“Three years ago, sections of the media were quick to blame certain migrant groups for a crime which they had absolutely nothing to do with, creating extraordinary distress and alarm,” Mr Afra added. “It is troubling that only months after the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that sections of the media had breached their standards, migrant groups are again under attack.” Mr Afra said it was time that media practitioners got together with members of migrant communities to establish better relationships and set new benchmarks on reporting and representation. “From my perspective, I know that all migrant communities are deeply distressed by attacks on any particular community group,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra said the debate about incidents involving Indian students highlighted the need for more comprehensive data and analysis about the nature of crime in Victoria, especially those offences where race and ethnicity is considered to be a possible motivating factor. “We hope to see the establishment of a dedicated mechanism that will help society understand the extent of racially motivated crime, identify and capture the perpetrators, and help to eradicate this scourge where it exists,” Mr Afra said.

For further information, please contact 0421 124 112 or 0417 489 226.

 “General Cosgrove is to be commended for – in his words – ‘not beating around the bush’ when it comes to confronting the various ‘shades’ of intolerance that exist in Australian society,” Mr Afra said. “And while no individual perspective on these matters can ever be considered the absolutely correct and universally definitive one, there is much in General Cosgrove’s speech that warrants further exploration.

”Mr Afra said he agreed that Australia cannot afford to take it for granted that “we’ll always remain the ‘lucky country’” and that new ways need to be found to help new arrivals feel welcome and be a part of society.However, he cautioned against influential figures at the local and national level using incidents of unrest as an opportunity to sow seeds of fear and distrust in the community.“Yes, there are some unsavoury elements within our diverse society that demand urgent attention, but this should not be waved about as evidence of the failure of multiculturalism in this country.”

 “On the contrary, we live in a country which encourages the retention of cultural and religious heritage within a framework of laws, regulations and rights and has benefited immensely from the skills and ingenuity of migrants from around the world.”

 “We should not forget that overall, Australia has a strong community and we don’t want to derail all the efforts of those who’ve gone before to build a harmonious and successful society,” Mr Afra said.

 Mr Afra acknowledged that migrant communities were deeply distressed by the recent spate of crimes directed at ethnic minorities and reiterated his call for authorities to be equipped with the necessary resources to investigate and apprehend offenders and prevent further crimes.

 “As General Cosgrove noted, Australia has not evolved to the stage it is today without weathering the challenges that come with being a dynamic multifaceted society populated by millions of individuals with different needs in a world rich in complexity and contradictions.”

 “We will do so again by staying true to the principles of affability, adaptability and a fair go that help define us as Aussies, no matter what we look like or where come from.”

For further information, please contact 0421 124 112 or 0417 489 226.

The Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Victoria (eccv) has called for a more realistic debate about Australia’ immigration levels following Kevin Andrews mischievous calls to drastically slash our migrant intake.

“Any discussion about immigration levels must be done with all the facts on the table. Immigration has been of enormous benefit to Australian society with the successful settlement of over 7 million migrants since World War II. This immigration has greatly enriched and strengthened our society and economy”, said Chairperson Sam Afra

“Our immigration program is about both Australia’s overall economic interest and our human rights obligations around refugee resettlement and family reunion. It is about how we populate ourselves and how we grow our communities.

“Our current migration levels also benefit our economy at around $500 million per year rising to $1 billion per year over two decades. Australia’s strong immigration rates have also helped ensure that Australia has avoided recession during the recent global financial crisis.

“To suggest slashing our immigration levels to well below the number of people permanently leaving Australia is not only ridiculous but mischievous. It feeds a negative and populist debate around immigration and ignores the great benefits immigration brings to our country.

“While immigration levels are always fluctuating depending on labour market needs and resource issues we cannot deny the overall fundamental benefits of immigration to Australia’s national prosperity and security. Continued immigration is also not incompatible with improved environmental outcomes provided we all collectively reduce our carbon footprint and continue to invest creatively in water and water saving measures.

