFE and Nades has a job with his former employer, Teys meatworks, working night shifts – from 3.30pm to 1am – which allows him to drop off and pick up the girls at school.

Priya is also planning to get her driver’s licence.

As a talented seamstress who makes many of her daughters’ clothes, Priya has dreams to sell her creations at local markets.

And both Priya and Nades plan to use a food van operated by Gladstone-based multicultural organisation Integreat to sell their favourite homemade foods including curries, fried rice, cutlets and samosas.

Priya and Nades recently cooked up a feast of food in the park in celebration and thanks for their supporters and friends who worked so tirelessly and determinedly to bring them home.

Picture: Priya and Nades, who now call Biloela home after being granted permanent residency, cooked for their supporters and friends in the park in August 2022.

With such a strong love of home cooking, Priya longs, once they own their own property, to plant vegetables such as snake beans, ochre, eggplant, bitter melon as well as chillies, mint and coriander.

She already has containers of various vegetables and herbs on the go. In her future backyard there will also be chickens. And perhaps a pet dog.

But it might just be the small, everyday things that the family and their friends savour the most – Nades attending a Father’s Day celebration in Tharnicaa’s prep class; Fredericks running into Priya while grocery shopping; Kopika and Tharnicaa dancing in the school musical production of The Little Mermaid; Priya and Nades sitting with other parents in the school’s assembly hall; and Kopika’s school artwork of her future self as a doctor in medical scrubs because “she wants to help people’’.

“For four years, it is a dream to come back to Bilo,’’ Priya says.

“I have many friends in Bilo, I finally relax, I breathe and I can have a good sleep. In detention, I never sleep – sometimes five days no sleep – I worry, too much thinking. When Tharnicaa was sick, my mind was totally lost. Now, my family is safe. I look forward to living in Bilo my whole life.’’

Nades and Priya came to Australia separately, arriving by boat in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The Sri Lankan civil war, between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers, a rebel group that fought to establish an independent state in the north and east of the country) and the Sri Lanka military, was fought from 1983 to 2009. The Tamil Tigers were defeated in 2009.

Priya has spoken of her fear and trauma experienced in Sri Lanka – of watching her then-fiance being burnt alive; of being raped; her father being assaulted and losing sight in one eye; her mother being physically and sexually assaulted; her home bombed.

She fled to India in 2001 where Tamil refugees often faced exploitation, harassment and assault. She endured dangerous conditions for 12 years before fleeing to Australia in 2013 when she feared she would be forced back to Sri Lanka.

Nades fled Sri Lanka in 2012 fearing persecution “from both sides’’ for his history of fighting (against his will) for LTTE and his later conscription in the government army during the civil war.

In Australia, both Priya, who arrived by boat at the remote Australian territory of the Cocos Islands, 2750km northwest of Perth, and Nades, who arrived by boat at Christmas Island, 2605km northwest of Perth, were classified as “illegal maritime arrivals’’ and were released into the community on bridging visas.

Picture: The Nadesalingam family at home in Biloela.

They met and married in Sydney, with their union arranged through the Tamil community. They then moved to Biloela – the largest town in Central Queensland’s Banana Shire – where they legalised their traditional Tamil wedding at the Biloela Court House in September 2014.

They welcomed their daughter Kopika in 2015 and then Tharnicaa in 2017.

Nades worked at the meatworks; Priya attended church-based playgroups with her daughters and became known for her curries. The town welcomed the family who paid their own way and did everything they could to integrate.

After her distressing history of violence and fear, Priya would tell her friends her life began when she arrived in Biloela, the only place that truly felt like her home. For more than four years – 18 months in immigration detention in Melbourne and almost two years on Christmas Island and 12 months of community detention in Perth – she became depressed, was unable to sleep and worried endlessly about the future fate of her daughters and husband should they be forced to live in Sri Lanka.

In time, the family will look to buy their own piece of the Australian dream – their own house and block of land in Bilo.

