Refugee advocate is our Citizen of the Year

By Madeleine Murray

THE ALWAYS modest and wonderful refugee advocate Joan Henderson is our Tweed Citizen of the Year.

“This is such an honour,” Joan told The Weekly.

“I am so proud that after such a tough year, our wonderful community has still opened their hearts to support us helping people in desperate danger.”

Joan is an active member and co-convenor of the Uki Refugee Project (URP), a community group offering support and advocating on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia.

Many URP members advocate hard, writing letters and helping with visa applications.

Joan is very keen to emphasise that she is just part of a team, but she has stood out with her sheer perseverance and patience.

Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Joan and the URP have worked to help vulnerable people escape.

Joan worked on humanitarian sponsorship visa applications for Australia for ‘Hussain’ (not his real name), and two others, and met with our local federal representatives to advocate for the urgency of their cases.

Hussain was hunted by the Taliban as he had worked alongside the coalition forces.

He hid in the remote mountains for six months, enduring the extreme winter.

He knew he had to escape the country when the Taliban tricked a family member into giving them his phone number.

With significant difficulty and risk, Joan organised the rescue of Hussain out of Afghanistan. “It was a terrifying process knowing that his life was completely dependent on the decisions we made,” Joan said.

“There was an eight-hour communication blackout when we didn’t know whether he had made it out or had been captured, which would mean certain death.”

‘Hussain’ is now in Pakistan, where he is still at risk from the Taliban. Joan keeps in touch with him via phone.

Along with other URP members, Joan has written numerous applications to other countries for humanitarian visas, as well as constant letters and phone calls to their embassies in Pakistan.

“It is very difficult to break through the bureaucracy and obtain assistance for them,” Joan said.

“It feels like everyone has now closed their doors to the people of Afghanistan who so desperately need our help.”

Joan continues to write letters and make phone calls to try to obtain protection for Hussain, and two others.

“Joan is relentless in her work of preparing visa applications, keeping communications open day and night with people who are hiding in the mountains.” Mayor Chris Cherry said at the Tweed Shire Australia Day awards.

“Joan is a quiet achiever who represents the best of our compassionate and diverse Tweed community. She is a very worthy winner of the title of Tweed Citizen of the Year.”

Started in 2013 by four Tweed locals: Heather and Bryan McClelland, Rev John Tyman and Penny Watsford, the URP works for refugees by sponsorship, advocacy, fundraising and ‘friendship visits’.

Twice a year, about 20 refugee families from countries such as Iran, India, China, Ethiopia, PNG, Iraq and Syria, come from Brisbane to spend a ‘friendship’ weekend with URP hosts in the Tweed Shire.

These visits are wonderfully stimulating and rewarding experiences for the hosts, and refreshing and relaxing for the refugee guests, who get to see our beautiful valley, and meet friendly, engaged Australians.

To find out more about the URP, please visit: ukirefugeeproject.org