House debates

Thursday, 10 August 2017

Adjournment

Refugees

12:25 pm

Photo of Tim WilsonTim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Today I would like to reflect on a recent visit I took to Jordan and Lebanon, as part of a sponsored trip by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and supported by Save the Children Foundation, to look at refugee camps in the northern parts of Jordan and also in the western parts and throughout the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon. The purpose of this trip, in particular, was to look at how Australia's aid money is being spent and whether it's being spent effectively for people who are seeking assistance following displacement due to the Syrian crisis and the Syrian civil war.

The trip took place only a couple of weeks ago, and it started when we went to Jordan and visited different parts of the country and talked directly to officials about the challenges faced by those who are affected by the Syrian crisis, displaced as refugees, who have located themselves in the northern parts of Jordan. Working with UNICEF and other organisations, Australian government aid money is going towards, particularly, supporting children who are out of schooling arrangements to make sure that they still have the best chance and the best opportunity in life. I think every Australian would understand that these are the victims of the Syrian crisis, who have, through no fault of their own, been caught in the middle of a civil war and have had to relocate to Jordan. We are very cognisant of the importance of helping children who need support and assistance to make sure they're in the best position to be able to go and live a full life, and not just because it's in the interest of the children but because those who are uneducated, who feel socially displaced or who feel isolated are susceptible to radicalisation and being brought into conflict later on.

We also visited the Zaatari refugee camp, five kilometres or thereabouts from the Syrian border. We spoke specifically to some of the community-based organisations and volunteers as well as the international organisations who are working with people, again, to support and assist young children in their education. They are also working to take young adults on a journey towards legitimate work pathways and skilling themselves up so that they are then in a position to be able to help rebuild the country of Syria when this conflict ends.

In addition to that, we looked at how Australian government aid money is being spent to support recycling programs, because, when you have about 80,000 people in one place, you have a problem around waste disposal. But these programs are also around the opportunity of creating industries that not just can help support people in the camps but also can help build skills capacity and, ultimately, produce products that can be made commercially available. Having worked with refugees in different capacities, I know that one of the great challenges for people who have been detained for one reason or another is that they become deskilled from their traditional professions and they become deskilled from the habits of life. One of the key things that our money is going towards is helping those people continue on their career pathways. Increasingly, the discussion is not just about the challenges in the refugee camps but how you liberalise the arrangements so that people are in a better position to be able to go on to work and contribute to Jordanian society and to be in the best position, when they relocate back to Syria, to rebuild their nation.

After visiting Jordan, we went to Lebanon, in particular Beirut. We met with officials who are working with victims of domestic or family violence, which our government aid money is supporting as well, particularly women who are suffering from the injustices of abuse from family members. There is important work being done there to make sure that they have safe havens, particularly when they become prey or victims of violence by people in like circumstances, including their husbands, and where there is not the standard that we must always accept in our country, which is that everybody has equal dignity in their rights and that people have the opportunity to be free to live a life without violence.

We also visited, throughout the Beqaa Valley, numerous community organisations who have been working with groups like Save the Children to continue to support the education of many young people who had come from Syria over to Lebanon and were living in, and their parents were often working in, temporary accommodation within farming communities, so that they can continue to work, they can continue to live out their lives in safety until they are in the best position to return to Syria as well.

I'd like to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their support for this visit. It was very instructive and informative. There's a clear national interest in us being able to do something sensible to make sure that we're able to help people, as well as supporting the Save the Children Foundation. Thank you.