The last of the nine Home to Bilo fundraisers was the only one solely for the family, with the aim to raise $148,000 to replace Nade’s lost wages during his years in detention. This target was surpassed with $214,527 raised and so $60,000 is being donated to local and national causes supporting other asylum seekers. The money the family received has been used to buy a car, for the girls’ schooling and, most likely, for a house deposit.

Picture: Kopika, 7, and Tharnicaa, 5, with their friend Angela Fredericks, a mental health social worker, in Biloela.

Fredericks, 34, is one of several key supporters and advocates for the family and “face’’ of their campaign. She has visited them in every place of their detention and loves the family as her own. Her parents, Anne and John Smith, who also live in the town, regard Kopika and Tharnicaa as their grandchildren, with the girls calling them “Nan’’ and “Pop’’.

Anne, 70, a retired schoolteacher has begun piano lessons with the girls and is also keen to do extra literacy lessons and reading with them.

“There were so many times when we thought all was lost. To have them here now is a dream come true,’’ Fredericks says.

“It was one of those moments when we realised just how huge this Home to Bilo army was. It was a moment of realising the joy this story has brought to people. And for me, it gave me so much hope about where Australia is heading.’’

Picture: Tharnicaa, 5, learning the piano from Angela Fredericks’ mother Anne Smith, who has come to think of Tharnicaa and Kopika as her own grandchildren.

Another key family supporter is Bronwyn Dendle, 47, a social worker for Central Queensland Rural Health, who says it has been heartening to see the Biloela community welcome them home. Dendle often describes Priya, Nades and the girls as “our family’’.

“It has been a long road. I didn’t really understand what asylum seekers went through in this country and I can’t now un-know what I know,’’ she says.

“During the campaign, I heard from a lot of people that there must be something the government knows that we don’t know. My response would always be that I know this family and I know their story and anyone who knows the truth supports them.

“I’m really hopeful that Priya and Nades’ story has awakened people to what we do to asylum seekers and how wrong that is. Their story has shown people what asylum seekers look like in a community – it gives them a face and a personality. It takes away the power of the narrative that says they are terrorists or bad people or bad for our country.

“We hope this shines a really big light on how our asylum-seeker politics works and prepares the ground for change in general in Australia.’’

Immigration lawyer and former Biloela resident Simone Cameron, 40, of Toowong in inner Brisbane, met Nades in her role as a migrant English teacher in the town.

Teaching Nades and other men who had come to Australia by sea inspired her career change into law, struck by their stories of war and tragedy, their decisions to flee their homelands in search of safety but then being “punished at every turn’’ by Australia‘s immigration policy.

Cameron left Biloela, volunteering and working in the refugee sector for a few years in Sydney and Melbourne before studying law. She had just started her first subject of a Bachelor of Laws in March 2018 when the family was removed from Biloela and placed in detention.

“For much of the past four years, it seemed like an unwinnable battle,’’ Cameron, who was heavily involved with the Home to Bilo campaign, says.

“But that persistence, led by Nades and Priya, and followed by the rest of us, paid off. And I feel like that is something that will stay with me forever.’’

Picture: The Nadesalingam family now call Biloela home after being granted permanent residency. They cooked for their supporters and friends in the park in August 2022.

The Home to Bilo supporter group has achieved its goal but, conversely, now feels like the work is just beginning. Their joy is tinged with guilt that many others like this family are still facing uncertainty.

They now hope their experience might be used by others and that its success may be replicated again and again – one small country town, one family at a time. Fredericks says they are keen to “get behind’’ existing groups such as the Tamil Refugee Council, Rural Australians for Refugees and Mums 4 Refugees.

“We started this knowing absolutely nothing and we were successful,’’ Cameron says.

“We’ve learnt so much along this journey that we do feel that sense of responsibility now that our eyes have been opened. We can’t stop, we have to keep giving a voice to those that don’t have a voice.”

At its heart, the Home to Bilo campaign is a win for people power. The Nadesalingam family are home in Bilo today because of crowd-funding that allowed the family and their supporters to fight the federal government with legal appeals that went all the way to the High Court of Australia.