“Australia is an open, diverse and outward looking immigrant nation that has prospered and will continue to prosper through a properly managed immigration program. To deny this is to deny the reality of Australia”, concluded Mr Afra

For further information, please contact Sam Afra 0421 124 112 or Ross Barnett 0417 489 226.

“The media – and the mainstream broadcast news media in particular – is an immensely powerful tool for building or breaking down trust within different sections of a society,” Mr Afra said.

“Should we be surprised then that people express heightened levels of mistrust in others when the news media is so cavalier with apportioning blame for criminal activity and their wrong-doing stays uncorrected for over two years.”

Mr Afra was especially frustrated by reports that all three stations, Channels 7, 9 and TEN, continued to deny that they had made an error during the investigation process.

“To fail the most basic of journalistic principles is bad enough, but for those involved to escape without requiring any public show of contrition such as an apology on their respective websites is a sorry indictment on the state of modern television journalism in this country,” Mr Afra said.

“Two years ago Channel 7 issued a statement regretting any damage done by broadcasting details of two AFL players' medical records.  I would like to think the damage done over the Noble Park incident would be treated at least as seriously.”

Mr Afra was also concerned by the length of time taken by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)

“Two years is far too long for one of Victoria’s must vulnerable and under-privileged communities to wrongly carry the blame and suspicion for the poor work practices of a section of the media,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra called for an immediate review of the procedures employed by ACMA to investigate complaints.

“I also look forward to representatives of each of the offending broadcasters taking part in a special ECCV workshop to help improve portrayals of new migrants in the media.”

Mr Afra said the workshop would be occurring in the new year.

“Strengthening social harmony is not something that can just be left to governments or the community to achieve; we all have a responsibility and the media in all its forms has a very important part to play too,” Mr Afra explained.

The ACMA report is available at: www.acma.gov.au

For further information, please contact 0421 124 112 or 0417 489 226.

Mr Afra said the presentation of his award at Government House on Thursday night was especially humbling coming so soon after his re-election as ECCV Chairperson earlier in the week.

“This award only strengthens my commitment to advance the position of culturally diverse Victorians in areas such as education and employment, and the prevention of ethnic-based marginalisation, exploitation and discrimination,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra said the 2009 award coincided with the 25th anniversary of his arrival from Lebanon and decision to settle in Australia permanently.

Mr Afra praised the Victorian Government for giving some formal recognition to individuals such as those nominated for awards, “who worked tirelessly, and often voluntarily, for the benefit of the community.”

Mr Afra also paid tribute to the contribution of fellow ECCV board member and award winner, Eddie Micallef, who received the same award.

“Eddie also boasts more than 25 years of active service to the community,” Mr Afra explained, highlighting Micallef’s work in union affairs and 16 years in the Victorian Parliament.

“As well as his long-term involvement with ECCV, Eddie also served as chairperson of the Springvale Community Health Service and remains a key voice on behalf of the local Maltese community.”

Established in 2002, the Victorian Multicultural Awards for Excellence recognise and reward the contribution of individuals and organisations in categories such as multicultural service delivery, education, local government, and meritorious service in the community.

For further information, please contact 0421 124 112 or 0417 489 226.

The new board of ECCV, as elected on Tuesday 24 November 2009, is:

“When we think about the kind of signals that young people have been receiving this year regarding the acceptance of foreign students, racially-charged mockery, and asylum seekers, it is little wonder there has been a spike in incidents of intolerance and anti-social behaviour in our classrooms, playgrounds and sporting events,” Mr Afra said.

According to one study, The Impact of Racism upon the Health and Wellbeing of Young Australians, more than two-thirds of young people are the victims of racism at school, with first-generation migrant women in years 11 and 12 most at risk.

80% of secondary students from non-Anglo backgrounds and 55% of students from Anglo backgrounds said they had experienced racial vilification.

A second report by VicHealth, titled Building on our strengths, revealed that 45% of Victorians from non-English backgrounds reported racial discrimination at a sporting or other public event.

Mr Afra said the alarming figures reflected poorly on the example being set for the youth of today.

