australia is a great country. it is the land of opportunity. it will judge you harshly if you deserve it, but it will also recognise you if you deserve it.
this person (whom i dont know from adam) is a winner whether he wins this competition or not:
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African among award finalists
Lorna Edwards
November 7, 2008
A TEARFUL Dr Berhan Ahmed believes he won the quinella this week.
He cried with joy when Barack Obama was elected US president-elect on Wednesday and the eyes trickled again yesterday when he was named a Victorian finalist for this year's Australian of the Year award.
Both events helped bring hope to Victoria's African youth. The community was still recovering from being demonised by previous immigration minister Kevin Andrews, who last year accused African refugees of failing to integrate, he said.
"I'm really thrilled. I had no words," Dr Ahmed said. "It means there is hope for my community."
He was named along with indigenous leader Paul Briggs, environmental campaigner Don Henry and charity founder Rachel Stanfield-Porter as the four Victorian finalists.
Finalists from other states include climate change expert Ross Garnaut, Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice, retired cricketer Glenn McGrath and Aboriginal leader Mick Dodson. State winners will be announced later this month.
Dr Ahmed, chairman of the African Think Tank and head of the Eritrean Community in Australia group, was jubilant just to be named a finalist after spending two decades working with refugees since his arrival in Australia from Sudan in 1987.
He learnt English by getting a job as a tram conductor in Melbourne after convincing the tram depot he had experience working on trams in Sudan, even though none existed.
Since then, he has worked to bridge the gap in education and basic services for African refugees leaving their war-torn homelands for Australia.
Dr Ahmed was also involved in the Cormo Express debacle of 2003 when a shipload of 57,000 live Australian sheep was rejected by the Saudis. As outrage grew over the doomed sheep stuck at sea, Dr Ahmed helped negotiate for them to be sent to impoverished Eritrea as a gift.
His latest endeavour is working with Athletics Victoria to get African refugee children into sport. "We would like to train them to be the new champions in the world for Australia."
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go Dr Ahmed - you deserve whatever you (and those that follow you) achieve.
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