“At the end of the day, it did take a change of government, however we had to keep them here for four years for that to happen and that was due to people power,’’ Fredericks says.

And the letters of support and gifts from everyday Australians still come. Dendle says “it happens a lot’’ that grey nomads divert through Biloela on their way back to the southern states so they can drop off gifts to the family.

“There are birthday cards, Christmas cards, support letters,’’ Priya says.

“They are good words, lots of good messages. All the time in detention, in my mind, were negative things. But reading the cards, my mind was positive.

“In the future, my girls will see all the people that send these cards.

“When they grow up, they can see how much support we had to come back to Bilo. One day, I will explain everything to them.’’

This article first appeared in the Courier Mail.


 

Programs and Events.

Rockhampton

It’s time to talk English!

Integreat Queensland’s Let’s Talk English Conversational Classes are designed to transform your speaking and listening. It will take you from isolated, shy, and alone trying to resurrect rusty English that you’re quickly forgetting to speaking clearly, confidently, and fluently so that your English works for you and connects you with the world.

Beyond simply communication, conversational English can teach you so much about culture. The phrases and structure of conversational English are derived from the culture. Knowing these phrases and words can make it easier to enjoy and partake in many conversations and events.

Our Let’s Talk English Conversational Classes provide a welcoming and relaxed opportunity for adults to practice listening and speaking in English. Conversations focus on general issues, popular topics and Australian culture and idioms.

Facilitated in a safe and comfortable setting where those who might not otherwise have the opportunity, can improve, and gain confidence in their spoken English. We cover practical themes like ‘visiting the doctor’ and ‘going grocery shopping’ to help empower participants in their everyday lives.

  • When: Thursdays (during school term). Starts October 6.
  • Time: 10am – 11:30am
  • Where: Berserker Street Community Hub, 28 – 140 Berserker Street, North Rockhampton (Entrance at the corner of Charles and Berserker St)
  • Cost: Free – Registration required. Childminding available
  • Participants can join anytime during the term.

To register or for more information, please contact Integreat Queensland on 4903 1931 or email: admin@integreatqld.org.au


Find a job and utilise your skills today.

Integreat Queensland are offering the Get Work Ready program for migrant women who are wanting to use their skills and qualifications from their former home here in Australia, through a 12-week work ready program that includes workplace communication.

We understand how hard it is for migrant women to gain fulfilling employment without references that Australian employers will acknowledge, and we want to help. This program has successfully helped migrant women in central Queensland into rewarding roles.

“When I arrived in Australia, I wanted to find a job and utilise my skills to be able to give back to my parents,” on Get Work ready participant said.

“During the program I learned a lot from writing a resume to interviewing skills and tips, my rights as an employee, and other employment-related topics, including the modern awards system. Most importantly however, I got to experience a proper job interview in a group and just by myself.”

We are pleased to say that participant, like many of the migrant women that have taken part, is now full time employed in her desired career.

The Get Work Ready program is a 12-week program with a 12-week work placement.

Integreat Queensland’s Get Work Ready program starts in Term 4 on Tuesday’s and Wednesdays at Berserker Street Community Hub, 28 – 140 Berserker Street, North Rockhampton (Entrance at the corner of Charles and Berserker St).

To register or for more information, please contact Integreat Queensland on 4903 1931 or email: admin@integreatqld.org.au


Where do your children play?

While it is true children can play anywhere, Integreat Queensland’s Little Steps Multicultural Playgroup has an added benefit of providing opportunities for playing with other children and practising important social skills. Importantly, our playgroup also provides the opportunity where parents, carers, and children can play together, which is critical to children’s healthy development.

Integreat Queensland’s Little Steps Multicultural Playgroup provides opportunities for parents and their children to enhance their relationships in a supportive environment, increase their skills and confidence and to develop valuable social and family support networks. Our aim to empower families to support young children’s development through the provision of and participation in a variety of developmentally appropriate play experiences and activities.

