Joint counter-terrorist task force investigating attack

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The stabbing at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney. Secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Association Gamel Kheir is calling for greater support to stop young people from becoming violent.

Transcript

00:00We've strongly condemned and we continue to condemn any acts of violence,

00:05especially on any religious institution or religious figure.

00:09There is no tolerance for it,

00:11neither in faith nor in Australian culture or society.

00:14Tell us about the youth work you do in your community in Western Sydney.

00:19Look, we struggle, like many other organisations,

00:23with limited resources.

00:25We've reached out to youth constantly.

00:27We run youth activities, we run weekly barbecues with our youth

00:31and we try to keep them occupied during the school holidays.

00:34But like many other organisations,

00:36we have limited resources, including finances and space,

00:40and that continues to be a problem.

00:42But, look, we won't give up on the youth.

00:44We'll keep on reaching out to them.

00:46And every youth we save from the street,

00:48then that's a plus for the community and for Australia as a whole.

00:51And, Jamal Kiir, how effective do you think that work is

00:54that you do with youths in Western Sydney?

00:57I think it's crucial.

00:59I think it's crucial because we feel a void that's not currently there.

01:03Would we like to do more? Yes, of course we would.

01:06But, again, we lack resources.

01:08The problem we've got at the moment,

01:10and we need to be honest with ourselves as an Australian community,

01:13is if we don't capture them within a controlled environment,

01:16such as a youth hub or a youth centre,

01:18then they are prone to be abused and misused

01:22by people who are preying on our youth.

01:25And so if you were to get these extra resources,

01:28what would you put them into?

01:31Look, the crucial thing for us is to interact with our youth.

01:34So we would run a youth hub or a youth centre, if you like,

01:38where we would engage with the youth

01:40in terms of PlayStations, snooker tables,

01:44anything that would attract those youth to the hubs,

01:47where then we can have people who are mentoring them

01:51and tutoring them and making sure that they integrate successfully

01:54within multicultural Australia, which is crucial.

01:57Yeah, it's often the case with organisations,

01:59they have problems connecting with the younger generations

02:03in their community.

02:05Do you find that a bit of a challenge?

02:08Yes, like many migrant families, we're a second, third generation.

02:13So many of these children have parents who were born overseas

02:17who are still culturally different to the mainstream Australian culture.

02:21So there's, by very nature of the kid being born in Australia

02:25and the parent being born overseas, there's a division.

02:28Now, that's where we hopefully, as an organisation,

02:30with assistance of our community and our politicians,

02:33can fill that void by providing a safe place for the youth to hang out.

02:38Yeah, and have you got any ideas

02:40on where you might establish this youth hub?

02:43Have you got your eyes on a bit of property?

02:47Look, we've got properties, there's many properties.

02:50Sadly, sadly, and I say this,

02:52and I respect that limited funds apply to everything

02:55and everything is dire in today, but yeah, we do.

02:59We do have a space.

03:01We've got our eye on a particular space.

03:04Sadly, though, we don't have the finances

03:06and I think this is a priority because if we don't capture the youth,

03:10God forbid, then this situation won't go away naturally.

03:13So we need to intervene.

03:15We need to be very proactive

03:17and we need to be taking the front lead in this

03:19because if we don't, sadly, we leave them prone

03:22to those who are preying on those youth.

03:24Have you noticed any heightened feelings in recent months

03:28with the situation in Gaza?

03:31Look, Gaza has certainly, certainly...

03:34I mean, we'd be naive to say that Gaza has not accentuated

03:37the fears and the anger of the community.

03:41We're on edge.

03:42If you add Bondi, the sad event that happened in Bondi,

03:46along with Gaza, and now sadly this yesterday,

03:49the community is very alarmed.

03:51I mean, we've got colleagues here who won't come to work

03:53out of fear of being attacked.

03:55We've got our Muslim sisters who are wearing hijab

03:58who are scared to be seen in public.

04:00Yesterday, we had over 1,000 youth here at Lekemba Mosque

04:03acting to protect... to guard and protect the mosque.

04:07And it's not the Australia that we love.

04:09It's not what we want.

04:10You know, we are a multicultural society.

04:12We need to confront their issues, not hide behind them,

04:16confront them, but united and committed

04:18to a better Australia for all of us.

04:20Andrew Melk here, taking into account what happened overnight

04:23and the fact that there are tensions,

04:25how are you feeling about the couple of weeks ahead?

04:28Are you optimistic with that,

04:30with these calls from faith leaders for calm,

04:34that there will be calm over the coming weeks?

04:38Look, I'm a dinky-die Aussie.

04:40I'm always optimistic.

04:41I will always remain optimistic.

04:43I've been here since 1972, and I see nothing but optimism.

04:48We can't be burying our heads in the sand either.

04:51There are issues, but we will confront them.

04:53I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise

04:56and to sympathise with my brothers and sisters

04:58in the Assyrian church.

05:00This is nothing that...

05:01This is nothing that any organised religion will condone nor support.

05:06We will get through this.

05:07We've reached out to all the communities,

05:09and they've been wonderful.

05:11The police have been amazing,

05:13and I'd like to thank the police in very, very trying circumstances.

05:16They've been incredible.

05:18And also I'd like to thank the politicians

05:20who have taken the lead in terms of trying to organise

05:23into community, into religious organisation and meetings.

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