Refugees welcome here - GALLERY: Our newest Aussies

By Bill Jayet
Updated October 10 2014 - 6:39am, first published 4:00am
Once upon a time a Naturalisation ceremony at a Parkes Shire Council meeting would involve one or two people pledging their loyalty to Australia and its people. This certainly hasn’t been the case lately where multiple ceremonies have been the order of the day. At Tuesday’s Council meeting, shortly after Council voted to become part of the Refugee Welcome Zone program, seven people took the oath and so became our newest Aussies. They included Mr Anisul Bhuiyan from Bangladesh, Mr Shifu Chen (China), Mr Hassan El Dirani (Lebanon), Ms Berliana Kurniawati (Indonesia), Miss Jovain Nacino (The Philippines), Mr Farell Simanjuntak (Indonesia) and Mrs Amira Daod (Iraq). All photos by Bill Jayet.

Throughout its proud history, Parkes has always opened its heart and homes to migrants and in particular the displaced from war-torn countries.

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