Our Playgroups are informal sessions where mums, dads, grandparents, carers, children, and babies meet each week in a relaxed environment. At Playgroup, families are given the opportunity to connect with other families in their local communities, to share knowledge, seek advice and gain invaluable support.

  • When: Tuesday mornings from 9.30-11.30am. (during school term) Term 4 starts on 4th October
  • Where: Integreat Queensland office – 223 Campbell Street, Rockhampton.
  • Free: Everyone with children from 0 to 5 years old are welcome.
  • Please note; From November 1, the Little Steps Multicultural Playgroup will be held at Berserker Street Community Hub, 28 – 140 Berserker Street, North Rockhampton.

This program is an initiative delivered by Integreat Qld Inc in partnership with the Capricorn Communities for Children Facilitating Partner. Capricorn Communities for Children Facilitating Partner is funded by the Australian Government and facilitated by the Smith Family.

For more information, please contact us by email: admin@integreatqld.org.au or phone 07 4903 1931.


Are you communicating effectively?

Did you know, previously being able to sign your name was considered a reasonable sign of literacy Our understanding of what it means to be literate has altered since then and current definitions have considered the literacy demands of the society we live in.

Our definition at Integreat Queensland is literacy is the understanding, evaluating, using, and engaging with written texts to participate in society, to achieve personal goals and ambitions and to develop knowledge and potential. Everyone has the right to read, write, speak, and listen in ways that will allow them to communicate effectively to a variety of different audiences and to make sense of the world.

Integreat Queensland’s Adult Literacy Classes are designed to Improve your reading and writing skills, improve your confidence in communicating with others, and most importantly, improve your ability to connect with the community.

  • When: Thursdays (during school term) starts on October 6
  • Time: 11:30am – 1pm
  • Where: Berserker Street Community Hub, 28 – 140 Berserker Street, North Rockhampton (Entrance at the corner of Charles and Berserker St)
  • Cost: Free. Registration required. Childminding available
  • Participants can join anytime during the term.

To register or for more information, please contact Integreat Queensland on 4903 1931 or email: admin@integreatqld.org.au


Supporting women through healing transformation, and celebration.

Integreat Queensland would like to invite women to the SisterLife Circle, an intentional circle to support women with healing, transformation, and celebration.

SisterLife Circle is a safe and supportive environment for women to meet, share and connect with each other and share their thoughts and feelings.

Our Sisterlife Circle is a safe space to share and heal, as we believe to call another woman a sister is to say, “I trust you”, “I have your back”, “Your feelings are valid”, and “I believe in you.”

Funded by the Australian Government, our goal is to create a deep, authentic connection amongst women to participate in topical discussions where everyone has the opportunity to discuss a challenge they may be having or a success we can all celebrate.

  • When: Held every fortnight on Wednesdays from 10:30am-12 noon.
  • Next Event: Oct 20
  • Time: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
  • Where:Integreat Queensland office – 223 Campbell Street, Rockhampton.

If you are interested or would like to join Sisterlife Circle, please contact the Integreat Queensland office on 4903 1931 or email: admin@integreatqld.org.au


Gladstone.

It’s time to talk about Engish.

Integreat Queensland’s Let’s Talk English Conversational Classes are designed to transform your speaking and listening. It will take you from isolated, shy, and alone trying to resurrect rusty English that you’re quickly forgetting to speaking clearly, confidently, and fluently so that your English works for you and connects you with the world.

Beyond simply communication, conversational English can teach you so much about culture. The phrases and structure of conversational English are derived from the culture. Knowing these phrases and words can make it easier to enjoy and partake in many conversations and events.

Our Let’s Talk English Conversational Classes provide a welcoming and relaxed opportunity for adults to practice listening and speaking in English. Conversations focus on general issues, popular topics and Australian culture and idioms.

Facilitated in a safe and comfortable setting where those who might not otherwise have the opportunity, can improve, and gain confidence in their spoken English. We cover practical themes like ‘visiting the doctor’ and ‘going grocery shopping’ to help empower participants in their everyday lives.