“When people in the media say it is okay to be derogatory of others simply because their skin is darker, or politicians demonise newly-arrived migrants and refugees for political point-scoring, the message being sent to our young is that such abuse and fear-mongering is no big deal.  It is a big deal with serious repercussions as these studies show.”

The VicHealth report found that the experience of racism made students feel angry and depressed, experience more headaches and muscle tension, and not want to go to school.

“School-age children are highly impressionable and are naturally influenced by what they see and hear from parents, peers, community leaders, politicians and the media,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra said particular attention needed to be paid to contradictory messages being expressed in public versus those behind closed doors.

“Children and teenagers see through hypocrisy and superficiality so it is vital that positive statements about tolerance and acceptance are not undermined by intolerant comment and conduct behind the scenes,” Mr Afra stressed.

Mr Afra also called for a greater injection of funding and resources into schools to help with educational programs promoting positive interactivity and cross-cultural understanding.

For further information, please contact 0421 124 112 or 0417 489 226.

“Australians who have migrated to this country from authoritarian regimes overseas know all too well the danger of having too much media control concentrated in the hands of two few,” Mr Afra said.

“By ensuring Channel 31’s place in the media landscape, we are upholding some of the fundamental principles of Australian democracy – freedom of speech and an equal voice for all,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra said that ethnic communities were involved in the production of 95 local shows broadcast on Channel 31 each week.

“So the granting of this [digital] license is terrific news for Victoria’s multicultural population and those other groups in society who tend to be under-represented in the broader commercial and public media,” Mr Afra said.

“It is important that community-based media, in all its forms, keeps pace with changes in technology and avenues for reaching and growing their audience.”

Mr Afra said that 16 years after it first went to air, there had been grave fears for Channel 31’s future after previous applications for a place on the digital spectrum were rejected.

“There was a sense that when the earlier applications were denied, the decision-makers didn’t fully appreciate how important community broadcasters like Channel 31 are to so many people in our society,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra said a concerted lobbying effort by Channel 31’s member and affiliate groups and a cross-section of stakeholders and supporters had helped convince the Rudd Government to reconsider their position.

Under the plan, Channel 31 will be one of five capital city community broadcasters to transmit both analog and digital signals until the proposed switch-off of analog in late 2013.  The broadcaster will also have access to $2.6 million in funding to help cover the cost of upgrading systems to enable digital broadcast.

Mr Afra added that as a community broadcaster, Channel 31 still relies on the generosity of everyday Victorians – financially and talent-wise – to serve its charter and encouraged ethnic communities in particular to keep finding new ways to support its endeavours.

“It is telling that even in this era of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, there is still a desire among people of all ages and backgrounds to ensure the ongoing production and transmission of programming by local communities for local communities,” Mr Afra said.

For further information, please contact:  0421 124 112  or  0417 489 226.

Now in its third year, the hugely successful Multicultural Multiactive Seniors (MMS) project is run in partnership with the YMCA and funds the training of bilingual people to become qualified fitness instructors.

Mr Sam Afra, Chairperson of the ECCV, said the course was an ideal opportunity for people with some experience of working with older adults to share their passion for healthy living.

“Leading exercise classes is a wonderful means of self-improvement and community engagement,” Mr Afra said. “There are few things more effective and gratifying than helping seniors to become stronger, happier and independent for longer.”

Applications are sought from people proficient in English and another language who can demonstrate an interest in fitness and some experience working with seniors.

Successful applicants will receive YMCA training in Certificate III Fitness Instruction in a part-time course over 6 months plus a weekend course in teaching older adults. This qualification will allow people to work professionally leading group exercise.

“Over the past two years the program has trained people from the Chinese, French, Italian, Filipino and Spanish communities,” Mr Afra explained, “and the feedback from everyone involved in the project is overwhelmingly positive.”

Mr Afra added that by 2011, it is expected that 40% of over 65s in Melbourne will be from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

“The fact is that we are an ageing population,” Mr Afra said, “and unfortunately, research indicates that seniors from ethnic backgrounds tend to be more likely to experience a higher rate of illness associated with a sedentary lifestyle.”

