We Are Not Powerless

A good sized crowd gathered on Saturday afternoon at Mount Vic Flicks to watch We Are Not Powerless and to engage in a Q & A with Muzafar Ali and Jolyon Hoff, the filmmakers. The film is about the setting up of the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre (CRLC) in Indonesia, a venture which started in 2014 when Muzafar, his wife Nagina and others, with Jolyon’s support, decided that education was critical for all the refugees and their children then living in Cisarua and looking for a way to safety. A surprise guest on the day was Khalim, an ex-director of the CRLC who later found asylum in Canada.

The film documents amongst other things the resilience of the refugee community who were told they were not allowed to “organise” anything as it would threaten their refugee status, and the bureaucratic helplessness of the UNHCR. Most importantly though, from this observer’s perspective, it highlighted the power and courage of the women who stepped up to become teachers at the school when qualified male teachers amongst the refugees turned down that opportunity. The Centre was the first of its kind in the world and has grown considerably over the subsequent years. Importantly, it has served as a model for similar Centres in other places, with at least 10 more now running.

It’s a remarkable film which should be mandatory viewing for all our politicians. The Q & A afterwards ranged over how the film was made, the haplessness of the UNHCR, the involvement and support of the Indonesians in Cisarua and the problems of rising racism and anti-immigration rhetoric in Australia. As Muzafar made clear, these problems are more the reluctance of politicians to confront these tropes than in the attitudes of most Australians. A little leadership would go a long way.

You can see a trailer of the film at CRLC’s Instagram here (you don’t need an Instagram account to see it) or on YouTube here

You can support the CRLC by going to https://www.cisarualearning.com/

And a big Thank You to Adam and Kirsten from Mount Vic Flicks, for their support and hospitality. The closure of the Mt Victoria pass has impacted them but you can help by going to films there.