The South Eastern Region Migrant Resource Centre (SERMRC) Youth Services Team provides a range of settlement services for refugees and humanitarian entrants aged 12 - 25 who have been in Australia for between 6 months and 5 years. 

 

The Youth Services Team also provides support and professional development training to schools, service providers and others working with refugee young people. 

 

The following links may assist you to improve your understanding of common aspects of the refugee experience and strategies and resources for working with refugee young people.  These resources focus on the Afghan and Sudanese communities.

 

This list is designed to be a starting point.  If you would like to suggest or request additional information, kindly contact:

Kate Jackson, Youth Services Team Leader, SERMRC on (03) 97068933 or katej@sermrc.org.au

Phill Start, Multicultural Youth Programs Officer, City of Casey on (03) 9705 5622, (03) 9705 5200 or 0407 360 566 or pstart@casey.vic.gov.au

Service Providers, Community Organisations and Government Departments

 

Adult Multicultural Education Service

African Think Tank

Association of Hazaras in Victoria
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

Bor Youth Association in Victoria

Brotherhood of St Laurence
Centacare
Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues

City of Casey - Youth Services
Community Centres and Neighbourhood Houses - City of Casey

Darfur Australia Network
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Department of Human Services
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
Department of Planning and Community Development
Department of Victorian Communities - Office for Youth

Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria
Fitzroy Learning Network
Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre
Refugee Health Research Centre
South Eastern Region Migrant Resource Centre

South East Local Learning and Employment Network
Springvale Community Aid and Advice Bureau

Springvale Monash Legal Service
Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning Program

Sudanese Community Association of Australia

Sudan Liaison Office Australia Inc

Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) National

Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (Foundation House)
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth)
Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women's Coalition
Victorian Multicultural Commission
Victoria Police Multicultural Advisory Services

   

Multicultural Youth Action Group (MYAG)

 

MYAG has been established to identify current issues that face migrant and refugee youth in the south eastern region of metropolitan Melbourne.  The network aims to implement realistic strategies by generating programs and actions through the current service providers in the region.  MYAG meets on the first Tuesday of every month from 11 - 12.30pm at the SERMRC.  For more info, please contact Kate Jackson, Youth Services Team Leader, SERMRC on (03) 9706 8933 or katej@sermrc.org.au

 

MYAG has also established a google group which assists members to share information and resources.  To join, please visit: http://groups.google.com/group/myag

 

 

Community Profiles and Case Studies

 

'Sudanese in south east Melbourne:  perspectives of a new and emerging community'.  Hardcopy available to order online here from the SERMRC.

 

A community profile for the Afghan community will be available in July 2008.

'Understanding the Refugee Experience - A Case Study of an Afghan Refugee Young Person' (SERMRC)

'Understanding the Refugee Experience - A Case Study of a Sudanese Refugee Young Person' (SERMRC)

 

Directories

Infoxchange Service Seeker

 

CLD Parenting Resources (CMYI)

CMYI Info Sheet - Community Organisations to Contact for Support and Referral

Education, Retention and Re-engagement Programs - SELLEN

 

South East CALD and Refugee Programs & Services - Education & Employment

 

 

 

South Eastern Region Migrant Resource Centre Multicultural Services Directory 

Please note, this directory is currently being updated.  The new version will be available shortly.

Resource Gateway for Teachers working with refugee young people in Australia (DIAC)

Who Ya Gonna Call?  (SELLEN)

 

Presentations, info sheets, reports and other publications

Strategies to support refugee young people to address key resettlement challenges (SERMRC)

 

 

 

Centrelink Info Sheet - Multicultural Service Officers

 

Adult Migrant Education Program (AMEP) Resources

A guide to working with young people who are refugees.  (Foundation House)

Making Successful Referrals with Refugee Young People and their Families (CMYI)

Refugee Young People and Resettlement (CMYI)

Involving Migrant and Refugee Young People in Social and Recreational Activities (CMYI)

Good Practice Principles for Working with Refugee Young People (CMYI)
Involving Young People: Documenting youth participation strategies for newly-arrived communities (CMYI)
A guide for newly arrived young people: Understanding the Victorian Education and Training System (CMYI) (Also available in community languages)

CMYI South East Homework Support Program (CMYI)

