Newly arrived refugees learn the basics of water safety

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A group of newly arrived refugees has learned the basics of water safety before embarking on their first ever ocean dip in Sydney today. The program teaches new arrivals about the beauty. And the danger of the Aussies surf.

Transcript

00:00An immersive Australian experience for Sydney's newest residents.

00:08For these refugees, everything today is a first.

00:11The sand and the ocean is all new.

00:14How was it? Did you love it?

00:16So fun and so lovely.

00:18Today at Cronulla Beach, new migrants learned the basics of beach safety in their language.

00:24The place that you must go is in between the red and yellow flags

00:28and we will show you those on the beach.

00:33From the tricky terrain to the wildlife.

00:36What's this one mean?

00:37A reminder of what to do in a rip.

00:40Stay calm, don't panic and raise one hand in the air. Can we all do that together?

00:45And a shot of confidence from one of the country's best in the water.

00:49To also know that they are welcome and welcome to the beach

00:52and welcome to be able to swim and swim alongside us.

00:55The program, run by Settlement Services International and Surf Life Saving New South Wales,

01:00aims to reduce the rate of drowning among new migrants.

01:04None of us know how to swim, even my children, so it's really important to me.

01:12350 drownings per year and out of them, 30% are people of the migrant background.

01:19Some of these families arrived in Australia just two weeks ago.

01:23So some obvious concepts like wet sand moving quickly underneath your feet

01:28can get some first timers into trouble.

01:30But it's whenever the person who's swimming's feet are not on the sand anymore.

01:34So the instant reaction is to panic.

01:37These lessons run four times a year in New South Wales

01:40with hopes to expand nationally.

01:42Giving refugees the ability to enjoy one of Australia's simplest pleasures.

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