607 抗疫戰爭不能忘記少數族裔 Don’t forget the ethnic minorities amid fighting COVID-19

上周澳洲感染病毒人數以幾何級數增加，感染人數由二、三百人，在數天內增至二、三千人，令澳洲人大為恐慌。周日晚上在與各州州長會議後，莫里森總理宣佈禁止各種非必要服務，社會立時進入停頓狀態，各州限制非本地居民進入，可以說整個澳洲，進入了自我隔離狀態。維州安德魯州長鼓勵各人應該留在家中，制止病毒傳播。

經濟活動瞬時停止，不少企業立時倒閉，裁員潮一浪接一浪，人心惶惶。莫里森總理提出第二個經濟振興方案，務求使小企業能繼續下去，使工人仍有工作。不過，在沒有收入情況下，及在短時期內無法改善，相信企業經營者無法有信心守下去。周一開始，各Centrelink　門口大排長龍，申請失業金者大幅增加，情況並不樂觀。

少數民族在疫情中，無法掌握最新狀況。政府特設3000萬元廣告宣傳疫情，卻忽視了少數族裔媒體，令不擅長英語的移民群體，無法明白及充份掌握疫情即時情況及政府對策。不少倚靠中文社交平台獲取資訊的華人，更被大量虛假及不正確的訊息中被誤導。有同鄉會向華人發放信息，要求確診疫症者向中國領事館尋求協助，而非尋求本地醫療服務，令人擔心。

澳洲政府有需要為少數族裔設立特定的疫情資訊中心，向少數族裔負責任及具信任度的媒體，如電台、紙媒及社區組織，持續發放有關疫情訊息。莫里森總理預計病毒肆虐時間最少半年，在期間，政府要與少數族裔社區及媒體聯手，成為夥伴，一起及長期作戰。

更重要的，是政府要在社區中，鼓勵民心，使澳洲人能同心協力，對抗疫情。今期我翻譯了萬年興巿長勉勵華人一起抗疫的一翻說話，我相信這是重要的一步。我盼望澳洲政府能盡快成立少數族裔的資訊發放機制，不要在這重要時刻，遺忘了佔澳洲人口百分之四十的少數族裔。

面對這危機，人人有責。本刊及相關電台節目（同聲同路人），盼望能得到讀者、社區及政府支持，能成為在疫境之中，使華人能得到鼓勵及幫助的聲音。願意神與我們同在，與社區一起面對疫境。　

周偉文 社長

Don’t forget the ethnic minorities amid fighting COVID- 19

Number of confirmed cases in Australia has been soaring exponentially from hundreds to frightening thousands over the past week. PM Morrison after cabinet meeting with the State leaders announced a national emergency state, the society was locked down, the various States closed their borders and the whole country was in self-isolation. Victorian Premier Andrew encouraged everyone to stay at home to slow down spread of the virus.

All economic activities come to a stop, businesses are closing down and people are losing their jobs. Morrison’s second phase of economical stimulus package aims to help out small businesses and employments. But it may not be working in the absence of income and lack of any business prospect. Queues are lining up long in front of the Centrelink offices for unemployment assistance.

Ethnic minorities have not been fully kept in the loop because the government’s 30-million propaganda came out all in English and was not covered in other ethnic minorities’ media. Many Chinese can only rely on some inaccurate and incomplete information through their social media networks. Some Chinese community associations even advised people should seek attention from the Chinese Embassy rather than turning to proper health institutes.

The government should set up an information platforms for the ethnic minorities and release announcements through reliable and established media platform such as radio, publication and local community organizations. Morrison estimated the present situation would be around for at least six months, so all the way the government should work hand in hand with the ethnic minority communities and media in fighting against the pandemic.

The government must encourage the communities, ensure and unite all local communities in the process. In this issue as a start I have published my translated version of an encouragement message by the mayor of Manningham on the subject. I hope the government can speedily establish a system to dispatch official information to cover the ethnic minorities which account for 40% of the Australian population.

Against this crisis, we all have a role to play. I hope Sameway Magazine and our sister radio program SameVoice Sameway are getting more support from our audience, the community and the government as we aim to give more encouragement and support to all Chinese through our media. May God bless us in the fighting in hands with the community.

Raymond Chow, Publisher