my frame of mind

rafika — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:39:50 +0000

“You are not the child of the people you call father and mother, but their fellow-adventurer on a bright journey to understand the things that are.”-Richard Bach-

Tendong, Kelantan.

rafika — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:44:32 +0000

An unexpected detour with Nuddin. We trailed along the Yarra River from Hawthorn to Abbotsford, Melbourne.

rafika — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 03:44:11 +0000

Doncaster, Melbourne at 8.30 pm

rafika — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:38:39 +0000

Ombak yang menjamah kakiku sekali,

Takkan ku dapat kenali lagi.

-A. Samad Said-

Hometown-Tanjung Karang, Malaysia

Pulse

rafika — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:15:51 +0000

…people, passion and price.

A Visit to a WWII building

rafika — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:59:22 +0000

Nicholas Building, Swanston Street

An Education

rafika — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 09:12:39 +0000

Thanks to the models: Muizz Adam and Nurulain. (Treasury Garden, Melbourne)

SAIL’s 9th Birthday

rafika — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:20:29 +0000

The Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning-SAIL’s 9th birthday, celebrated at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne on August 28th 2010.

There are more pictures posted in the gallery.

It all depends on how it’s utilized.

rafika — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:07:10 +0000

Dirt Cheap Bookstore, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

An alley near Chow Kit Market, Kuala Lumpur

Respect is a universal language

rafika — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:33:01 +0000

Being one of the many volunteers with SAIL (Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning) has opened my eyes. To be immersed in a different culture has given me the opportunity to realize how similar we all are.

Victor and Jody, cultural liaison officers from the police department of Victoria gave a talk at the Saturday school on cultural differences they respectively experienced in Malaika, Sudan and in the western suburbs of Victoria and how it changed their perspective handling the influx of refugees. I have to say, I have never met a police officer who is more determined to break cultural barriers than these two.

Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Often, the differences we have with one another become the ultimate cause of avoidable and unnecessary circumstances.

It was not just a one-sided talk. The Sudanese women voiced out their community rights and the lack of acknowledgment the refugee community was getting. One of them said, “Just because we communicate differently, it does not make us dumb. Respect is a universal language. It needs no script.”

Heba Arfish, one of the refugees with other tutors and fellow Sudanese listening to officer Victor Robb talk about cultural differences

Officer Victor Robb showing the Sudanese pictures taken during his peace-mission in Malaika, South Sudan.

Pictures were taken with Kodak M530 EasyShare at the Maidstone Community Centre, Melbourne.