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ABC News
10 minutes ago
- ABC News
Refugee support organisation helps multicultural women adjust to life in Australia
Samar Miqdad once lived a beautiful and fulfilling life in Gaza. She loved her job as a Montessori teacher, her husband ran a successful veterinary practice, and her four children were thriving at school. In her spare time, she made elaborately designed candles for people in her neighbourhood. In October 2023, she was sheltering at her parents' house when she found out her home was bombed. In disbelief, her husband and eldest son made the dangerous journey to confirm the 14-story building had been levelled to the ground. "My husband told me don't cry, we made a home, we'll make a new one when we finish the war," she said. That was the last time she heard from him. "I get a call after two hours [and] my son told me: 'Mum, we're in the hospital, and my father is dead,'" Ms Miqdad said. With support from her brother in Australia, the 45-year-old made the difficult decision to leave her homeland and evacuate to Egypt with her four young children. As she went back to the remains of her home to salvage what she could find for their journey, she discovered her candle-making kit in the rubble. The family of five arrived in Perth in August last year, but like many refugees, Ms Miqdad struggled to adjust. They are some of the more than 1,500 Palestinians who have arrived in Australia since 2023. "It's really so hard because it's so different, different place, different people, different language," Ms Miqdad said. That's when not-for-profit Sisters Hand in Hand stepped in to offer a lifeline. The grassroots, Muslim-run volunteer group has been helping women like Ms Miqdad for more than a decade. "It was started to create a community for women, women going through hardships ... women who had gone through domestic violence, had lost children, who were just lonely or new to the country," founder and CEO Korann Halvorsen said. "Our main goal is to help women to become self-sufficient." Some examples of the organisation's work include helping women with visas, going to court, setting up a business or finding work. With support, Ms Miqdad turned her passion for candle-making into a successful business, using the same kit from Gaza. "Korann bought a lot of material for me and made a special event, and made me a page on Instagram and Facebook," she said. "I'm making this business for my kids, to have a job, because they need something, the food, the shopping, the school, the clothes." Ms Halvorsen founded Sisters Hand in Hand after noticing a lack of culturally safe support services for women in her community. "I have five daughters so when I saw that gap and I saw that something needed to be filled, I wasn't waiting for it to get done," she said. It's a gap the Multicultural Centre for Women's Health has noticed nation-wide. "We hear from women all the time ... they say this is the first time somebody has come to me to talk to me about my health and circumstance in my language since I arrived in Australia," CEO Dr Adele Murdolo said. Dr Murdolo said mainstream services were often "siloed" and failed to cater to the "culturally appropriate and responsive aspect" of vulnerable women. Last year, Sisters Hand in Hand opened a culturally safe refuge for women and children. For women like Amal Abdullahi, it's been a safe haven. The mother of three has been living at the shelter with her children for months after they became homeless amid Perth's housing crisis. "If I didn't come here, I don't even know where I would be … probably ran out of money to rent hotels and motels and because I didn't have a car," she said. "It's not having only a place to sleep but having a support person … and [they] almost become like a family." The refuge has sheltered more than 20 women and their families, offering schooling and counselling services. But with only donations to rely on, Ms Halvorsen said they were struggling to keep up with growing demand. "Some of them come with nothing on their backs so it takes a lot financially to be able to keep a woman, pay the bills, food for a week," she said. While Samar Miqdad still longs for her life in Gaza, Australia has started to feel like home. She's enrolled into English classes, her children are excelling at school, and she's working around the clock to keep up with her candle orders. Her most popular one — a candle in the shape of the Palestine map. "I love my homeland, my Gaza. I hope so much to go back to Gaza and see my family but it's hard [because] we must have a future," she said. "My kids are happy here, they have safety, have peace, have school and have friends … life is good."
