By Casey Neill
“The safe life that I was dying for my whole life, I found it only in Australia. Therefore I’m committed to do whatever I can do for this great country.”
That commitment earned Dandenong’s Nazer Nazir a place on the Victorian Multicultural Honour Roll at Victoria’s Multicultural Awards for Excellence, held at Government House on Thursday 13 October.
The annual awards are now in their 15th year and acknowledge and celebrate contributions to multicultural communities.
Dandenong-based Southern Migrant and Refugee Centre (SMRC), where Mr Nazir has been shadowing chairman Brian Oates, picked up two awards.
CEO Jenny Semple won an Award for Meritorious Service to the Community, which recognises outstanding commitment to Victoria’s multicultural community for at least 10 years.
SMRC received a Certificate of Merit for Community Innovation for its Afghan Women’s Empowerment program.
Mr Nazir’s award recognised a newly-arrived migrant or refugee who played an outstanding leadership and volunteering role, demonstrated cultural diversity values and contributed to making Victoria a harmonious multicultural community.
“Nazer has helped to bring Afghans living in Victoria into the mainstream community, improving their sense of belonging,” the judges said.
The 36-year-old arrived in Australia from Afghanistan in 2014 and is studying a masters in law and development at Melbourne University.
As well as serving as a mentee at SMRC, he is a co-founder of the Afghan Australian Initiative.
“It was established in 2015 and I was the first president. Currently I’m the secretary,” he said.
“We have something similar to SMRC in a smaller picture.
“We work in the area of culture, education and public awareness.”
In March and July the group held school conferences for dozens of students and is planning more.
“We try to improve peace-building at schools, teaching reconciliation, conflict management, forgiveness and anger management,” he said.
“It’s incredible and it’s fantastic that the government recognised this work in the community.
“However, I never work to get an award.
“I work for my belief and my belief is a safe community, a community where everyone lives with dignity and respect.”
He also works as a “bridge” between the Afghan and wider communities, as some Afghan migrants lack English skills and don’t have the confidence to communicate with others or access services.
Ms Semple has been the SMRC CEO for almost 20 years.
The judges said she’d demonstrated an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of culturally and linguistically divers (CALD) communities.
“Her innovative projects include driver education for refugees, homework support to assist young CALD secondary school students, and the creation of a diverse seniors care program that provides qualified bilingual workers in over 60 languages,” they said.
Ms Semple also brought together youths from different cultures to restore a motor vehicle.
“As well as learning new skills, the group developed a shared sense of identity that broke down previously held animosities,” they said.
See page 15 for a story on Dandenong West Primary School’s win at the awards.
