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.
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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.