By Danielle Kutchel
“South Sudan all the way!”
The call went up towards the end of the Cardinia Shire South Sudanese Community Day, an elated cry from the heart following a traditional tribal dance that had most of the room on their feet, their lunches left forgotten on seats.
The day at the Toomah Community Centre was a joyous occasion celebrating the merging of two cultures: Australian and South Sudanese.
And what a celebration it was, filled with bright colours, energetic dance routines and impassioned speeches calling for unity, harmony and love throughout the wider Cardinia community.
The SES, CFA and Victoria Police joined in the fun, providing information to those present on essential services.
They shared the room with Afri-Aus Care, the Victorian Electoral Commission, Cardinia Food Movement and others.
Cardinia mayor Jeff Springfield and deputy mayor Graeme Moore were in attendance, along with fellow councillors Brett Owen and Collin Ross.
Cardinia Shire CEO Carol Jeffs, along with staff from many departments at the council, were also in the audience.
They were joined later in the event by Bass MP Jordan Crugnale and La Trobe MP Jason Wood.
Children enjoyed painting and games outside, with a round of soccer in the rain not enough the dampen their spirits.
Local African dance troupes entertained the crowd, followed through the room by whoops and cheers.
But the focus of the day was on embracing two different cultures and coming together as one.
In her speech, Miriam Cadwallader, CEO of Living Learning Pakenham which supported the event, spoke of holding onto culture.
She told the crowd that as a proud Māori woman she maintained links to her heritage, and encouraged her South Sudanese counterparts to do the same.
Both Ms Crugnale and Mr Wood empathised with the crowd, with Mr Wood referencing his Hong Kong-born wife and Ms Crugnale referring to her Italian and refugee heritage.
Ms Crugnale touched on the negative comments of residents on social media when the community day was first advertised online.
But Cardinia Acting Inspector Ivan Petrunic, representing Victoria Police, called it bluntly for what it was.
“I will call it out – they were racist, they were misinformed, and we do need to challenge this,” he said to the crowd.
He praised the organisers of the day and acknowledged that amongst the negativity were also glimpses of positive support.
“We all know that youth offending is a much larger and broader issue, comprising people of all races. It is negative commentary that leads to racism, victimisation and abuse and we need to stop it. We have to work together to change that narrative,” he said.
“We know that the enforcement approach can lead to a disconnect between police and young people, so this needs to be balanced with a more proactive approach.
“We need to prevent people from committing crime and divert them from engaging in antisocial activities.”
He pledged to do his part as a leader to implement a positive culture and urged the audience to do the same.
“By working together, we can promote positive behaviour and change that narrative,” he said.
Thuch Ajak, South Sudanese liaison officer at Cardinia Shire Council, said he was pleased that the day had allowed people to come together and engage with each other.
He said he hoped it would provide a springboard for a bigger event next year, and said there may be future cultural events too, including sports activities with police.
“We are part of Cardinia, Cardinia is our home, we have embraced Cardinia and we love the diversity of Cardinia, so let’s make Cardinia strong,” he said.
“We have to believe in harmony. Let us respect our cultures and come together. These cultures we have are our strength and make us unique.”
Cr Springfield told Star News that he believed the day had been a great success.
“We managed to bring out various members of our community to help celebrate the South Sudanese community and understand that cultural diversity is one of the important elements that makes up Cardinia Shire’s framework.
“If disenfranchised youth, regardless of their background, are isolated and feel like they’re cast out, they’re only going to react poorly. And we see examples of that.
“I know there are problems out there but to label any one community as the cause of that problem, is not going to help us find a solution.
“Through acceptance of each other’s cultural backgrounds we’re going to find greater unity for our society in the future.”
