Satheesh RoS
by Noeline Nagle Satheesh was introduced to me 10 years ago. A young, athletic man who wanted to play cricket for Ocean... Read More
The Magic of Ocean 12
Sydney Cricket League Division 1 Grand Final, match between Shaheen Cricket Club and Oceans 12 at Bradbury Oval on February 26, 2023... Read More
Moving speech at Art Show
BMRSG held a very successful Art Show to showcase the work of artists who came seeking asylum and to raise money for... Read More
Justice & Freedom for Refugees Rally at Lawson
About 80 people from BMRSG, Grandmothers for Refugees, Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) and various Blue Mountains Churches came together at Lawson... Read More
Members of Ocean 12 – Where Are They Now?
by Noeline Nagle Recently, in between lockdowns Paul and I were in Melbourne. This gave us an opportunity to catch up on... Read More
Tibetan Flag is flying outside of the BMCC Chamber
March 10th is a day of great significance for all Tibetans around the world. It is the day on which they gather to mark the anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising in 1959 when, after 10 years of Chinese occupation of Tibet, Tibetans rose up in opposition.
10th March 2020 is the 61st Anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day.
The Blue Mountains City Council has for some years hosted a Flag Raising Ceremony and the flying of the Tibetan Flag outside the Council Chambers in our Peace Park.
Hard work and perseverance – Who Are We? Part 4
A house full of single men cut off from their families is not always the most serene of places. A house in Liverpool was one such place, full of Tamil men from Sri Lanka and living now very far from home.
No mothers, no fathers, no children, and no wives, and this not by any real choice of their own. Many of the young men in this house had Australian residency, but without citizenship they cannot bring their families over to join them.
Two young men, two very different stories. Who Are We? Part 2
Two young men, both left their home countries aged 3. Both now call the Blue Mountains home and are part of the BMRSG community. But two very different stories.
Read part 2 in our series Who Are We?
‘Do not abandon us’ Behrouz Boochani tells audience in Wentworth Falls
Behrouz Boochani, the Kurdish Iranian journalist and award winning autho, discussed his recently published memoir No Friend But the Mountain: Writing From Manus Prison at the Wentworth Falls School of Performing Arts last Saturday. Mr. Boochani fled from Iran to seek refuge in Australia but was instead sent to offshore detention on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. Mr. Boochani is a vocal advocate for Kurdish people and all refugees and asylum seekers. Mr. Boochani Skyped in from East Lorengu, the refugee accommodation on Manus Island where he currently resides, and received a standing ovation from audience members, before talking about his memoir and his time in detention.
Changing lives, changing perceptions: Young refugees from the Treehouse Theatre perform for Katoomba High
Refugee students from Miller Technology High in Cabramatta, Sydney, shared their life stories in a Tree of Life performance for Katoomba High School on Wednesday 19 June. The students, from war-torn Iraq and Syria, were part of Parramatta’s Treehouse Theatre that provides a platform for young refugees to act out their stories of plight.
The young refugees, aged between 12 and 17, performed in front of 700 Katoomba High School students and their teachers. None of them had been in Australia longer than 2 years, with one arriving only 8 months ago.