President of the New Sudan Youth Association, Paul Bor Gatwech, a former refugee from Sudan, received recognition from the State Government for his work helping other young Sudanese integrate into Australian society.
By Shaun Inguanzo
COME out and play!
That’s the word from Football Federation Victoria (FFV) to Greater Dandenong’s Sudanese community after the sporting body dispelled a myth that refugees could not play soccer in local leagues until they were Australian citizens.
Noble Park-based New Sudan Youth Association president Paul Bor Gatwech, 27, on Sunday received a 2007 Victorian Refugee Contribution Record award from the Victorian Multicultural Commission for his outstanding work in educating and integrating Sudanese youths into the local community.
But a delighted Mr Gatwech told Star that while the award was fantastic, he was finding it difficult to integrate Sudanese youth who arrived in Australia without any documentation into local sporting clubs.
The technicality, he said, was that sporting associations such as FFV required a passport during the registration process – an item all refugees had to spend two years in Australia before receiving.
But FFV spokesman Mark van Aken said the organisation’s registrations department was shocked to hear the news.
Mr van Aken said in one case going back to 1 September 2005, a Sudanese refugee only had to show proof that he was a government-certified refugee before being allowed to register.
But there is one catch – the document must be obtained through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship – adding a layer of bureaucracy to the process.
Mr van Aken encouraged Greater Dandenong’s Sudanese community to enrol with local soccer clubs with the knowledge they could play.
Mr Gatwech said the Sudanese community was so convinced that it could not play soccer in local leagues because of issues over registration that it had started its own competition played each weekend at Cleeland Secondary College.
That competition, he said, was also provided to keep costs of registration low for Sudanese refugees who had little, if any money, when arriving in Australia.
Mr Gatwech said soccer and basketball were the two most popular sports among the Sudanese community.
He said former members of the Sudanese national soccer team played in the weekend competition at Cleeland Secondary College.
Mr Gatwech, who arrived in Australia in August 2004 after spending a year in a refugee camp in Kenya, received his award on Sunday at the Fitzroy Learning Centre.
The selfless contributor has actively promoted sport, music and education to other Sudanese youngsters and said his aim was to help integrate new arrivals into the local community.
Mr Gatwech said the New Sudan Youth Association would now look at fielding teams in local competitions.
But because of the hefty price tag – which can be up to $10,000 – he called upon levels of government and local businesses to pitch in funding or sponsorship to make it possible.
For more information on the registration process, contact the FFV on 94741800.
To help sponsor or fund a basketball or soccer team for the New Sudan Youth Association, contact president Paul Bor Gatwech at the Visy Cares Centre on 9793 2155.
