South Sudanese welcome ‘a success story’

SINCE it was established in 2003, the Toowoomba Refugee and Migrant Support has been instrumental in welcoming successive waves of migrants to the city.

According to TRAMS founding member and executive officer for the Social Justice Commission for the Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba Dr Mark Copland, it was the number of families coming to Toowoomba, mainly from Sudan, that sparked the organisation’s establishment.

He said the South Sudanese community’s integration was one of the city’s many success stories.

“In one sense the measure of success is if you walk into TRAMS now, the only Sudanese faces you’ll see are welcoming new arrivals from Syria or Iraq,” he said.

“The (Sudanese) are on their feet and... they are making a life for themselves.

“If you ever want an example of how it’s working - and I’m sure there are bumps and it’s not always perfect - it’s basketball season.

“Go down to St Mary’s basketball on Friday night and every school, whether independent, Catholic or state, there will be southern Sudanese children in their teams.

“I think that’s just a little metaphor for what’s happened (in Toowoomba).”

While Melbourne has been enveloped in a social and political debate over “gangs” of young Africans, the situation in Toowoomba is very different.

Churches, schools, sporting clubs, community organisations, the university, and TAFE all played a role in welcoming the South Sudanese to Toowoomba, Dr Copland said.

“I think the sad thing about Melbourne is that it racialises a group of people,” he said.

“I think when you start saying it’s a Sudanese problem... you start casting people as ‘other’.”