Comparisons - Seeking Asylum :: The Survival Project

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Please note: this website was created in 2003 and there have been several changes in relevant Australian legislation since that time (probably Canadian too). The website is kept online as an overview of the situation at that time but has not and will not be updated.
Survival Project

The project consisted of three related products providing a comprehensive overview of the personal, political and historical aspects of the refugee experience. The aim is to raise awareness of the process undergone by asylum seekers and provide a historical overview of refugees' experience in Australia.

As well as the Comparisons website, created by Anne Simpson and Steve Coates, the Survival Project has also seen the development of the

Timeline website, which details Australia's response to refugees, and was created by Nicole Green, Leanne McKeogh and Wayne Hutchinson and the
Artwork CD-ROM, developed by Sharon Ibbotson and Steve Caesar, which catalogues artwork and related created by refugees who have been victims of torture and trauma.

The project draws upon research material and the collection of artwork provided by Maritza Thompson.

Timeline Project

Artwork Project

Survival: the refugee experience
- A Timeline Perspective

A web site providing an overview of the historical and political aspects of Australia's response to refugees and asylum seekers.

Survival: the refugee experience
- Art As A Visual Expression of Refugee Life And Survival

Artworks created by survivors of torture and trauma, providing an insight into their lives and suffering, and their amazing personal strength.

The Survival Team

Leanne	Wayne	Nicole	Maritza	Anne	Steve	Sharon	Steve

The Survival Project Origins

The title Survival: The Refugee Experience originated from a group of refugees that worked with Maritza Thompson during the period of 1992 and 1997. The work was based on research into the psychological impact of torture and other forms of organised violence amongst refugees living in Melbourne. During this research clinical support and group work was provided to many of the participants. As a result, a variety of material was accumulated that describes refugee's life experiences as asylum seekers, living in detention centres and in the community. In this research, the refugee life experience and their strength in surviving was a major theme. Hence the focus on survival became integral to the research and support services. Most refugees described their life's struggles through the use of the word survival.

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