News and voices from the refugee and migrant experience
Telling the stories that matter - with empathy, insight and purpose
Telling the stories that matter - with empathy, insight and purpose
The election of Donald Trump as US President could have a disastrous impact on humanitarian and refugee relief efforts around the globe, agencies and NGOs are claiming. Among Trump’s election campaign promises were an end to irregular immigration to the US and the deportation of asylum seekers, a turn away from action on climate change […]
There is hope a unique exchange program at Wagga Wagga’s Mt Austin High School today, will enable local students to better understand the city’s growing refugee community. Just over 30 migrant students from Chatswood High’s Intensive English Centre will visit…
Thanks to the heavens opening, Coogee beach was all but deserted at midday on Sunday, save for a large and colourful group of swimmers and surf lifesavers. Wearing bright pink, participants in the Migration 2 Surf program gingerly approached the…
A United Nations expert on people smuggling and human trafficking says Canberra’s tough but ‘questionable’ policy on dealing with asylum seekers arriving by boat has successfully destroyed the current migrant smuggling model into Australia. Sebastian Baumeister, from the UN’s Office…
A diverse group of committed and innovative organisations and individuals have been honoured in the 2014 Migration and Settlement Awards. Global hotels group ACCOR won the Business Inclusion Award, which recognises a business that has successfully delivered a community-orientated program…
In celebration of Diversity Week, the Multicultural Hub and City of Melbourne hosted the Community Cultural Fair on Saturday 15th March. Held at the Drill Hall, the fair was attended by over 1000 people throughout the day and showcased art and…
AMES asylum seeker clients are enjoying free bike tours of Melbourne’s city centre thanks to a partnership with Freddy’s Bike Tours. The first of three groups of clients took to the streets and bike paths this week in a pilot…
More than twenty service providers and twenty representatives from the new commonwealth Department of Social Services attended a settlement forum hosted this week by AMES. The forum was aimed at building connections among Humanitarian Settlement Services (HSS) and Settlement Grants Program…
The federal government is considering changing the skilled migration program to allow more Chinese workers into Australia in a major concession aimed at clinching a free-trade deal with China, reports The Saturday Paper. Read more: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2014/3/17/china/govt-mulls-allowing-more-chinese-workers-report
Newly arrived migrants and refugees overwhelmingly find Australia a welcoming place that is relatively free from racism, a new survey has found. Getting stable work and seeing their children educated and prosper are the priorities for new arrivals; and lifestyle…
Turkish migrant Ayse Ipek and Ivona Mitev from Macedonia have a few things in common. They both came to Australia to be with their husbands, they both are studying English at AMES and want to go on to university and…
Asylum seekers in Melbourne are volunteering in droves as they try to find ways to make a contribution, occupy themselves and connect with local communities. An audit of asylum seeker clients of settlement agency AMES has found more than 400…
LANGUAGE barriers affecting more than half of Brimbank’s population can be addressed, the Brimbank Council believes. Read more: http://leader.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showarticle.aspx?&article=ba459d2b-d648-4d0a-bcf4-5de6c71a4209&viewmode=2&page=9