In April 2003, the Murray Mallee Community Health Service began an emotional and social wellbeing program for the Afghan asylum seekers that had come to Murray Bridge to work at the local Abattoirs. The program was a response from the very public suicide of a prominent member of this asylum seeking community. The asylum seekers in Murray Bridge are almost all Hazara men, who fled Afghanistan in haste, because their lives were in danger. Most of them are married with children and their families remain in Afghanistan or have since fled to Iran or Pakistan. The Hazara people are an ethnic minority who have traditionally been marginalised and presecuted by other more powerful groups, of which the Taliban was one.
We started off the program at the MMCHS by providing a meal and teaching the men to swim in the pool. This occurred on a Friday night and the gatherings were very successful. There has been a great response from a dedicated group of volunteers, who give up their time to support and befriend the men. Once a relationship was established with the men we were able to introduce the idea of art workshops which has lead to exhibitions of the lino prints created by some of the men, "Pictures in our Hearts".
As you can imagine, the situation among the men was and still is very distressing, they all miss their families dreadfully and are working hard and experiencing many physical symptoms. They generally do not sleep well and are forever anxious about their futures. They are in a state of perpetual waiting. They are also in a foreign land, cut adrift from their familiar surroundings, customs and lifestyle. We continue to provide art classes, along with a mental health response to crises and assistance with whatever needs the men present. GP and Psychiatric sessions are provided at MMCHS where an interpreter can be made available and we also run drop-ins on Tuesday and Thursday nights between 5 and 6.30pm.
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