Manlygees is a group of volunteers from the Manly area seeking to change the lives of displaced refugees through the power of community.
Watching TV from the safety of our living room, we witness hundreds of thousands of people displaced by atrocity, be it in Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar, Somalia, or another unfortunate country.
It is hard to imagine what it would be like to spend 10 years in a refugee camp, with no home to return to, and in fear for the safety and future of your children.
Many of us often wish we could lend a helping hand, yet providing that help is often more complicated than it looks.
A group of volunteers from Manly have stopped watching from the sidelines and decided to act.
Calling themselves the Manlygees, the group are preparing to receive a refugee family of five via a new government initiative.
Under the Federal Government’s new Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP), groups of five or more ordinary Australians can now sponsor a family who are referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as in urgent need of resettlement.
CRISP is modelled on a Canadian program that has successfully integrated 325,000 refugees into the community over the past 40 years.
Coming from all walks of life, the volunteer group all have one thing in common; they are horrified by the plight of refugees and want to do something that makes a genuine difference.
The group has been matched with a Kurdish Syrian family who have been displaced from their home in Syria and living in a bordering country for the past eight years.
Their children know no other life and have only been able to attend school sporadically.
The UNHCR has recommended the family is in urgent need of resettlement and the Australian Government has granted them a visa to settle in Australia.
Denis O’Brien, a volunteer from the Manlygees, says that the initiative has already received wonderful support from the local community.
“We have been in contact with the family through WhatsApp and have been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes,” he says.
“Everyone can’t wait for them to arrive.”
Assuming all preparations go smoothly and there are no issues impacting their travel, the family will arrive on 10 November.
“We all plan on going out to the airport to welcome them and help settle them into their accommodation,” he says.
“There are lots of things we need to familiarise them with. Things like transport, shops, doctors, schools.
“Once they arrive here, it may seem like the job is done, but that that is far from the truth. The support needs to be ongoing; we want to give them the best possible chance to succeed in life here in Australia.”
“We want to give them the best possible chance to succeed in life here in Australia.”
Denis O’Brien
Studies have shown that refugees with community support fare better on finding jobs and other metrics than those without support.
“Community support and understanding would be fantastic; it would be great to show them what a terrific country we have,” Denis says.
He says the best way to support the group at the moment is through donations.
“I want to make it clear to everyone that we are not a charity for these people, though. We are there to support them in their transition to life in Australia.
“Eventually we need the family to be self-sufficient and independent.”
The group is also hosting ‘A Syrian Evening In Manly’ fundraiser on Friday 4 November, with traditional Middle Eastern music, food and silent auction.
“We are at the very beginning of this journey and, hopefully, it’s a very successful one, so that we can continue bringing more families to resettle in Australia”.
To donate or purchase tickets to the fundraising event, visit manlygees.org.