Mark Hallam beside the Irrawaddy river near Mandalay, Myanmar.

You could be forgiven for asking what is going on in Burma. Is the country really starting to change since a nominally civilian Government came to power in March
2011? Can refugees on the Thai Burma border safely return back to their country after decades of repression by a brutal military regime? During this time, approximately 3 million Burmese have fled to neighbouring countries. The displaced include an estimated 800,000 Rohingya (Muslims) in Western Burma and an estimated 500,000 in eastern Burma. Fighting along the border regions still continues, as do ‘black’ areas where tourists are not allowed to visit.

Certainly there are some positive signs of change in Burma, with more tourists and foreign media entering the country and Aung San Suu kyi being able to run for elections. However, even if she wins her seat at this election, the majority of the Government will still be military, so real change is not assured.

In late January, we visited Burma, after being invited by a very successful Burmese ex-refugee sponsored and settled by Sanctuary 14 years ago, living in Coffs Harbour, NSW. We were part of a group traveling together.

When we arrived at Yangon airport, straight away one could see corruption, as we, with our monk friends were able to walk easily through the diplomatic section without even having our baggage checked, while tourists stood in line watching as we quickly passed by.

We traveled by bus and stayed at monasteries in Yangon and Mandalay. Looking out of the bus window, there essentially seemed to be three groups of people within the country – monks, military personnel and the poor.

Many Burmese Children suffer in dire poverty, without the chance to go to School.

We passed through villages with grass huts and open sewers before entering the Moby Monastery compound. While there, we were interviewed by Burmese television who were very interested in our opinion regarding our time in Burma.

After staying in the monastery near Yangon, we headed north by mini bus over very rough roads, driving for many hours. Driving in Burma is a life threatening experience, with virtually no road rules, and we had several near death experiences! Government minders kept track of us in a lead vehicle.

The bus drove through the new capital Napyidor, and suddenly the landscape changed; modern four lane roads and expensive hotels appeared. Nobody knows why the capital was moved to this remote location other than for possible security reasons. It’s unbelievable to witness such investment in an area while the rest of the country is in such poverty and dilapidation.

The beauty of areas like Sagain and Bagan were astounding and the people are so friendly.

We returned to Yangon and then went on to Karen state. There we stayed in a town called Phan, where a ceasefire agreement had been signed not less than a week earlier. Later when we visited a monastery, we were asked by a monk how they could tell if a ceasefire was legitimate. As we continued to talk about this, suddenly a man entered the room and we were hushed by an older lady in the room. The Military General for the whole of Karen state sat down beside us, before asking how we liked Burma, to which we enthusiastically replied that it was a great place.

Following our visit to Burma we flew into Bangkok, where we met with city dwelling Asylum seekers from the Congo, Burundi and Iran. It was a shock to see small children having to be locked all day inside a room with their parents for fear of being arrested and put into detention if caught outside. Thanks to the Jesuit Refugee Service they are at least provided with a place to stay and food to eat.

Mark Hallam (Secretary) and Peter Hallam (CEO) with Asylum seekers in Bangkok.

Unfortunately during the trip we became so ill that we were not able to continue to Mae Sot refugee camp as we had originally intended. All members of our group became ill at some point, due to either contaminated food or water.

Fighting continues inside Burma, and just today I am reading in the newspapers about the Burmese government blocking aid to tens of thousands of displaced civilians along the Chinese Burma border, including the displacement of 75,000 Kachin, 45,000 of whom have sought refuge in camps. Soldiers are still threatening and torturing civilians, raping women, and using children as soldiers.

Just by the mere fact that we were allowed into Burma, shows there are winds of change, but whether this will translate as real long term change for the people of Burma, or is just a trick to attract investment from the west, is another matter.

Burmese people are now full of hope for the future, but we can only hope it is justified. In the meantime Sanctuary will continue to try and assist the refugees who continue to suffer after many long years in the camps.

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In the current political climate in Australia, onshore refugee boat arrivals are being given the majority of Humanitarian 202 Visa places, which means that offshore applications are unlikely to be successful at the present time.

Due to this present situation, SAF can only sponsor a small number of selected applicants at this time, until the Australian Government’s current settlement priorities change back to normal.

