Student wins national journalism award

Wednesday 7 June 2006

A journalism student from the University of Newcastle has won a national award for his inspiring true story of a Sudanese refugee living in Newcastle.

Phillip Thomson is the recipient of the 2005 Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia (FECCA) and SBS Student Journalism Award for his feature article, Simon's Journey.

The award-winning piece tells the story of Simon Pabek, a refugee who fled Sudan after Arab-Muslim workmates associated him with rebels. Before coming to Australia, he spent time at Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya which housed 70,000, mostly Sudanese, refugees.

Phillip says he is thrilled with the acknowledgement the story received from FECCA and SBS.

"In the Sudanese community there are many harrowing stories of loss and hope to tell about leaving a war-torn country and coming to Australia," says Phillip. "This competition has given me the opportunity to tell Simon's story.

"Since 2003, Simon, who is employed as an African refugee worker at Newcastle's Migrant Resource Centre, has helped more than 400 Sudanese, around 60 Liberians and small numbers of Burundis, Rwandans and Somalis settle into Australian life. He organises schooling, housing and Centrelink payments, and translates for those who cannot speak English," Phillip said.

"Newcastle is a 'Welcome Town for Refugees' which accepts around 100 people a year from a dozen countries and two-thirds of these are African-Christian Sudanese displaced by civil war, so it's important stories like Simon's are heard by our community.

"Simon, who completed a law degree in Sudan's peacetime, is now studying a law degree at the University of Newcastle so that he can practice in Australia."

Phillip says the award from FECCA and SBS encourages excellence and fairness in reporting and journalistic investigation into issues relating to multiculturalism and cultural diversity.

"I really enjoyed studying journalism at the University of Newcastle as it allowed me to put these qualities into practice. The program was designed so students could get the theory, but still had enough time to go out and gets lots of experience in the newsroom."

Representatives from FECCA and SBS will present Phillip with his award, which includes $1000 and a six-week traineeship at SBS, during a presentation at the University this week.

Photo Opportunity: Simon Pabek will be at the University on Friday 9 June 2006 to see Phillip Thomson accept his award. The presentation will take place at 11am in the Purdue Room, Callaghan campus. For media enquiries, contact Kate Reid on 02 4921 5351.