Jesuit Refugee Service is celebrating 30 years of accompaniment,
service and advocacy on behalf of asylum seekers, refugees and forcibly
displaced people around the world.
To kick off the celebrations in Sydney, JRS will screen the
latest film by young Australian filmmaker, former refugee and 2005 Young Australian
of the Year, Khoa Do. Set in 1980, the film, Mother
Fish, tells the story of two teenage sisters as they flee Vietnam
on a boat in search of a safe home.
The film is close to the heart of Mr Do, who arrived in
Australia as a baby in 1980 after his family escaped their native Vietnam on a
boat. He and his brother, well-known comedian Anh Do, later won scholarships to
St Aloysius' College, Milsons Point.
The Director of JRS Australia, Fr Sacha Bermudez-Goldman SJ,
says the film has particular relevance to the history of JRS.
'JRS was established in the same year in which the movie is
set - 1980 - as a spiritual and practical response to the plight of refugees at
that time, including hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese 'boat people' such as Khoa.
It is also of great relevance in view of current boat arrivals and the present
debate as to Australia's appropriate response to these asylum seekers.'
Both Fr Bermudez-Goldman and Mr Do will be present at the
screening of the film at the Chauvel Cinema in Sydney's Paddington on Friday 6
August, 2010, at 7pm. Tickets are $15, and $10 for concession. Bookings can be
made online at www.trybooking.com/GJU,
or by calling 02 9356 3888.
Download the flyer
here, and feel free to pass it on to friends, family and colleagues.