Swan’s mission for change

SUDANESE sensation Aliir Aliir has broken down barriers on the field and now wants to change stereotypes without a Sherrin in his hands as well.

The Sydney star admits he has been deeply hurt by some of the comments made about African gang violence in Melbourne this year and, as he prepares for his second finals series, he says the issue has motivated him to become a more active role model in the community.

Federal MP Peter Dutton claimed in January that Victorians were “scared to go out to restaurants” because of “African gang violence”.

The counter-position from local authorities was that crime was down in Melbourne with the Sudanese population making up 1 per cent of crimes committed in the city. Ever since, public debate has raged around the country.

“You hear things like all Sudanese should be kicked out and this and that, and I understand it’s a small group of teenagers who are in the wrong, and I guess for me to hear that it hurts me being a Sudanese,” Aliir said.

“Not just myself but we’ve got Sudanese who are lawyers and things like that. So to hear people commenting and saying ‘Sudanese, they should be kicked out’, it hurts me.

“It just shows that myself and a few other guys need to do more work and use our platform to be able to help show what other Sudanese are doing. Because there’s a lot doing great things.”

Aliir revealed how he and Majak Daw have become even more inspired to become an active voice.

“Speaking to Majak ... we definitely should be using our platform more and we want to be able to do that,” he said.