“We need more instructors from within the community who can help reduce the barriers to exercise for our seniors.”

The courses offered are held at YMCA Fitness Training facilities in Fairfield, Knox and Ballarat. The program is funded through the Victorian Office of Senior Victorians (OSV) in the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD).

The deadline for the current round of applications is Friday, 30 October 2009.

For an information pack and details on how to apply, please contact Kate Ling at ECCV on (03) 9349 4122 or email: kling@eccv.org.au.

“While I appreciate that aspects of an investigation are not always made public due to operational reasons, it is important to know that everything is being done to track down the individuals responsible for circulating this malicious and misleading material,” Mr Afra said. 

Mr Afra said that the offending leaflets made a number of vicious and unfounded generalisations about African Australians that are deeply offensive and upsetting to all Victorians, but especially to refugee families who have been accepted under the humanitarian resettlement program. 

Mr Afra described the level of vitriol and prejudice expressed in the leaflets as extremely alarming and ignorant.“While all right-minded people would recognise this material as nothing more than hate-fuelled scaremongering, it is still a concern that unsuspecting residents, including young children, are finding it sitting in their mailboxes,” Mr Afra noted. 

Mr Afra said he had received a numbered of calls from residents in both regional and metropolitan centres greatly distressed by the tone and content of the leaflets, and he urged local authorities to work swiftly to identify the distributors and take appropriate action. 

Mr Afra was also quick to stress that Victoria should not be tarnished by the bigoted and racially-intolerant sentiments being circulated around the state.

“It is vital that in the course of investigating who is behind this material that the citizens of Victoria, many of whom have opened their hearts to African families, do not have their integrity and generosity called into question. We as Australians need to affirm our traditional standards and give everyone a fair go.”

“Such is the stupidity and toxicity of this kind of material – not only does it deeply offend and criminally misrepresent the victimised communities, but taints the reputation of Victoria in the eyes of the world.”

Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls and Victoria Police Chief Commissioner, Simon Overland, were among the key speakers at a special one-day forum organised by ECCV to help identify risk factors and protective measures for family violence in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.

Mr Afra said that assurances of support from Mr Hulls and Chief Commissioner Overland would be greatly welcomed by frontline agencies dealing with the causes and impacts of violence in the household, but urged swift action on behalf of all stakeholders to improve the quality of life of families at risk.

“Family violence is an issue that requires an informed, collective approach,” Mr Afra said, “so it is essential that all levels of government and sectors of the community co-ordinate their responses and remain consistent in their approach.”

The forum also explored how violence is handled in different arenas such as sports, the workplace, the media and popular culture.

The forum follows the release of the Victorian Government’s Violence Against Women Policy Statement 2010 and the recent announcement of a major overhaul of Australia's family law by the Federal Government to provide more protection for women and children.

Mr Afra said that assessing and confronting family violence within culturally diverse communities was often difficult due to differing attitudes about acceptable behaviour and limited awareness about appropriate avenues of redress.

“However national research points to a definite need for men and women in migrant and multicultural communities to become better informed about the problem of family violence and ways to prevent it from happening,” Mr Afra explained.

Mr Afra added that members of newly-arrived and non-English speaking background communities are particularly vulnerable to the pressures that can spark family violence due to their generally lower socio-economic status.

Mr Afra said he looked forward to closer working partnerships between government and the community sector yielding positive outcomes in the immediate and long term.

According to the Department of Human Services (DHS), family violence directly affects one in five Victorian women over the course of their lifetime, and is the leading contributor to preventable death, disability and illness in Victorian women aged 15 to 44 years.

“As more and more Australians complain about having to cut back on luxuries because of the financial downturn, these remarkable accounts of resilience and resourcefulness give some timely perspective to our comparatively privileged lives,” Mr Afra said.

“Some of the tales we have heard of terror and hardship are truly breathtaking and can only stir the utmost admiration for those who refused to bow to adversity or succumb to despair.”

