Sami Shah and Roza Germian at the Wheeler Centre

‘As a Kurd, I was stateless until I became an Australian, and Australia is the only official home I have, because Kurdistan does not exist on a map.’

Journalist Roza Germian lived through war for most of her childhood. In 1991, when Germian was 10, she was one of more than one million Kurds who fled Saddam Hussein's Iraq following the Iraqi retaliation to the Kurdish uprising. With her family, she later found temporary refuge in Turkey, and then moved permanently to Brisbane at age 15, when her family gained humanitarian visas.

As a teenager, Germian learned English and then went on to gain two university degrees. She now works as the executive producer on SBS Radio's Kurdish programme, where her earliest experiences of terror, persecution and prejudice continue to inform her journalistic work. 

At SBS, Germian has continued to highlight stories that concern the Kurdish community here and abroad, from the ISIS conflict to Kurds held in Australia's immigration detention system. Hosted by Sami Shah, the remarkable Germian shares her story and discusses her life and work.

Sally Warhaft and Tim Costello

For decades, Tim Costello has been among Australia’s most outspoken voices on issues of social justice and global inequality. Through his work as a minister, as a lawyer and as the mayor of St Kilda council, he’s tackled pressing social issues – from gambling and homelessness to gun control.

He’s perhaps best known to most Australians, though, for his 15-year tenure as CEO of World Vision – a job which took him to conflict and disaster zones across the world, including to Darfur and to several countries affected by the Boxing Day Tsunami.

In his new memoir, A Lot with a Little, Costello reflects on his life and varied career. He reflects, too, on how his experiences have shaped his views on questions of equality, liberty, faith and community. With Sally Warhaft, he discusses the book, his ongoing work and the confronting and complex work of tackling global inequality. 

Santilla Chingaipe, Roxanne Moore, Tamar Hopkins and Fiona McLeod at the Wheeler Centre

In this edition of our Not Racist, But series, we discuss racial bias in the criminal justice system – from policing and legal aid to jury selection and sentencing.

Indigenous Australians account for just 2% of our country’s overall population and more than a quarter of our adult prison population. How, specifically, is this a function of explicit and structural racism across various facets of our enforcement and justice systems? And how are all non-white Australians – especially those from refugee backgrounds – disadvantaged when interacting with police and with the courts?

In this discussion, host Santilla Chingaipe and the panel explore how racial discrimination and bias play out on a daily and inter-generational basis in Australia. They look at racial data collection, too, and how sensationalist media reporting can skew perception, politics and policy.

With lawyer and Accountability Round Table Chair Fiona McLeod; Noongar woman, lawyer and NATSILS Executive Officer Roxanne Moore; and FKCLC Police Accountability Project founding lawyer Tamar Hopkins.

Hella Ibrahim, Ruby Hamad and Celeste Liddle at the Wheeler Centre

In 2018, Sydney journalist Ruby Hamad wrote an article for the Guardian that touched a nerve with readers around the world. The article, ‘How white women use strategic tears to silence women of colour,’ was about the special and dangerous claims white women make to victimhood – in the workplace, in public debate, and in private interactions – and how these adversely affect and are wielded against women of colour.

The ‘damsel in distress’ tactic, Hamad wrote, is employed ‘to muster sympathy and avoid accountability, by turning the tables and accusing the accuser.’ 

She has since adapted the article into a new book, White Tears/Brown Scars. Hosted by Hella Ibrahim, Hamad is joined at the Wheeler Centre by Arrernte activist and social commentator Celeste Liddle for a discussion about what happens when racism and sexism collide.