A 24 hour camp, titled ‘Share Refuge 2006’ was organised by the Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO), to highlight the plight of the many refugees and internally displaced people around the world.
It was held at Burwood Park, Burwood, from 4pm Saturday April 29 till 4pm Sunday April 30th 2006.
A total of 83 youth participated, with 47 participants staying overnight in the cold outdoors. An estimated 100 visited to show support and give encouragement.
There were also many special guests, including Graham Jackson from NSW Ecumenical Council, Dr Shanti Raman - a specialist in paediatrics and psychiatry, who spoke about health of refugee children, the Mayor of Strathfield - Mr Bill Carney, Kate Maclurcan from Bridge for Asylum Seekers Foundation, the Member for Strathfield - Ms Virginia Judge, and Mr Ernest Wong – a Councillor for Burwood Council.
The 24 hour period was used to educate the participants and visitors regarding the plight of refugees around the world, including NorthEast Sri Lanka where the majority of the participants’ parents were from.
Importance was also given to Hurricane Larry victims, to highlight the fact that refugees and internally displaced persons also exist in our own country.
A prayer service was held at exactly 8.45 am on the Sunday morning, to coincide with the time when the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami hit the island of Sri Lanka. Hindu, Christian and Muslim prayers were said to remember the lives destroyed by the disaster.
The event was primarily to raise awareness. However, funds collected through donations and the sale of raffle tickets are to be distributed between rebuilding and rehabilitation projects for tsunami victims, and assistance to the victims of Hurricane Larry, organisers said.
“One such project will be the construction of a ‘Knowledge Centre’ in the NorthEast of Sri Lanka – a project that hopes to shoulder some of the burden of educating the young internally displaced people and provide them with the opportunity and the promise of a better life that we youth in Australia take for granted.”
At the closing of the event, the young participants created a sign saying “Peace with Justice and Freedom” to recognise the recent upsurge of violence in Sri Lanka, which saw a reported 40,000 new internally displaced people.
It was held at Burwood Park, Burwood, from 4pm Saturday April 29 till 4pm Sunday April 30th 2006.
A total of 83 youth participated, with 47 participants staying overnight in the cold outdoors. An estimated 100 visited to show support and give encouragement.
There were also many special guests, including Graham Jackson from NSW Ecumenical Council, Dr Shanti Raman - a specialist in paediatrics and psychiatry, who spoke about health of refugee children, the Mayor of Strathfield - Mr Bill Carney, Kate Maclurcan from Bridge for Asylum Seekers Foundation, the Member for Strathfield - Ms Virginia Judge, and Mr Ernest Wong – a Councillor for Burwood Council.
The 24 hour period was used to educate the participants and visitors regarding the plight of refugees around the world, including NorthEast Sri Lanka where the majority of the participants’ parents were from.
Importance was also given to Hurricane Larry victims, to highlight the fact that refugees and internally displaced persons also exist in our own country.
A prayer service was held at exactly 8.45 am on the Sunday morning, to coincide with the time when the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami hit the island of Sri Lanka. Hindu, Christian and Muslim prayers were said to remember the lives destroyed by the disaster.
The event was primarily to raise awareness. However, funds collected through donations and the sale of raffle tickets are to be distributed between rebuilding and rehabilitation projects for tsunami victims, and assistance to the victims of Hurricane Larry, organisers said.
“One such project will be the construction of a ‘Knowledge Centre’ in the NorthEast of Sri Lanka – a project that hopes to shoulder some of the burden of educating the young internally displaced people and provide them with the opportunity and the promise of a better life that we youth in Australia take for granted.”
At the closing of the event, the young participants created a sign saying “Peace with Justice and Freedom” to recognise the recent upsurge of violence in Sri Lanka, which saw a reported 40,000 new internally displaced people.