A Guide to Working with Interpreters (CMYI)

Establishing a women's swimming program (CMYI)

Does age really matter? (CMYI)

Opening the school gate - engaging CLD families in schools.  A Resource for Teachers.  (CMYI)

 

The Education Needs of Young Refugees in Victoria - Refugee Education Partnership Project.  (Foundation House, CMYI, Debney Park Secondary College, VicHealth)

 

School's In for Refugees - Whole-School Guide to Refugee Readiness (Foundation House)

 

The Educational Background of Sudanese Refugees:  a quick guide for Australian Teachers.  Rebecca Atwell

 

Education and Refugee Students from Southern Sudan (Foundation House)

 
Supporting Refugee Students in the Classroom (Drug Info Clearinghouse)

Australia's New Afghan Refugees:  Context and Challenges.  Dr William Maley

Taking Action:  Human Rights and Refugee Issues Teaching Resource (Foundation House)

Comparative Analysis of South Sudanese Customary Law and Victorian Law (Springvale Monash Legal Service)

Caring for Refugee Patients in General Practice (Foundation House)

Working Together to Build Active, Stronger and Confident Communities- A Resource Guide for Service Providers and Community (South Sudan Development Agency) - Available end May, contact info@ssuda.org.au or call Gatwech Kulang on 0421 982 037

 

For more information on the Afghan and Sudanese communities both in Australia and overseas...

 

Afghan Embassy in Canberra

Afghan News

Afghanistan Online

Hazara News  

Zarina's - online shop for Afghan clothing, jewellery and ornaments

 

 

Africanoz
Gurtong Trust
Sudanese Online Research Association

Sudan.Net

SouthSudan.Net

 

Sudanese Online

Sudan Tribune

 

Books and Films

 

Osama (2003) - directed by Siddiq Barmak.

Highly acclaimed film about a 12 year old girl's life under the cruel Taliban regime.

 

The Boy who plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan (2004) - directed by Phil Grabsky

Documentary which chronicles one year in the life of 8 year old Mir, who lives with his family as internally displaced people in the caves surrounding the place where the historic Buddhas of Bamiyan stood, prior to their destruction by the Taliban.

 

The Kite Runner (2007) - directed by Mark Forster.

Film version of the international best-selling book of the same name - an excellent film (and book!) for anyone wanting to know more about life in Afghanistan.  After years of exile in America, Amir returns to his homeland to right an old wrong.

 

The Lost Boys of Sudan (2003)- directed by Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk.

Award winning documentary focuses on Santino and Peter, members of the Dinka tribe, during their first life altering year in the United States.  Safe at last from physical danger - but a world away from home - the boys must grapple with extreme cultural differences as they come to understand both the abundance and alienation of contemporary American life.

 

Daughters of Sudan (2007)
A documentary profiling four young Sudanese women produced by the South Eastern Region Migrant Resource Centre.

 

Blood Diamond (2006) - directed by Edward Zwick.
This film exposes the atrocities committed during the civil war in Sierra Leone and the lives affected by the 'blood diamond' trade.

 

Kandahar (2001) - directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
The film is based on a story (partly true, partly fictionalized) of a successful Afghan-Canadian who returns to Afghanistan after receiving a letter from her sister, who was left behind when the family escaped, that she plans on committing suicide on the last solar eclipse of the millennium.

What is the What. By Dave Eggers.
Novelized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, from his pre-war life in southern Sudan to his resettlement in the United States.

 

The day I became a woman - directed by Marzieh Meshkini.

The story of women at three stages of life in Iran. 

 

Stray Dogs - directed by Marzieh Meshkini.

The story of two children in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

 

Dark Dreams.  Edited by Dechain, Miller and Sallis.

Short stories by refugee young people now living in Australia.

From Under a Leaky Roof- Afghan Refugees in Australia.  By Phil Sparrow.
Based on interviews with refugees and the people who work with them the book details common experiences of discrimination and persecution which led them to flee their homes, the despair of detention in Australia and the fear and uncertainty when they try to start their new lives in the Australian community.

 

International Organisations

 

United Nations
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
United Nations Mission in Sudan
United Nations Sudan Information Gateway
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
World Health Organisation (WHO)

 

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