The public forum, headlined by a number of leaders from Burma’s ethnic communities, was organised as part of the Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) Emerge Festival to help inform Victorians about the real-life experiences of refugees from Burma, who form an increasing proportion of newly arrived refugees and humanitarian entrants to Australia.

“Nearly 4,000 refugees from Burma and Thailand have settled in Victoria since the year 2000,” Mr Afra stated.

“It is hoped that, through public events like this forum, we can foster greater cross-cultural education and a deeper understanding of the refugee experience as we help them to rebuild their lives in our multicultural society.”

Mr Saw A. Ganemy Kunoo, President of the Ethnic Nationalities Organisation Burma and North East India, was one of the speakers now residing in Victoria who spoke passionately about his former homeland and the challenges faced by their peoples over the past decades.

In recalling the civil conflict that has devastated Burma for (60) years, Saw Ganemy added that “as recently as two weeks ago, over 2,000 Karen people had crossed into Thailand for fear of being caught up in the fighting or used as slave labour.”

Reverend Arohn Kuung, a leader of the Melbourne Chin community and former Victorian Refugee Recognition Record (VRRR) award recipient, described the many tribes, dialects, customs and cultures that comprise the Chin ethnic group.

Ms Thamaypaw Naysay of the Australian Karen Organisation then recounted the experiences of Karen refugees forced to flee from the repression and persecution of the ruling military junta.

Mr Afra paid tribute to all supporters, participants and not-for-profit organisations for their support of the event which coincided with the ‘Love Burma Love Freedom’ exhibition running at the fortyfivedownstairs gallery until 27 June 2009.

The MAV Emerge Festival commemorates the United Nations World Refugee Day on 20 June and celebrates Refugee Week in Australia.

At the meeting, ECCV Chairperson Mr Sam Afra said, “Victoria is a world leader as a multicultural, tolerant state and we want to keep it that way. There is no place for the violence directed at students and others that we’ve seen and heard about in recent weeks”.

“While we can all welcome the Brumby Government’s plans to amend the Sentencing Act, we have been calling upon the Victorian Police to do more to protect victims,” Mr Afra declared.

Mr Afra was referring to an announcement by Premier Brumby that the Victorian Government was considering amendments to the Sentencing Act which would require judges to take into account hatred for or prejudice against a particular group as an aggravating factor when sentencing.

“Any law reform, no matter how well intentioned, will only work if people believe the matter will be taken seriously by the Police,” Mr Afra continued. “The first step in building that confidence is to acknowledge that issues such as race, religion, sexuality or disability may be a motivating factor in crime.”

Mr Afra said it was gratifying to hear Victoria’s Chief Commissioner of Police acknowledge on Tuesday that some of the attacks on Indian students were racist in nature and to announce a special operation to crack down on violent crime.

“Nevertheless, we still hold concerns that the policing response so far has been inadequate,” Mr Afra stressed, “and we call for greater resourcing of Victoria Police so they can do the job the community asks of them to arrest and put perpetrators before the courts”.

“We do not support those who think they can take the law into their own hands, we want the Police to be able to do their job properly”

Mr Afra added that “there needs to be a concerted effort by all authorities to ensure these abhorrent crimes don’t continue and other groups don’t become targets”.

“In the longer term, we strongly urge the whole community to send clear and consistent messages to combat crimes motivated by hatred and prejudice,” Mr Afra said.

“We encourage all Victorians to stand up and reaffirm that our tolerance and our multiculturalism are central to our way of life by participating in the Harmony Walk from Carlton Gardens at 12.30pm on Sunday 12 July.”

For further information, please contact 0421 124 112 or 0417 489 226

“Too many Australians have seemed in denial of the influence of race in crime and anti-social behaviour,” Mr Afra said, “which has clearly left innocent individuals and community groups endangered.”

On Tuesday, Premier John Brumby confirmed that he would be pushing through legislative changes to make crimes in Victoria more serious if the influence of factors such as the race, religion, gender or sexual orientation of the people involved could be proven beyond doubt.

Mr Afra welcomed this announcement that ethnic biases and racial prejudices were now being considered in the comparative severity and leniency of sentences.