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Babinda Boulders locals want more safety measures to prevent deaths
A tranquil, turquoise stream surrounded by rainforest, birdsong and boulders — it's the kind of place people travel across the world to visit. Floating in the water or watching the stream rush between the rocks, modern life seems a thousand miles away. To get to these spots, though, you must first pass several striking signs, warning that 21 people have died here since 1916, with the latest death occurring last year. The vast majority — 84 per cent — of those who have died at Babinda Boulders (Bunna Binda), were male, and 53 per cent were aged between 18 and 24. Locals say that despite renewed safety measures, more action is needed to prevent further tragedies. Most of the deaths have occurred downstream from the designated "safe swimming" zones, in areas including those known as Devil's Pool and The Chute. Visitors and locals alike have sometimes slipped or sunk to their deaths after mistaking flat water, bubbling pools or narrow streams as low-risk areas. It's a danger the traditional owners, the Madjandji People, know is intrinsic to this place, and dates back to the story of how this place was created. Madjandji Aboriginal Corporation chairJamie Satani said the landscape was formed by a tragedy, when a young woman named Oolana was promised to an older man, but fell in love with a man named Dyga from a visiting tribe. Mr Satani said the pair ran away together, up the river, but the tribes found them at the site that is now the Boulders. "If she could not have Dyga … no-one could have her, so then she threw herself into the waters and, today, that spirit is still there, searching for a lover." Mr Satani said this moment caused the boulders to form, and it became a sacred story place for the Madjandji People. He said the impact of every death was felt across the region. "The moment that happens, it sends an uneasy feeling through the community … it's an awful feeling" he said. Local woman Leanne Thompson knows the rocks well. She grew up a stone's throw from the famous waterhole and spent many afternoons and weekends exploring the area with friends. "It's a pretty special, magical place, and each and every time you swam here, you definitely got like an afterglow," she said. But the darker side was never far from mind. "There were times when I was a child where I had nightmares about when you would hear the ambulance coming to do a body retrieval, and you found they had jumped across The Chute, or they got caught in a siphon or a sieve," she said. Years later, in 2008, after the death of a naval officer at the site, Ms Thompson decided something needed to change. Ms Thompson spent years trawling through archives, old newspaper records and coroners' reports. Using the information she uncovered, she successfully campaigned in 2022 to have the Cairns Regional Council launch a safety review of the site. Her tenacity also led to newer, more graphic signage being installed. The review found high risks from large siphons, or sieves, in areas upstream from Devil's Pool, which, to the untrained eye, appear to be merely small areas of bubbling water. "They suck [swimmers] down underground into subterranean caverns," Ms Thompson said. Ms Thompson says the best way to picture The Chute is to imagine the wide area of water upstream, forced to pass through a crack in the rocks. The narrow opening visible at the surface may be only a metre or two wide, however, beneath the surface, the rock has been more heavily eroded, creating a cavern where fast, aerated water rushes through, plunging many metres. Sergeant Doug Godden has worked in Babinda for many years and has coordinated several body retrievals at the Boulders. He says there are specific dangers in the water course that differ from most swimming holes. "The amount of oxygen that's in the [water], caused by the turbulence, makes it very, very difficult to swim because there's no pressure to push up to get yourself out of the water," Sergeant Godden said. He added that obstacles under the water, such as rocks and logs, "could either cause you to strike them and fall unconscious or [you could] be trapped underneath them". He said police had started regular patrols of the no-go areas over the past few years, with the aim of educating visitors and swimmers rather than punishing them. "The water course is stunning, and you can see the attraction," he said. Sergeant Godden said the signs, patrols and other information campaigns were making a difference, but one preventable death was one too many. Musician Will Clift was visiting Babinda Boulders with his girlfriend in 2021, when they heard someone screaming. A young woman had fallen into The Chute, and her friend was yelling for help but there was nothing anyone could do. The body of 19-year-old Chloe Narelle Bailey was found the next day. Mr Clift said the trauma of the accident stayed with him for years. "I found that I was having flashbacks and couldn't sleep," he said. Local councillor Brett Moller, who has been visiting the Babinda Boulders since he was a child, said there had been three deaths in the nine years since he was elected. He said as well as working with tourism bodies to get the message out, council was also hoping to work with National Parks to develop access to other natural swimming areas. Councillor Moller said the increase in crocodile sightings in the lower creeks and freshwater rivers meant areas where people used to swim were no longer safe. "So they're now congregating at the Boulders, at Josephine [Falls], at freshwater creeks, [and] that's putting a lot of pressure on that natural environment," he said. Both Ms Thompson and Mr Satani believe that promoting the Indigenous story may also make people think twice about swimming in the no-go areas. "Come out for a great day, enjoy it, and we want you to come and leave here safe, [and] return home."
SBS Australia
16 hours ago
- SBS Australia
BS Audio Program Bahasa Indonesia Program for Friday 25 July 2025
Independent news and stories connecting you to life in Australia and Indonesian-speaking Australians. Ease into the English language and Australian culture. We make learning English convenient, fun and practical.
