Antonios,

It is deplorable what you and others have suffered at the hands of different employers.
Whilst not diminishing your experience in any way, unfortunately, in some areas, barstardisation occurs to employees whether they are migrants or aussies. Some people are just plain nasty individuals.

Perhaps someone online can direct to the organisation which could assist and advise people such as yourself. I thought there was a Migrant Centre in Adelaide set up specially for this purpose. I knew a person in Adelaide who was an officer at the centre; their purpose was to help migrants, in all the ways you mention, to settle into this country. Every migrant should be informed of all rights and benefits, assistance with housing and all other issues. Certainly, migrants should be afforded protection from any exploitation and victimization from possible employers.

I am not sure that an organisation you propose, run by migrants (and aussies): “open to all Australians, without racial, religious or political opinion” would be entirely successful.

Some years ago, one of my students (Australian born of immigrant parents) would spit on the floor whenever Turkey was mentioned; another student, a Scot, was trying to raise support for a nationalist breakway from England; another student, a Swiss, stated Hitler’s aim of arayanisation of Europe was sound. These were university students. It would be hard for many people to completely free themselves of old prejudices. These prejudices raise up every now and again, as we have seen in sport.

My extended family include, among others, Croats and Serbs. The Serbian family entered Australia post-WWII, the Croation woman and her children escaped from the last Balkan conflict where she had witnessed attrocities - she and her daughter, of nine years, had been threatened with rape. There is no human possibility that she can just forgive and forget in the near future. We have to respect her feelings. She is a contributing member to Australian society and wants her children to be in every way aussies.

Dear Danielle
I do not speak for an entirely successful organization, I speak for an organization which could save the dreams, hopes, smiles for many migrants.. We know that about 25% of migrants are victims of race discrimination, or they think it. We know that 75% of Australians recognize that we are racists, Studies show that 35% of non English background employees think they are victims of race discrimination. Studies show that the consequences from the race victimization are very negative not only for the victims but for their children too. Although Australia comparing with other countries is not so much racist, because the country have a big number of migrants and every year come many thousands more new migrants, the number of victims from race discrimination is very high.
We have the Human Rights Commission but only an extremely small number of the victims go to them and only when it is very late. Migrants avoid the public services, they do not trust them, they have very bad experiences from the public services in their countries.
An organization for migrants can attract the victims of race discrimination, can detect early the migrants basic, essential problems and in cooperation with Human Rights Commission and other federal or state agencies promote the best solutions for them.
Ethnic community organizations care for the ethic cultures but not for people's rights because they have no idea for these rights not in Australia or in their countries. I come from the Union movement, I have experiences from it from 4 countries, I was working professionally in the Union movement, I know and I am sure I could help the migrants mainly with problems in their workplace. There is no need for human suffering when we can stop or eliminate it.
Every migrant we can help is a gain for our society, for our country.
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

Dear Antonios,

You state: "We have the Human Rights Commission but only an extremely small number of the victims go to them and only when it is very late. Migrants avoid the public services, they do not trust them, they have very bad experiences from the public services in their countries."

I completely understand this, and sympathise with migrants' feelings. It is often difficult for aussies to submit complaints, so I can well understand what it would be like for migrants.

Perhaps a member from the Unions, or someone actually on the shop floor, be appointed as a Human Rights representative. This way they could ensure that there was no "back-lash" from the employer to whomever submitted a complaint; or, if the complaint was based on "over-sensitivity" there could be some form of intermediary action. Also, employers should be made aware of employee sensitivities. Some employers are as insensitive as planks.

Dear Danielle
When I was counselor in the Union I tried to find if we could find or create a way to protect migrants basic rights, but I was not sure if the Union Movement was interested enough for migrants rights and I stopped from counselor.
In workplaces the situation for migrants is bad. When I asked for first time a Union organizer about our training, (no training for fifteen years.) He was laughing, he could not understand that we wanted some opportunities, better future. When I asked later an other organizer he said me that we should be happy because in other workplaces the conditions for migrants was worst. I am sure the second organizer said me the truth. My question was for our opportunities not how was the conditions for migrants in other places. NO TRAINING, NO OPPORTUNITIES AT ALL FOR MIGRANTS, THAT IS THE TRUTH.
Let's see the conditions in the floor, most migrants are victims from Union members, most union member migrants are victims from union members. I saw migrants crying (including me),most of them member of the Union. I saw Union representatives or active union members to close their mouth on very basic rights because they have children, families, mortgages etc and afraid to claim labors rights. If the Union Representatives who have the support of all members and afraid to speak do you expect a human rights representative, without support and many persons against him, even unionists, do you expect from him to promote successfully migrants basic rights?
For me only two ways there are to protect the very basic rights of migrants
1. The Union to create a committee and inform employees about the activities and how, when, etc to meet this committee. I am ready to work FOR FREE if Union agree to create it.
2. I will try alone to find other persons sensitive for migrants rights and slowly slowly the migrants will learn about our activities. We could ask for support, advices from the AHREOC, political parties, Human Rights Groups, ethnic community organizations etc.
Antonios Symeovnakis
Adelaide

Dear Antonios,

You have courage and the right spirit ... As a country, we need more like you. I hope, and am sure, that others will join you in this fight. I wish you well.

ASymeonakis, “Migrants avoid the public services, they do not trust them, they have very bad experiences from the public services in their countries”

I guess avoiding the Australian public service because of negative experiences in the “homeland” is more than a little unfair.

I am a migrant, I have always found most Australian civil servants very obliging, even when I was (briefly) one of them.

I recall a Philippino couple (daughter went to school with one of my daughters) who I met telling me they were having difficulties finding work (he was a refrigeration engineer) and they thought the difficulty it might be racially based.

At the time (1990) I was finding it hard too. Everyone in Victoria was finding it hard. It was not racial at all, it was a recession.

As for training, if you want training look at the Council for Adult Education, they have been running courses for years and as for migrant needs, LOTE (Language Other Than English) programs, for people for whom English will be a second language, abound.