We're excited to announce our first collaboration with Miya Miya Film Club for World Refugee Day! Join us on Friday 20th June at the Mothership Studios in Marrickville for an evening of film, delicious food, a hearty discussion and all-around good vibes.⁠

⁠The Staging Post is a documentary by Jolyon Hoff and it follows two Afghan Hazara refugees, Muzafar and Khadim. Stuck in Indonesia after Australia 'stopped the boats' and facing many years in limbo, they built a community and started the school which inspired a refugee education revolution. A real-life, real-time, multi-platform documentary. The Staging Post is about friendship, connection and the power of community.⁠

$25 covers your film ticket, it also includes a $5 donation to the Refugee Advice Casework Service, they provide free legal advice to people seeking asylum based in Sydney. ⁠You can also buy a delicious Afghan meal before the documentary starts, courtesy of Afghan Royal Restaurant, from 6.30pm-7.15pm.

Following the screening will be a 20-minute panel featuring Afghan human rights advocates such as Shabnam Safa from Australian Hazara Advocacy Network, Zohal Asra and Anjilla Seddeqi, former lawyer, fashion designer and advocate.

⁠Our event partners, Miya Miya Film Club, aims to showcase and provide a platform to tell SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) stories on unceded Gadigal and Wangal land (Sydney). Miya Miya translates in Arabic to the 100 emoji, perfect, fantastic, 100/100. ⁠

⁠Big thanks to Navitas Skilled Futures for co-sponsoring this event too.⁠

Welcome Merchant is a social enterprise that collaborates with refugee-owned businesses. We promote them for free on our online directory and social media channels. We also run free skill building workshops for these merchants. Your ticket purchase will go a long way to helping refugees and people seeking asylum.

Miya Miya and Welcome Merchant prides itself on being a hub of safety, inclusivity, and community. Our events are a safe and inclusive space for all peoples, including our SWANA, First Nations, Black, POC, Jewish, and LGBTQIASB+ friends, and we have zero tolerance for harassment of any kind.

Miya Miya Film Club and Welcome Merchant acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters, and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures, and the Elders past and present and emerging.

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