A Boat, an angel and an Aussie flag
The boat, angel and Aussie flag that asylum seeker Prasad uses to symbolise his freedom in a new country. (photo courtesy Pipeline)
Christmas 2011 brought new challenges and opportunities for The Salvation Army. A small team of Salvationists found themselves waiting at airports to welcome and receive asylum seekers who had just been released from Australian immigration detention centres.
Most of these single adult men had been held in detention in harsh, remote parts of Australia for two years or more. This was their first taste of freedom.
Obtaining permission to assist had been a long process for The Salvation Army. For over a year, a small number of Salvationists had been quietly meeting with Federal Government representatives, urging them to find more humane ways of dealing with the hundreds of families and individuals who were taking great risks and undertaking perilous journeys to reach Australia.
Three weeks before Christmas, The Salvation Army was contacted and asked by the Government if it would provide housing and support to asylum seekers who had been assessed as highly vulnerable and were being placed in the community.
Christmas is the Salvos’ busiest time of year. There are hampers and toys to be distributed, donations to be picked up, multiple carol events and Christmas dinners to be arranged, staff holidays to cope with, anxious and emotional clients, fundraising opportunities to follow up; the list is endless. How could anyone possibly open a new program at this time of year? But Salvationists are a people of action. We are an Army able to mobilise and move quickly. And this issue matters to us. We have spoken about asylum seekers at our social justice conferences. We have released statements about their plight. We have lobbied governments. We have prayed for and visited those who are being detained. Now it was time to “walk the talk”. The door had opened, and God’s people were mobilised into action.
Corps were asked to help. Salvationists gave up Christmas holidays and took time off their regular jobs to staff this new project. Houses were leased and furnished, procedures were written in a few days, and our first guests arrived just a week before Christmas.
Since that day, The Salvation Army has been serving in this challenging and deeply rewarding work. We have met the most courageous and grateful people, individuals who dream of freedom and long to create a new future in Australia.
Here is a glimpse into this amazing God-inspired journey we have embarked on.
When you work with asylum seekers, you learn that they have two names – their birth name and their boat number. Indetention, they are rarely called by their birth name. They are known by their boat number.
Ali’s boat number was 99. That was what he was called in detention. When he collected his belongings to leave the detention centre, the security guard told Ali that from now on he would be known by his family name. In broken English and with a wide smile, he said to our worker: “That was a very happy day.“
Omar sat cross-legged on the floor in another of our houses, sharing a meal with one of our female workers. He had cooked the meal as a symbol of his gratitude. Reflecting on the moment, he explained that in the country he had fled he would never be allowed to share a meal and conversation with a woman.
He talked about some of the terrible things that he had experienced; about being beaten or jailed for cutting his beard or dancing in public. He wept about the lack of opportunities available to his wife and daughter and sister.
As we shared life with our new friends, we received a new perspective of what freedom means.
Just before Christmas, Salvation Army leaders who were visiting Cairns were invited to share a meal at one of the asylum seeker houses. About 30 people, residents from our Cairns program and Salvationists from the local corps, were there.
Before the meal commenced, prayers were offered. An asylum seeker from Afghanistan prayed in Farsi; a local Salvationist from Papua New Guinea prayed in Pidgin; a Salvation Army officer prayed in Filipino; Kasun, an asylum seeker from Sri Lanka, prayed in Tamil.
It was an awesome, holy moment. The words prayed were not interpreted, but nobody doubted the gratitude and thanksgiving that flowed from these hearts, not just for the food they were about to eat, but for the possibility of new life.
The previous day, Kasun had said to a translator who was interpreting for him: “I was in something that was like a gaol and The Salvation Army has come and rescued me.”
During the prayers that night, the sound of quiet sobbing could be heard. One of those who cried was Prasad, an asylum seeker from Sri Lanka. Prasad cried for joy. It was his first Christmas experiencing freedom in his new country.
He had spent 22 months in detention. He requires medical treatment for injuries received from bashings in his own country. He talks about having a loaded gun held against his head. Hope almost died in detention. He cries because hope has been reborn.
Prasad shares with us three things that have come to mean a lot to him since he arrived at The Salvation Army house in Cairns. He carries them everywhere and proudly shows whoever will listen.
One is a model of a boat he made while in detention. It is a model of the boat in which he travelled to Australia. He says the boat broke down many times. His model has a small hole in the side to symbolise the condition of the original vessel, which leaked and often threatened to sink.
The second object is a small Australian flag. To Prasad, the flag symbolises all that he desires and risked his life for – freedom, opportunity and a new life. “I love Australia,” Prasad proudly says and he waves his Aussie flag.
The third item is an object Prasad discovered when he reached his new home in Cairns and has claimed as his own. It is a silver angel Christmas decoration bought for the house. Somehow, Prasad grasped the idea that this angel symbolised a message of good news and hope, a new message for a broken world and a broken people.
I’m not sure Prasad understands the full meaning of that message yet, but I do know that Christmas has long passed and Prasad still treasures that angel.
Fellow Salvationists: This is a new work and God has opened a door of opportunity. We have said enough words about this issue. Now is the time to move into action. We who know true freedom are being called to walk alongside those who long for it and have travelled far and risked much in search of it.
Ali, Omar, Kasun, Prasad and many others are not in detention today because last December, The Salvation Army was ready to respond and be what God has called us to be – freedom bringers.
There are many more stories to be told and chains to be broken.
On a recent Friday night, one of our workers from the Sydney asylum seeker program picked up a van load of residents from one of our houses and drove them to Streetlevel Corps in Darlinghurst.
Streetlevel has a time when people can ask for prayer. One of the men, a Muslim from Afghanistan, walked to the front to ask for prayer for his appeal to stay in Australia.
At the end of the night, Streetlevel usually has a “Hallelujah Dance Party” where the chairs are pushed back and people worship and dance and give praise to God. Several Muslim men moved to the front and unashamedly began to dance.
As I watched, I couldn’t help thinking about the story Omar had shared about being beaten and arrested for dancing in public in his country. These men didn’t fully understand the meaning of why we dance at Streetlevel. But they danced for freedom and they danced for hope. And he who is the Lord of the Dance looked and, I’m sure, smiled.
Report by Major Paul Moulds
Territorial Director for Mission and Resource - Social
This story originally appeared in the April 2012 issue of Pipeline.
What can you do?
1. Pray for the ministry
Prayer resources are available from Just Salvos, including a prayer guide, and sermon outline.
2. Get Informed
Are you passionate about advocating for asylum seekers in Australia? There's plenty of information available online. These websites are a great place to start:
- Refugee and asylum seeker advocacy material on Just Salvos
- The Refugee Council of Australia
- The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
- Welcome to Australia
3. Volunteer
Volunteers are needed to help set up houses for new arrivals, and to befriend and mentor asylum seekers. If you think this could be for you, contact the Salvos Volunteer Coordinator, Fay Foster.
Email: fay.foster@aue.salvationarmy.org
Phone: 02 9266 9682
Comments
Since this article was written we are significantly increasing the numbers of asylum seekers the Savation Army will be caring for over the next few months. Volunteer help is urgently needed!