CommenT
ISSUE 20 | March 2022
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with COMMUNITY MIGRANT RESOURCE CENTRE
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Stories from the front line PRISCELLA MABOR IFTY million tons of e-waste is hard to wrap your head around. But suffice to say it is monumental and frightening. And it is growing, not reducing. Imagine this – opening your window and tossing out 800 laptops a second. That is what 50 million tons looks like. Ironically some of the most impoverished countries in the world are involved in part of the production process that leads to the manufacture of laptops. Yet refugee arrivals into Australia from these same countries are the ones who inevitably encounter the great digital divide; exclusion from access to items that many Australians take for granted like highspeed data networks and laptops/computers for themselves and their families. The Community Migrant Resource Centre has been working in the philanthropic and corporate space for the last few years, and mindful of partnering with organizations whose values are aligned with their own. Big global corporate players like Dell Computers are part of a huge consumer shift over the last 10 years where 77% of consumers consider a company’s social / ethical initiatives and policies, before point of purchase. DELL is now promising that by 2030 they will reuse or recycle an equivalent product, from every sale they make. They are increasingly using renewable materials in their manufacture. And now through their CSR programs, they are donating laptops in Western Sydney. They have partnered with the Salvation Army and CMRC and pledging 20 laptops this week to recently arrived refugee families Now unpacking the digital divide that was exposed thanks to a global pandemic, has shone a bright light on those living on the margins of society. You can work part-time, and still not be able to afford a laptop if you are sending 80 per cent of your earnings overseas. You can have arrived and be diagnosed with a health condition which precludes working for a long time. Let’s focus on one family, who represent the many reasons why so many more companies should be addressing e-waste and donating in greater numbers to families who have fled trauma and do have the
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means to purchase a computer when other critical issues face them. Abdul Wahid Wahidi grew up in a beautiful part of Afghanistan called Badakhshan, on the Tajik side of the country near China. Life was good until the year Abdul turned 30. “ I was successful and running a business buying and selling wood. Then once the Taliban came in, we were forced to pay money to them. Then they wanted to close the business completely,” he said.
Looking for ways to rescue family members For years the family struggled. Then a defining moment came in Abdul’s life. “ The Taliban leader came into the shop, brought me outside and cut off my hand in front of everyone. I knew from that day, if I did not pay all of our money to them, then my other hand would be next. “ After five months recovering in hospital, Abdul knew they had no choice but to escape from his homeland.
Abdul arrived in Australia with his wife Bibiku and six children. Challenges were immediate and immense: Bibiku was suffering PTSD and depression as she had witnessed her two brothers being executed by the Taliban. Their eldest daughter Naikbakht needed open heart surgery to save her life. After her release from Westmead Hospital, Naikbakht has enrolled at Holroyd High School and engaged with CMRC through their Youth Transition Support Program which provided art therapy programs for her and she has excelled as a writer and spoken word artist. “Naikbakht is a prefect at school now. She also speaks up for other young people and her English is so good. She is going to be a great speaker one day,” said Bibiku. When the opportunity for CMRC to nominate 20 families whose young people at high school would benefit greatly from access to a laptop, it was clear that Abdul’s family would be included in the first program. Abdul explains how his daughter responded upon hearing that she was receiving a laptop in less than a week. “There were too many things running around in her head. It is hard to even express. This will open the whole world to her.” The Wahidis are competing with many refugee families for access to digital devices like laptops. Financial barriers are obvious, and lack of social capital in knowing where to source donations. Most families are competing against each other for limited school supplies and with other charities. In the wake of conflict back home in August last year, there have been sleepless nights and hours spent looking for ways to rescue family members at risk of summary execution. Today Abdul reflects on his new homeland. ”Where else is better than Australia? We have good weather, clean skies, we live near the sea and we are safe. Our people will run anywhere, in order to find safety. I cannot swim yet but I find peace when I walk with my family at the beach and look out to sea. That is my peaceful place.” Dealing with digital poverty: Page 42 Priscella Mabor Inclusion Strategy & Innovations Manager a the Community Migrant Resource Centre. www.cmrc.com.au
Community Migrant Resource Centre (CMRC) is a not-for-profit, charitable organisation established in 1996. CMRC is a leader in the provision of specialised support services to newly arrived migrants, refugees and humanitarian entrants. CMRC works within a community capacity building framework to encourage individuals and multicultural communities to identify and address their own issues. It works in collaborative partnerships with a great number of agencies to provide services which have both an immediate and long term benefit for the community. CMRC employs over 60 full time, part-time and casual multi-lingual staff. Paramatta office Level 4, 1 Horwood Place Parramatta, NSW 2150 Ph: (02) 9687 9901 Monday – Friday: 9AM – 5PM
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