| DIOCESE OF PARRAMATTA REPORT: When refugees flee, they are forced to leave behind everything they know and love. |
From the Refugee Council of Australia
Refugee Week 2011 will be held from Sunday 19 June to Saturday 25 June, coinciding with World Refugee Day on Monday 20 June.
Refugee Week provides an important opportunity for asylum seekers and refugees to be seen, listened to and valued.
The theme for Refugee Week - 'Freedom from Fear' - hopes to draw attention not just to the fear that compels refugees to run, but the relief that they feel when they are welcomed into another country and given the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
It is fear – fear of persecution, fear for their own lives – that makes refugees so different from every other migrant coming to Australia: they are fleeing their own country because it is no longer safe for them to stay.
When refugees flee, they are forced to leave behind everything they know and love. They are separated from family members, lose belongings, are left with little or no money. Many spend years in camps, lost in noman’s land while their fate is decided. Most have no idea what kind of future awaits them.
In seeking refuge in another country, refugees are hoping to find freedom from this fear of persecution.
They are looking for the opportunity to lead a normal life, as part of a community, where they can live in safety and security, find work and send their children to school.
And this is what we can offer them here in Australia.Visit the Refugee Council of Australia
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