A Place to Call Home

The resilience and achievements of refugees was celebrated at Mercy Hospital for Women for this year's Refugee Week.

Nora Ruzzenne celebrates the event with Sister Mary.

The theme of Refugee Week, held at the hospital from 16-21 June, was 'A place to call home'.

The hospital acknowledged the week with a display in the foyer, prepared by the pastoral care team and Janine Martin from Administration. The exhibition highlighted the many different communities that now call Australia home and their courageous journeys to reach our shores.

Nora Ruzzene from the Multicultural Team joined the City of Whittlesea Council, Whittlesea Community Connections and Plenty Valley Community Radio for a special celebratory lunch on Saturday 21 June. More than 150 people from different origins came together for a festive day of music, dance and cultural performances.

Since World War II, more than 645,000 refugees and people in need of protection have settled in Australia. They have come from many different countries including: Eastern Europe, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq, former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and African countries such as Sudan and Somalia. 

Refugees leave their homes to escape violence or persecution and seek asylum to rebuild their lives. Many put themselves at risk to seek a safe haven in a new country. Their stories depict people of courage, resilience and hope, as the following quote demonstrates:

"When we left Iraq, things were very difficult. The persecution we were experiencing at the hands of the government was so bad; we felt the only thing left for us to do was escape to Iran. There was nowhere else we could go, in terms of what we could afford and its closeness. We had to take the escape route, which is the smuggler's route, not the normal travel route. It was all so difficult. The fear, the terror of being caught dogged our every step." (Tahiya, Between Memory and Hope; Tears for the Future, 2004).

A big thanks to everyone from Mercy Hospital for Women who participated in Refugee Week and helped make it such a successful celebration.

The Refugee Week display in Mercy
Hospital for Women's Foyer