“A VOLUNTEER group in Murwillumbah is helping refugee families rebuild their lives from scratch, offering hands on support from the moment they arrive in Australia.
As communities across the country marked Harmony Week from March 16 to 22, Tweed Welcomes Refugees continues its quiet work resettling displaced people in the Northern Rivers.The group, co founded by Elizabeth Waters, works through the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Program to support families during their first year in Australia.
Waters recalled meeting the first family she helped resettle at Brisbane Airport, a Venezuelan couple who had spent six years living as refugees in Peru after fleeing persecution. “Meeting them as they walked out of the gate at Brisbane airport and saying hello to them for the first time ever was an amazing experience,” she said.
She said the language barrier and the shock of arriving in a completely new environment were significant challenges.
“After driving them home from the airport, they came into a house they had never been in before in a strange place in the middle of the night and they literally could not speak a word of English,” she said.
“You can picture how hard that is in a little regional area like the Northern Rivers.”
Through the program, newly arrived refugees receive permanent visas and access to services such as Medicare, Centrelink and English language classes at TAFE. But Waters said navigating those systems is only part of the transition.
“They need help with everything, finding housing, understanding transport, looking for work, learning the language, even just how daily life works here,” she said.
Despite both holding university degrees, the Venezuelan women arrived with no job security and limited English. Volunteers helped them access training and employment, and assisted them to purchase a car through a small loan and grant.
Now both have permanent jobs and continue to study.
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