The organization I work with is the Marrickville Legal Centre. It is a non-profit community legal centre in Sydney’s Inner West. They mainly provide free legal aid to some people who are socially or economically disadvantaged. And this organization is responsible for a lot of things. They provide free legal aid in New South Wales for young people aged 25 and under, as well as for adults. They also provide assistance to people who have experienced domestic violence, Family Law services, and rental services for renters living in the Inner West and North Sydney areas. They are also responsible for property management in New South Wales, providing free legal information to those property owners.
The work that this organization is doing is very important because Australia is a country of immigrants, and a large number of immigrants enter Australia every year. This includes many people who have been displaced by political persecution. For example, I know that MLC helped a Rwandan man named Noel Zihabamwe. He moved to Australia on a humanitarian visa in 2006 after his parents died in the Rwandan genocide. And Noel Zihabamwe and his brothers came to Australia. Because they had not learned English before, because Rwanda is a French-speaking environment. So it’s hard for them to survive in Australia. But the MLC has helped them, not only by providing language training services but also by helping them settle in Australia. Mr Noel Zihabamwe is now committed to fighting for social justice and equality. He pays extra attention to the African Australian community, especially those who are also from Rwanda. He is the founder and current president of the African Australian Advocacy Centre. He is also a past President of the Rwandan Community Federation of Australia (FRCA), past President of the Rwandan Community of New South Wales, and current Treasurer of the Lower North Shore Multicultural Network (LNSM) and African Health Australia (AHA). With the help of the MLC, he not only successfully settled in Australia, but also became a leader in the struggle for social justice.
I chose this organization because I think the work they do is very important. They are promoters of social justice and equality. And to fight for people’s rights in a legal way. I am a Marxist, therefore I pay extra attention to those who, for economic reasons, cannot enjoy reasonable rights. This is especially true in the capitalist society, where interests come first. I am also an international student from outside Australia, therefore when I encounter legal problems, I am completely unable to pay the high legal fees to fight for my rights and interests, especially when I encounter unreasonable accommodation problems. This shows that the existence of organizations like MLC is very necessary and able to help people. I got in touch with this organization through Rose, who is also taking this course, and we will work together to complete this project. Together, we will complete an oral history in the form of video. To let more people know what the organization does. We’ll focus on what impact MLC’s offering of free laws has had on immigrants in the Inner West Side.