(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
As the crisis in South Sudan continues to worsen, there are concerns about the impact it's having on South Sudanese Australians.
Many have lost loved ones in the ongoing conflict that has claimed thousands of lives in their homeland.
However, two friends, originally from South Sudan, are hoping to encourage the community to turn the unfolding tragedy into something positive.
And as Santilla Chingaipe reports, their message of peace and unity has already had some impact.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
Two years ago, Peter Kaka and Nyok Gor did not know each other.
They'd both left South Sudan years earlier, settled in different parts of Victoria, and may have never met.
Angry and frustrated over watching the continuing violence in South Sudan, Nyok Gor decided to seek out other South Sudanese Australians who were struggling to deal with it.
And amid reports that the violence had taken on an ethnic element, he felt he needed to ensure he contacted people from a different tribal group.
Nyok Gor, a Dinka, says through members of the community, he was put in touch with Peter Kaka, who is from the Murle (MUR-lay) tribe - rivals back in South Sudan.
Peter was naturally, a bit apprehensive about meeting Nyok.
But after a bit of persistence from Nyok, he finally agreed to a meeting.
"He said, 'you know, I lost one of my cousins, and I lost many people and I see in my own thinking that is not the way people can live. We have to look another way, what is another way?"
That other way led to the formation of the South Sudan Australia Peace Intiative.
Nyok Gor explains the role of the group.
"What we do is to bring different community members together, various leaders together and challenge them. For people to change their attitude and look at what's the right thing to do collectively rather than blame each other which is something that takes us forward and it does fuel the cycle of violence which can go on. And that's what we have been attempting to do here in Melbourne, and that has also had a bit of influence in other states in Australia by bringing in variuous community groups, advocating not only to the local authorities, so that they can listen to what we are struggling with, but as well even at the national level in Canberra, letting the Australian government know the pain that the families of South Sudanese families are going through and the need to listen to them."
Nyok Gor says most South Sudanese Australians have been directly impacted by the ongoing conflict.
"As a person who comes from one of the communities that has been affected by this violence, I have most of my family members, some have been displaced and are in a different country. And this gave me a lot of pain towards the othe community, and this is basically what goes on in the other side .. there are many family members in Australia that have lost (family members). You go to a family of South Sudanese, ask Kaka (Peter), he may have lost ten family members, so this has a direct impact on how we behave with each other."
What started out as a power struggle in South Sudan last December, is now raising the prospects of turning into a full-blown civil war.
Fighting between troops backing President Salva Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked vice president, Riek Machar, has spread from the capital Juba to other parts of the country.
The United Nations says one-million people have fled their homes and thousands have been killed since fighting broke out.
Both sides stand accused of carrying out ethnic massacres since the fighting started.
Nyok Gor says there was a real concern about the spillover effect the conflict has been having on the community here.
"There is so much concern of how sometimes, members of each and every community or family can be involved, when they see or hear about loved ones dying and they feel like they can't do much, they would want to be involved in whichever way they feel they would want justice and sometimes the community would gather themselves, whether that's supporting their own group back in South Sudan and this becomes part of fuelling up the violence, supporting the conflict and that's something that we worry if left there could be so much tension and this would not help."
Peter Kaka says the group encourages dialogue in the community.
He says many find it hard to open up about the impact the conflict is having on them.
"If you have sadness in your heart and don't express (it), or you don't tell someone so you can help to heal you, that will be something can confuse your mind and in another way can make your mind become sick, and this is what we're looking at. We're looking to heal those that have sorrow and they don't want to express, we approach them to say that this sorrow that you have, we have. Everyone has, let's work together and join hands and work on behalf of those people in South Sudan."
Peter Kaka says although the reconciliation message has been positively received by members of the community - there is some apprehension.
"Some (parts of the) community is divided in a way that some believe what we say, some still don't believe. But we hope that they will believe."
Nyok Gor says the state and federal governments can also play a role in engaging the community.
Leading the way in Victoria in supporting the community is Victoria Police, which holds forums in consultation with community members around the state.
Victoria Police Inspector for community engagement Ron Gardner, says some members of the community have approached the police about the concerns.
"In February we were aware that there were a few concerns and we managed to call the leaders of the community together to reassure them that from Victoria police's perspective, we understood most of the issues that were occurring there and we also understood that emotion could overtake and spillover into some occurences that we would rather prevent. We were able to talk about these issues, people from different aspects. Community leaders, educators, religous leaders, police all had their say and basically resolved that we would support each other in any way we felt we could to fully understand that this was a conflict overseas and that as a united group we could influence and take to the Australian government, free of any of the political or ethnic influences that are resulting in problems overseas."
Inspector Gardner says the forums provide an opportunity for police to support the community as they work through the problems.
"It's not a matter of laying down the laws, it's very much a matter of providing an environment were we can assist the community to mediate within itself, we can refer, we can provide other agencies to come in and give some assistance and basically provide the community with the tools that they need to manage their issues within their own community. And a lot of people will say, 'Why does a police man want to do this? They just lock up criminals'. We are about providing a safe and orderly society and if we can provide an atmosphere where people come and talk and people cna come in and asist, then we are assisting in providing that safe society."
However, Nyok Gor warns that some members of the community may be playing a hand in perpetuating the conflict in South Sudan.
"Australia hosts thousands of South Sudanese families that have such an influence over in South Sudan and they cannot be overlooked. Sometimes it can be a distraction. That's not what we want fo Australia to be seen that it's hosting a population that is destroying many lives. We want to see that Australia is hosting a population that is part of the solution. And that is what we want to encourage the government. We don't want South Sudanese Australians to be part of the violence in which ever way it would happen. It doesn't mean that someone has to travel there, but you can still play a destructive role while you are here."
Inspector Ron Gardner says although the spillover effect is of concern, he's applauded the way the community is dealing with the traumatising events.
"The community has been very mature about their actions. They've been 'self policing' if you like, and they do come to us and tell us we have a concern here or we don't have concern there and if it's an issue we can influence, we will. But I'll be very low to say that there is a rift within the community and that it is real and dangerous and it is happening now. It is not. The community are coping very very well with the tragedy happening in their homeland."
For Nyok Gor and Peter Kaka though, they hope their friendship can serve as an example to the wider South Sudanese community in Australia.
"I take it as an example between me and Kaka, in such a way that having known him and having engaged with him, it helped us to spend most of our time in poistive dialogue and that is what we believe it can also do for the wider community."
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