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Armidale Ezidi Refugees

Armidale Ezidi Refugees

Hansard ID:
HANSARD-1820781676-96512
Hansard session:

The Hon. AILEEN MacDONALD (10:07): I move:

(1)That this House acknowledges the tenth anniversary of the massacre of thousands of the Ezidi people in Iraq.

(2)That this House notes that:

(a)August 2014 marks the assault by ISIS terrorists on the Ezidi community in northern Iraq, during which they sought to destroy these people and their culture;

(b)on 3 August 2014, ISIS terrorists overran the city of Sinjar in northern Iraq, which had a population of some 90,000 people, who were mostly Ezidi; and

(c)Ezidis were long discriminated against in Iraq because of their religion, and the massacre was the worst wrought upon the Kurdish-speaking people, prompting thousands to seek asylum.

(3)That this House further notes that:

(a)hundreds of Ezidi families began settling in Armidale, Coffs Harbour and Wagga Wagga in New South Wales and Toowoomba in Queensland around 2017 as part of the Australian Government's humanitarian scheme;

(b)Armidale welcomed more than 650 Ezidi refugees as one of the first new regional refugee settlement locations;

(c)despite early concerns that local services would not cope, Settlement Services International delivered culturally responsive training to service providers and established a network of local charities and services to support the newcomers; and

(d)since that time the Ezidi settlement has brought greater cultural diversity, a broadening of views and many other benefits for business, farming and the economy alike to Armidale and its surrounds.

(4)That this House congratulates Armidale for bucking the image of being close-knit and conservative and successfully embracing the resettlement program.

(5)That this House further acknowledges the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors has been instrumental in providing culturally specific counselling and therapy to Ezidis in Armidale since their arrival.

Motion agreed to.

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Aileen is an experienced regional small business operator and community advocate.