AIRAR celebrates milestone

THE Aireys Inlet Rural Australians for Refugees (AIRAR) will this month celebrate a milestone 10 years of supporting refugees and asylum seekers living both in Australia and overseas.

In 2014, Tri Nguyen, a former refugee from Vietnam, spoke at an event and shared his experience of coming to Australia during a time when refugees were welcomed rather than treated with the hostility of the present, which led to the formation of AIRAR.

Members had previously gathered as a sub-group of the Surf Coast Rural Australians for Refugees, but AIRAR forged its independence in July 2014, led by its now-four founding members, Mary and Keith Bremner, Kathryn Feather and Cecily Mason.

“For me personally, it just got to a point where I couldn’t sit back and just see the treatment that was being meted out to people coming to our country seeking asylum and do nothing,” Ms Bremner, the group’s co-ordinator, said.

“I just felt like ‘I’ve got to act’.”

Today, AIRAR has an active membership of 40 individuals and a mailing list in excess of 300 names – a volunteer base, Ms Bremner said, that remains as enthusiastic about their work as ever.

“It’s mind-blowing, actually, when you just think from a simple beginning, what sort of an organisation it grew into,” she said.

“I think part of the secret of the success is that we’ve provided the opportunity for people to contribute in their own way.

“It’s one of the best groups that I’ve ever belonged to…just because of the way people pull together to work for a common cause.”

Over the years, AIRAR’s focus has shifted slightly from advocacy, with members participating in protest action and writing thousands of letters to members of parliament urging more compassionate policies, towards providing practical support and hope to refugees.

Its volunteers maintain a wide range of programs and fundraising activities, including AIRAR’s English classes for refugees at the Cloverdale Community Centre, its Aid for Afghans fund supporting five families living in Afghanistan at significant risk of persecution, and a scholarship program with two Geelong secondary schools that support refugees to complete their high school education.

AIRAR has also been a long-term supporter of the Wesley Uniting Church Welcome Place Foodbank, donating both food and money each month to the drop-in centre.

“A lot of our focus is on creating public awareness and the whole idea of changing hearts and minds, so people will have a more understanding and compassionate attitude to the plight of refugees,” Ms Bremner said.

For Ms Bremner, a highlight is the recent hosting in Aireys Inlet of a refugee family from Burundi through the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) project, a federal government program that aims to permanently resettle 1500 refugees over a four-year period.

The family had spent eight years in a refugee camp in Kenya and was able to settle in the community with a chance at a new life with the sponsorship of a group of AIRAR members.

AIRAR will officially mark its 10-year anniversary with a two-course dinner event at the Kleins Anglesea Hotel on Friday, July 26, with all past and present AIRAR members and community supporters invited to attend.

The event will feature guest speaker Romy Vitalien, who will speak on the progress made through the CRISP project.

For tickets, head to events.humanitix.com/airar-10th-birthday-celebration