  • When: Thursdays
  • Time: 1pm – 2:30pm
  • Where: 1a Manning St, South Gladstone
  • Cost: Free. Registration required

We also offer online English Conversation class:

  • When: Wednesdays
  • Time: 6pm – 7pm
  • Cost: Free. Registration required
  • Participants can join anytime during the term.

To register or for more information, please contact Integreat Queensland on 4903 1931 or email: admin@integreatqld.org.au


Where do your children play?

While it is true children can play anywhere, Integreat Queensland’s Little Steps Multicultural Playgroup has an added benefit of providing opportunities for playing with other children and practising important social skills. Importantly, our playgroup also provides the opportunity where parents, carers, and children can play together, which is critical to children’s healthy development.

Integreat Queensland’s Little Steps Multicultural Playgroup provides opportunities for parents and their children to enhance their relationships in a supportive environment, increase their skills and confidence and to develop valuable social and family support networks. Our aim to empower families to support young children’s development through the provision of and participation in a variety of developmentally appropriate play experiences and activities.

Our Playgroups are informal sessions where mums, dads, grandparents, carers, children, and babies meet each week in a relaxed environment. At Playgroup, families are given the opportunity to connect with other families in their local communities, to share knowledge, seek advice and gain invaluable support.

  • When: Every Tuesday & Friday from 9:30am to 11:30am (during school term)
  • Where: Philip Street Families and Communities Precinct – 1 Pengelly St, Gladstone.
  • Free: Everyone with children from 0 to 5 years old are welcome.

To make sure everyone is safe as possible, we will be limiting our numbers to 25 parents (children) so please do register for the day you would like to come.

For more information, please contact Jess on email: littlesteps@integreatqld.org.au or phone 07 4903 1931.


Supporting women through healing transformation, and celebration.

Integreat Queensland would like to invite women to the SisterLife Circle, an intentional circle to support women with healing, transformation, and celebration.

SisterLife Circle is a safe and supportive environment for women to meet, share and connect with each other and share their thoughts and feelings.

Our Sisterlife Circle is a safe space to share and heal, as we believe to call another woman a sister is to say, “I trust you”, “I have your back”, “Your feelings are valid”, and “I believe in you.”

Funded by the Australian Government, our goal is to create a deep, authentic connection amongst women to participate in topical discussions where everyone has the opportunity to discuss a challenge they may be having or a success we can all celebrate.

  • When: Held every fortnight on Wednesdays
  • Next Event: Oct 20
  • Time: 10.30am – 12pm
  • Where:1a Manning St, South Gladstone

If you are interested or would like to join Sisterlife Circle, please contact the Integreat Queensland office on 4903 1931 or email: admin@integreatqld.org.au


You’re invited to our Picnic in the Park.

Now held on the first Sunday of every month, our Picnic in the Park events are a great way to meet friends and make new ones in the Gladstone community. This event is about connecting with others and having fun over some food and drinks in a great atmosphere.

Why should I attend you ask? At Integreat Queensland, we believe having connections with other people and having a social circle of your own are beneficial to your emotional health and well-being. People need to connect with others to feel happy and fulfilled. Unfortunately however, some people don’t have a lot of friends or close relationships. There are many reasons for this, but one of the main reasons is that people are busy and don’t try to connect with others, or they are shy or introverted.

Integreat Queensland’s Picnic in the Park events are social safe gatherings with like-minded people so come along to socialise, relax, meet people, create new friendships, and have a good time.

Our next Picnic in the Park is on Sunday, 6th November from 12pm onwards at Spinnaker Park – (Area C – near the swimming beach area). Please look for Integreat QLD signs.

This is a free event every month. We will provide sausage sizzle and some games. All ages are welcome. Please BYO picnic food/, chairs, picnic mat etc. We look forward to seeing you there.

To RSVP, please text 0412 868 571 or email admin@integreatqld.org.au

Sign up for our Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit