In various Australian cities, many are protesting against the strict measures taken by the country to deal with the pandemic. At the same time, however, the majority of the population is convinced of the need for vaccination. 88% of residents over the age of 16 have been fully vaccinated. Of particular interest is Richmond, Melbourne’s working-class neighborhood, where 100% of residents have been vaccinated. Where does this impressive percentage come from?
At first glance, the densely populated area seems to have all those elements that favor the transmission of the coronavirus. About 2,500 people live in Richmond apartment complexes. The settlement consists of impressive buildings of 20 or 22 floors. This in itself was a challenge. Emmanuel Braz, once an immigrant himself, is now the director of Richmond Housing Estates. Braz describes the neighborhood’s profile: “People who came here in the 1970s, refugees or asylum seekers from Southeast Asia, Indonesia, East Timor, Vietnam or Cambodia, live here. They have lived here for 40 years. More recently, more have been added: refugees and asylum seekers from Africa. “But the ‘average Australian’ still lives in social housing.”
The vaccination campaign as part of community life
Richmond also has a serious drug problem. From the beginning of the pandemic, he was thus at the center of efforts to manage the coronavirus. All residents over the age of 16 who could be vaccinated did so immediately. They did not have to be convinced of much, as in other parts of Australia. Anna Monping is working in a health tent that has been set up in the neighborhood for a long time. As he observes, the vaccination campaign here worked simply and smoothly: “When we started the vaccinations, people did not know where to go for their questions – what the vaccine does, where they can be vaccinated, where they can get tested for coronavirus. This scene gives the answers “.
The people who worked in this scene were always there, answering every question. And that was part of the success of the vaccination campaign. There was a playground around the tent. Zumba could be danced nearby, and youth programs were offered. At the same time there were translators for all languages ​​and nationalities of the region.
Richmond as a “miniature of the United Nations”
Vaccination has somehow become part of community life. At the same time, behind the success of Richmond lies the hard work of social workers and other volunteers in the area, such as Mubarak Imam. As he characteristically states: “When you hear the result, the 100% vaccination rate, then you forget the hard work. “We Muslims believe that saving one person is tantamount to saving all of humanity.”
There is much to be learned from Richmond’s example, this “miniature of the United Nations,” as one might say. Not only for the management of the pandemic but also for the harmonious coexistence of so many social groups under one roof.
Lena Bodevaine, Singapore
Edited by: Dimitra Kyranoudi
DW
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