World Refugee Day in the Year of Welcome

As part of Refugee Week, ARA will mark World Refugee Day on Saturday June 20 with a livestream cooking event from the Migration Museum.

Join us live on Facebook as local Adelaide women Ratiba Alhamza and Iman Mohammed cook up a storm and reflect on their journeys as refugees.

Ratiba, originally from Syria, is a talented cook and runs a catering business with her husband. She will take us through the preparation of Kibbeh, Fatoush salad, and a sweet dish called Mamoul.

 Iman Mohammed is originally from Iraq, and says that cooking is her inspiration. Iman will show us how to cook some classics: Falafel and Baklava!

We invite you to join us at 4pm Adelaide time on Saturday 20 June 2020 at https://www.facebook.com/migrationmuseum

In ARA’s everyday work of helping refugees and new arrivals settle into a new life, every year is a year of welcome.

We are pleased to see this attitude embodied in the 2020 theme for Refugee Week: Celebrating the Year of Welcome.

In our experience, the Australian community can be incredibly welcoming and generous but this can be drowned out by a negative minority.

We are reminded every day that the women, men and children we support have often fled horrific situations of war, violence and threat before arriving in Australia.

And yet, refugees and new arrivals to our country are strong, resilient people. They have lived through some of the toughest challenges anyone could ever face.

Feeling welcomed is the first step towards feeling at home. Feeling at home gives someone the confidence to embrace opportunities to work, learn and establish a new life.

We all have the power to support that resilience through practical and compassionate help, and it all starts with “Welcome”.

Deb Stringer
CEO