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Asylum seekers encouraged to capture their lives ‘Beyond the Boats’

8 February 2013

Photo taken at Auburn Botanical Garden by a participant of Beyond the Boats. (Photo supplied by Beyond the Boats)


 

A photography and story-telling course is being employed in Sydney to help asylum seekers document their new lives in Australia.

The 10-week course, “Beyond the Boat”, is overseen by photographer Dean Golja and writer Anna Atherton and is held at The Salvation Army in Auburn. Dean and Anna hope the course can give some confidence to asylum seekers by helping break down perceptions of them in society.

“I hope it breaks down the stereotype that people seem to hold over asylum seekers,” says Anna. “And from their [asylum seekers] perspective I hope that it just shows them some friendship and helps them to keep their identity.”

The asylum seekers who are introduced to the course are those who have been allocated community detention in a Salvation Army house. They are referred by caseworkers. Often, they are in community detention while they wait for visas or refugee status, to be able to start their new lives in Australia.

“I think when you get to know them you realise that people like that don’t just leave behind family and their whole lives for no reason,” says Anna. “They had a full life back in their country and had to leave for reasons beyond their control.”

Participants are taught basic camera techniques and go on photographic excursions. They are then encouraged to tell a story, which could be their own journey or their hopes for the future in Australia.

Up to six people at a time can take the course, the smaller group allowing Dean and Anna to have more one-on-one interaction with the participants. Similar programs have been run in the past with the Oasis Youth Support Network in NSW, and the small group interaction produced positive results.

It’s just been such a powerful way of building people’s self-esteem because they learn a new skill and see the beauty in what they produce ,” says Anna. “There’s an extraordinary diversity of people that are in it.”

Comments

  1. I wish to be in there..an asylum seeker in manus island.

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