“It is high time that the ethnic biases and racial discriminations of criminal offenders were made punishable by the full force of the law,” Mr Afra declared.

Mr Afra said the seriousness of the recent spate of attacks against members of the Indian community in Melbourne demanded the full attention of the best and broadest array of minds available.

“Obviously, we don’t want to overstate or sensationalise the negative elements in our society,” Mr Afra noted, “but nor do we want to deny or downplay them either.”

“Race relations in this country cannot continue to be flashpoint of selective outrage, drummed up in the public consciousness when it suits and glossed over when it doesn’t,” Mr Afra said.

“People’s lives are in danger, and immeasurable damage is being done to Victoria’s international reputation as a safe, friendly and supportive multicultural environment.”

In May, ECCV raised concerns that the response toward the attack on Indian Victorians seemed to ‘blame the victim,’ with Mr Afra calling for greater resourcing of police authorities or a review of legislation to assist in the capture and conviction of perpetrators and prevention of further incidents.

Mr Afra said it was discouraging to note that the general public seemed far readier to raise the spectre of ethnic-based crimes when the accused perpetrators were members of migrant communities.

“Believe me, the fear of victimisation being felt through our country’s Indian community as a result of this recent spate of assaults and robberies is very real,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra agreed that this was a troubling period for all right-minded Victorians, but said “the goal of broader social inclusion was not served by putting on the blinkers and pretending that racial intolerance doesn’t exist.”

For further information, please contact 0421 124 112 or 0417 489 226.

Mr Afra said the 7.5% increase to the family component of the Migration Program would be greatly appreciated by Victorians with parents, spouses, or children waiting to join them in this country.

“Anything that helps to alleviate the deep distress caused by the forced separation of families must be commended,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra also applauded the increase in places offered to entrants under the Humanitarian Program.

“The increases in both resettlement categories reaffirm Australia’s reputation as a compassionate and responsible member of the international community,” Mr Afra said.

Mr Afra also commended the government on the increase to the “Women at Risk” quota from 10.5% to 12% of the refugee program

“This increase will help focus Australia’s resettlement program on those in greatest need” he added.

In the area of aged care, Mr Afra praised the decision to increase the single age pension rate.

“This will provide some valuable relief for pensioners from diverse cultural backgrounds adjusting to life after losing their partners,” Mr Afra explained.

Mr Afra voiced some wariness, however, about the impacts of proposed cuts to employment within the Immigration Department, as well as the lack of funding available to help public and community broadcasters make the transition to digital transmission.

“Broadcasters like television Channel 31 in Melbourne and community radio stations across the state serve as a vital avenue for ethnic groups to share information, advertise social networks, and strengthen a sense of belonging,” Mr Afra explained. “It would be disastrous if these pivotal services simply disappear when the switch is made from analog to digital technology.”

“It’s a sad day for Victoria when police and fire officers feel compelled to travel to India to advise Melbourne-bound students on how to avoid being targeted for assault and robbery,” Mr Afra said.

“Aside from being at odds with the image of a safe, tolerant and accepting multicultural Victoria that we want to convey, there is an uncomfortable sense of ‘blame the victim’ being perpetuated here.”

“Affected communities are understandably wondering how much focus is going into addressing the mindset of offenders,” Mr Afra noted.

Mr Afra welcomed assurances that authorities were devoting considerable resources into the problem, but warned that the establishment of a new helpline for reporting crimes against Indian students would do little to calm community fears, especially frequent users of public transport.

“While any mechanism to promote the reporting of crime and anti-social behaviour is welcome, obviously greater comfort comes from knowing preventative action is being taken to stop these crimes before they occur, rather than afterwards.”

“Even if many of these deplorable crimes are considered opportunistic,” Mr Afra said. “We should not forget that prejudice – whether racial, religious, age or gender-based – is pre-meditated.”

Mr Afra wondered if the spike in offences committed against members of the Indian community necessitated an urgent re-examination of current legislation regarding the investigation and prosecution of such incidents.