If an applicant has immediate family already settled in Australia (spouse or dependent parent-child relationship) they still have a good chance of acceptance.

Refugees needing assistance to sponsor a direct family member (i.e. wife, husband, or dependent children) can contact us and we will be happy to advise them further.

We will continue to assist those applicants to whom we have already given offers of sponsorship and those who have already submitted an application.

SAF strongly recommends that refugees also explore other opportunities for settlement, by applying to another country, i.e. Refugee Councils in Canada, USA, New Zealand, Brazil, Finland, Sweden or Norway.

SAF continues to be an advocate and voice for forgotten refugees who are suffering for years in camps around the world, and we will continue to press Governments to offer more Humanitarian visa places.

For further information read the following articles:

Visa places slashed for persecuted families by Kirsty Needham (linked to Sydney Morning Herald website)

Special visas dry up as boat arrivals given priority by Kirsty Needham (linked to Sydney Morning Herald website)

Michael White from Geoff King
with Sanctuary CEO, Peter Hallam

We wish to thank Geoff King for his support for Sanctuary’s humanitarian work, with the wonderful donation of a used Holden Rodeo truck. This will be enormously helpful in our ongoing work supporting refugees.

SAF is seeking a donation of a storage facility, where donated goods can be warehoused.

Geoff King’s website can be found here: http://www.geoffkingmotors.com.au/

Peter and Sue Hallam, founders of Sanctuary Australia Foundation.

Sue and Peter Hallam are honoured to receive the Order of Australia Medal for their work with refugees over 22 years, and would like to recognise the kindness and generosity of many in the wider Sanctuary community in welcoming and helping those who have lost so much as victims of war.

Refugees are settled through our network of 11 affiliated national centres, in both regional and metropolitan centres. Each Sanctuary organisation raises funds in their community to welcome a few approved refugee families, sponsored through the national Coffs Harbour office.

These “forgotten” refugees, mostly women and children, have spent years suffering in unsafe camps, without hope or future. It is a moment of great joy when they finally reach safety here, can eat regularly, and the children can go to school!

Sanctuary is a multi-award winning registered charity, working with integrity, ensuring that every dollar donated is used to help refugees on an interest-free loan basis, which is gradually repaid and ‘re-cycled’ to help others. We receive no Government funding, and rely on the generosity of the wider Australian community and business.

Without these regular donations,and ongoing support, Sanctuary Australia Foundation would not have been able to continue to expand this vital, lifesaving work across Australia. Thank you!

The Bodyshop Foundation supports innovative projects that are at the forefront of social change in the world.

Sanctuary was chosen from hundreds of charities for an international grant from The Bodyshop Foundation to support our vital work with refugees. The funding will go towards the Sanctuary Travel Loan fund, which provides interest-free airfare loans to those refugees who’ve been approved by the Australian Government.

For more information see:
Body Shop Foundation’s Website

Pianist David Helfgott with Ermias, who arrived recently from Kakuma Camp in N. Kenya.

The David Helfgott piano recital raised just under $10,000 which will go towards providing interest-free airfare loans for refugees sponsored by Sanctuary who have been approved to come to Australia. Actor Jack Thompson gave the opening address, with a plea for support for suffering refugees.

It was a wonderful event with refreshments and nibbles and an amazing piano recital by David. Both the Helfgotts and Jack Thompson were very enthused and offered to do another event next year to raise funds for Sanctuary’s work, helping victims of war.

David is pictured here with Ermias, from Eritrea who was sponsored by Sanctuary and has now been resettled in Armidale. He and his wife have only been in Australia a short time.

The Sanctuary Helfgott recital was a great success! xox!

David Helfgott has had an Oscar winning film made about his life called ‘Shine’ and has performed to sell out concerts all over the world. If you are interested in purchasing any of his music you can do so by visiting his website: http://www.davidhelfgott.com/catalogue/

Sanctuary plans to have many more concerts with wonderful performers supporting our work. If you are a musician or artist and would like to be part of a fundraiser for Sanctuary please contact us using our websites contact page.

Please read his inspiring story in a newspaper article written by Claire Simmonds: http://www.coffscoastindependent.com.au/news/local/news/general/lost-boy-finds-way-in-nursing/1867442.aspx?src=rss