DSS Community Hub Story Transcript
My name is Shafigheh Rafighi,
I come from Afghanistan.
Then there was war
and my husband was in the Mojahed group.
He had enemies there so we ran away
because of the fear for his life
and also Taliban.
Refugees are just like you and I.
They’ve got stories behind them
that are tragic.
And are looking for hope in a community
that accepts them.
Many of them have demonstrated incredible resilience
and commitment to find the sorts of societies
in which they can make a contribution.
But at some point there are additional services
that often need to be provided.
And the community hubs can do that.
Community hubs offer a place
that’s supporting people settle well into the community,
build connections with each other
and feel a sense of belongingness.
Community hubs, because they’re in schools,
provide an opportunity for bringing
isolated mothers and their young children together
to enable them to improve their literacy,
to better develop social networks
and then to be able to move along
a path of employment.
They helped us not sit in the house,
because you get depressed.
They said to us:
“Come here and do painting and talk with your friends.”
We went to English classes
and we found many, many friends.
It’s incredibly important that businesses
and philanthropic organisations
consider community hubs
as a way of being able to have an impact.
Refugees are really the sorts of people
that all of us would want to have in our communities.
And they want to make a difference
and they want to make a home here that is successful for everybody.
I’m happy that my children can find their purpose
and hopefully build a good life here.
Australia!
I love to see it when they start to discover who they are
and with the right support
and the feeling of acceptance within the community,
they can go as far as they want to go.
So please come along,
contact the community hubs.
There’s lots that you can be involved in
to support refugee and migrant families settling in Australia.