Brisbane residents who came to Australia as refugees from countries such as Sierra Leone, Sudan and Burma will become Australian citizens on Sunday (June 27) as part of the World Refugee Day Community Festival in Annerley.

A Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) spokesman said the people participating in this special refugee ceremony will take the pledge to become Australian citizens as the final step in their migration journey.

Harry Aung, one of the new citizens, fled his home in Burma and came to Australia after being granted a humanitarian visa. He said he was very excited to become an Australian citizen.

“I love the people in Australia, the lifestyle and that this is a multicultural country where you can meet with people from all over the world,” Mr Aung said.

Since the end of World War II, nearly 750 000 refugees and others in humanitarian need have been resettled in Australia.

“In this program year, more than 1300 people have settled in Queensland under the humanitarian program, many of them likely to complete their journey with citizenship in the years to come,” the DIAC spokesman said.

“Australia provides comprehensive support systems for refugees and others in humanitarian need and consistently ranks among the world’s top three resettlement countries, along with the United States and Canada.”

The special citizenship ceremony, starting at 9am, will start the World Refugee Day Community Festival, coordinated by Multicultural Development Australia, at the Annerley Soccer Club fields on the corner of Ridge and Juliette streets.

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