Hamilton August 2009 Newsletter
On July 18th, the community organised a celebration for Colombian Independence Day (July 20th). It was a fantastic fiesta at the Hamilton gardens, showcasing Colombian culture and traditions, including salsa dancing, latino food, Colombian music and the national anthem. Tickets sold out and more were printed as the demand for the inaugural event was high. Among those who attended were Mayor Bob Simcock and his wife Anthea who danced the night away and promised to be back again!
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Photo: (LtoR) Adriana Salazar, Pablo Julian Dickson, Maria Alejandra Granados.
"Like most countries in South America, Independence Day is a very important day as it is when we celebrate our independence from the Spanish kingdom. Up until 1810 Spain imposed its culture, religion and political rules, with all new, exotic or precious products being exported to Europe. A little and apparently unimportant incident occurred on the 20 July 1810 (a fight for a flower vase) a pretext that set up the beginning of independence battles that finished nine years later.
"The government celebrates this day with a military parade, where all the military power is displayed" says Carolina Troncoso, cross cultural worker for Refugee Services, Hamilton.
In December 2007 the first group of Colombian refugees was resettled in Hamilton and over the last 18 months this community has continued to grow and change the ethnic make up of Hamilton.
With this years quota composition having 120 more Colombians on the list the Hamilton community looks set to grow further. This initial resettled group has created a great foundation of cultural identity and community base for future settlement to develop from.
In June, a dedicated group of volunteers won the Volunteering Waikato Volunteering Team Excellence Award in recognition of their outstanding support provided to a large intake of refugee families who arrived just before Christmas 2008.
Photo: (LtoR) Andrea Gibson, Joan Williams, Lakshman Weerasinghe, Ulrike Schaefer, Matt Davies and Leo Prendergast who was nominated for the Individual Award.
The award came with a big shiny cup and $600 worth of prizes! Each of the three families the volunteers were assigned to, speak of their volunteers as ‘their family’. They have truly been welcomed and cared for by this team and their successful settlement will always be anchored in this first experience of the kindness and compassion shown by the team.
During World Refugee Week the Waikato Refugee Forum held an event at the Hamilton City Council.
Ishmail Gamadid, the Chairperson of the Waikato Refugee Forum and Chairperson of the Waikato Muslim Association said the event was organised between the Forum, Refugee Services and Hamilton City Council.
“We invited all the stakeholders to celebrate World Refugee Week and about 80 people participated in this event. Mayor Bob Simcock attended and the Waikato Refugee Forum gave awards to those individuals who have assisted refugees to resettle in the Waikato region. The forum also gave a painting to the Mayor for the Council’s role in assisting refugees to resettle in Hamilton.”
Among the awards given out by the Waikato Refugee Forum were two for Refugee Services – the Hamilton team and the Hamilton Coordinator Rachel O’Connor.
Photo: Artist Juan Sebastian at the e.mer.gent Art Exhibition, World Refugee Week, 2009