When Welcome Becomes a Path to New Life

When Pope Leo XIV speaks these words, he reminds us that the dignity of every person is non-negotiable. Yet, especially in times of conflict, this dignity is too often stripped away, leaving people in desperate situations. And still, through the compassion of our sisters and brothers, hope can shine and dignity can be restored.

This is the case at Holy Name of Mary Parish, where the parish community has opened its hands and its doors to four men as part of the Community Refugee Sponsorship Pilot Program. The Marist community has generously offered a used building and rallied the parish to provide much-needed support to these men, whose lives had been put on hold as they fled persecution and danger in their home countries.

Coming from Vietnam, Cambodia and Afghanistan, they have been welcomed into a caring community that has helped them restore their dignity and begin rebuilding their lives. In less than a year, the program, initially established for two men, expanded to four thanks to the generosity of the Marist community. Today, all four men have made remarkable progress towards independence and stability.

The strength of a parish community

The Holy Name of Mary parish group consists of eight members and has received strong support from the wider parish community. Thanks to the generosity of the Marist priests, one of the biggest barriers to resettlement, finding safe housing, was removed from the outset. Fr Tony Corcoran, former Provincial of the Australian Province of the Marist Fathers, offered the use of a sandstone building on the Marist campus to house the newcomers.

Community groups are normally matched with one refugee household, whether an individual, couple or family. Because the Marist property could accommodate several residents, the group felt called to support two individuals initially, and later extended that welcome even further.

Stories of resilience and renewal

The first two men to arrive were Brak from Cambodia and Hai from Vietnam. Both had spent years waiting to be resettled in Bangkok, including time in detention. They did not know each other, and neither spoke English when they arrived.

Hai, who had worked as a coffee farmer in Vietnam, quickly showed great initiative. He studied at TAFE, gained his driver’s licence and later moved to Darwin, where he found work as a vegetable farmer. He remains in touch with the CRISP volunteer group and continues to do well.

Brak is studying English full-time at TAFE. After taking on gardening work to earn extra income, he was offered a live-in gardener role in Drummoyne. He now lives in a small flat overlooking Cockatoo Island and continues to receive support from the CRISP group.

Learning that Hai had moved interstate and no longer received support from the parish, Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA), the national charity that oversees the CRISP program, asked the parish group if they would take on additional men. The group willingly agreed to take two more, thereby extending their yearlong commitment to CRSA. The group then welcomed two men, Ali and Mohammed. Both had been living in Indonesia in highly vulnerable circumstances without work rights and separated from their wives and children for several years. Mohammed’s family remains in Afghanistan, while Ali’s wife and daughters are in Iran. Both men continue to hope and work towards reuniting with their families with the help of the CRISP group.

Mohammed demonstrated extraordinary resilience. Earlier this year, he travelled to Melbourne to visit Afghan friends he had previously lived with in Indonesia. Soon after, he secured construction work there and relocated to be close to them. He is now living in Melbourne and doing very well.

Ali now lives in the Hunters Hill residence. A trained welder, he has found work at Flemington Markets. Several members of the support group continue to provide him and Brak with English lessons, helping them build confidence and create new opportunities.

A witness to dignity in action

In less than a year, the group has welcomed and supported four men. Three are working full-time and one is studying full-time. All are now financially independent. Two have moved interstate and established new lives in a remarkably short time. Although the group’s original twelve-month commitment has concluded, their support continues, especially for Ali and Brak.

For the parish community, this experience has also been transformative. Padraig, the Group Convenor, commented, “Stepping in to help these refugees has been both a simple and a profound act on our part.

Helping four men who have been socially isolated for many years to do simple things like open bank accounts and visit a GP has led to their regaining a sense of individual identity and contribution. Nothing could have prepared us for the extraordinary benefit we have received as a result.”

It is a powerful reminder of what can happen when a local parish responds with faith, generosity and a deep commitment to the dignity of every person.

It is through stories like these that we are reminded of the power of hope, and of our shared responsibility to uphold the God-given dignity of every person.

For more information on the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP), or how your community can get involved, contact Anne Nesbitt at [email protected].