She Called Me Red is the world’s first live Instagram documentary, a hyper-personal story of a family torn apart by the Rohingya refugee crisis. It's told from the perspective of Yunus, a 27-year-old Rohingya man living on a temporary visa in Victoria, and his family who remain in the Thangkali Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh.
Over 723 000 stateless Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017, when violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Like Yunus’s family, most Rohingya live in small temporary shelters, vulnerable to violent weather, disease outbreaks and with limited supplies of food and medicine. Catch up on the story here.
The live documentary is now over, but the story continues for Yunus, his family, and hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees.
To learn more about the Rohingya crisis and offer support to people like Yunus and his family, here are some simple things you can do:
Donate to an organisation helping Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camps.
Australia for UNHCR is the UNHCR’s fundraising partner in Australia. They provide emergency support to refugees across the Cox’s Bazar camps. This includes materials for family tents, medical treatment and vaccinations, trauma counselling. They are also working to improve sanitation and access to drinking water.
Red Cross Australia is providing the Rohingya with first aid and medical care as well as food, water, and safe shelters for women and children.
Oxfam Australia provides clean water, sanitation facilities and hygiene kits to stop the spread of disease.
Save the Children is dedicated to helping children. In the Cox’s Bazar camps, more than 40 per cent of the population is under the age of 12.
Donate to an organisation supporting refugees in Australia
Australian Red Cross provides support to refugees, people seeking asylum, those in immigration detention, and others who are vulnerable after migration. Along with providing practical assistance around health and accommodation, the Red Cross also works to reconnect families who have been lost during armed conflict, war and disaster.
Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) provides free legal services to refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia. Legal support supports asylum seekers to present their circumstances and life experiences accurately in a claim for protection.
Diversitat is a community service organisation that offers support to migrant communities in the Barwon region of Victoria, where Yunus currently lives. Diversitat provides settlement services, including employment assistance, community programs and training and education.
Donate groceries
Becoming a food sponsor is an easy way to help newly settled refugees and asylum seekers. The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Foodbank in Footscray provides food and essentials and accepts community donations. Either drop them in or order groceries online and have them delivered to the centre.
Learn to cook (or just eat!)
Attend a cooking class hosted by a refugee. Free To Feed offer classes in their kitchen in Thornbury, Melbourne. Alternatively, give a class as a gift, or host a cooking class for ten in your own home.
In Sydney’s Summer Hill, Four Brave Women is run by a team of refugee women, who cook and serve food of their cultural background. Keep an eye out for the changing menu, which is refreshed every eight weeks as new chefs take over the kitchen.
Buy ethical threads
Fashion enterprises like The Social Studio and the Social Outfit provide career opportunities for new migrants in the fashion industry. They offer training and employment in design, manufacturing, retail and marketing. Shopping these labels is a win-win: an ethical option for buying new clothes, while helping to create jobs.
Attend a welcome dinner
Sharing food and stories is a great way to connect with new migrants - you might even make a new friend. The Welcome Dinner Project brings together established Australians and newly arrived migrants for welcome dinners. Sign up to a dinner near you, or host one yourself.
