The ChilOut Ambassador Program aims to;
1. See legislation passed that prevents children from being held in immigration detention beyond a short, defined period (and then, only in appropriate facilities)
2. For a diverse audience to hear first hand from children who have experienced immigration detention.
3. Give young people (former refugees and those from non-refugee backgrounds) a voice in the public arena and in Canberra.
4. Build a community of young people from across Australia.
5. Develop a speakers list of young people able to speak to the media and at public events.
Photo courtesy of the Adelaide Advertiser ChilOut Ambassadors at Parliament House
FRONT ROW, L TO R: Reza, Bonne, Nahid
BACK ROW, L TO R: Hannah, Joan, Zahra, Fabienne, Krystal
Azeena ,17, came from Sri Lanka, studies at Holroyd High, and is Auburn Council's Young Citizen of 2004. She has represented Australia at a human rights conference in Thailand and plans to attend a United Nations conference in New York in 2005. We're here, get used to it: students give refugees younger voice , 21 June, 2004, SMH.
Azeena asked: "Why are we still saying 'No' to asylum seekers? They have been through so much in their homeland and we lock them up. These children are our future doctors, teachers, our future leaders."
Bonne , 15, goes to school in Port Augusta, SA, with Baxter and Port Augusta children. Bonne has won a UNHCR Encouragement Award for her efforts to help her friends. Bonne's views...
- Bonne's full 10 page report of her trip to Canberra
- Letter to Seven Sunrise TV show
- Nameless faces in the sea
- Bonne's message of hope , 12 March 2004, from The Advertiser.
- Bonne's ABC radio interview , 19 May 2004.
- Bonne on Merlin and the release of the HREOC report
Emma When I was asked to be an Ambassador for ChilOut I was flattered and excited!
I've been asked to speak about my background, my interest in helping people and how I would like to help the children in detention.
Firstly let me explain a little about my life so far, but first let me say this is hard for me to actually put into words.
I was born with infantile polycystic kidneys. It is a disease that can effect all organs, but luckily only effected my kidneys, liver and spleen. Most of my childhood and up until a few years ago have been spent in hospital being locked in four walls with no phone and only family, doctors and nurses as company. I have had two kidney transplants (both successful) I have had dialysis, my spleen removed and numerous other surgeries and many side-effects from different drugs.
This may all sound awful, but the opposite has occurred.
I have come to the conclusion that this has made me a better person. How?
By realising that having no control over your own life and not being able to change this no matter how much people care for you and love you, if it is a situation not of your doing, can be one of the worst situations and can lead to feelings of utter despair, anger and hatred. I can imagine the despair of the detainees, having their lives taken out of their control and shut away from society.
This is how my empathy for other people developed.
I am currently supporting a little girl in Bangladesh with World Vision, writing to the Prime Minister of Australia (he has never answered my letters!) going on peace marches and trying to right injustices where I can. This is because I believe all people are equal and deserve fair and just treatment; they are innocent until proven guilty.
How to help the children in detention? I am not sure as I have just been asked to be an Ambassador for ChilOut and until now have tried all I know how to, to help them.
So I am hoping that the people at ChilOut and the general public will help me decide what is the best course of action to help the children.
Fabienne , 14, is from Sydney's north shore and goes to North Sydney Girls’ High. She has pen pals in both Baxter and Nauru. Fabienne's views...
Hannah , 16, from rural Victoria, is a year 11 student at Castlemaine Secondary College. Hannah writes to two asylum seeker detainees in Australia and some others detained on Nauru. Hannah was a Girlfriend magazine "Girlfriend of the Year" finalist in 2003, chosen because of her involvement in refugee activism. In February 2004, she appeared in Girlfriend again with a report on her last visit to Baxter detention centre. Hannah's views...
Joan , 17, who has just started university, hails from Ulverstone, north-west Tasmania. She is part of the social justice network in her community and the online advocacy group, Nauruwire and wrote to many Iraqi and Afghan asylum seekers detained on Nauru. Joan's views...
-
Ulverstone youth speaks out for asylum seekers ,17 March 2004, The Advocate, Tasmania.
-
Read it on the Bush Telegraph web site, 23 June 2004.
-
Read Joan's speech at the launch of the HREOC report, in Tasmania.
Krystal , 16 from Wagga Wagga, NSW, is doing Year 11 at TAFE. She has experienced a lot in her young life, including the death and illness of close family members, but she has come through it all wanting to help people, especially children in detention. Krystal is a volunteer art teacher, and plans to become a school teacher. She is also an outspoken member of Greenpeace. Krystal's views...
July 2004 - Krystal has been studying really really hard and continues to fight for the rights of asylum seekers. Recently she proposed to the Wagga Wagga City Council painting a mural with some local young children. The mural would depict asylum seekers in Australia. The proposal is being considered. She has also been teaching young Afghan refugees living in Wagga Wagga on a voluntary basis.
Nahid delivered her message to politicians in Canberra and was i nterviewed with Zahra on TripleJ 's Hack program.
Najeeba , 16, is a refugee from Bamiyan, Afghanistan and in year 10 at Holroyd High School. Najeeba is Nooria's younger sister. Najeeba and Nooria spoke at Sydney Town Hall on 10 June 2004 .
Nooria , 18, is a refugee from Bamiyan, Afghanistan and in year 12 at Holroyd High School, studying for her HSC. Nooria is Najeeba's older sister. A young refugee's plea for a better future , 21 June, 2004, SMH.
Reza Sayed, arrived to Australia as an Afghan refugee. He is in Year 11 at Holroyd High School. He left Afghanistan in 2000, when he was 14 years old. Since meeting with politicians in Canberra in March, Sayed has spoken at Sydney Town Hall on June 10 , and at Hyde Park for World Refugee Day.
- Reza speaks at Sydney Town Hall , 10 June 2004.
- Reza speaks at World Refugee Day , Hyde Park, Sydney, 20 June 2004.
Zahra , 18, is a student at Holroyd High in western Sydney, NSW. Following her father’s murder by the Taliban, Zahra fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan in 1998, where she lived in a refugee camp for a year. She and her mother and little brother came to Australia as part of the offshore humanitarian program. While Zahra has not been detained in Australia, she has plenty of friends who have been. Zahra has been interviewed with Nahid for Radio TripleJ 's Hack program. Zahra's views...