Resilience and strength of character are two special qualities
that influence our capacity to meet the challenges of life and overcome
adversity. Fablice Manirakiza has both of these attributes in spades.
A refugee from Burundi in central Africa, Fablice
arrived in Australia in 2007 at the age of 16 with his sister and two nephews,
unable to speak English and with little more knowledge of Australia than the
picture of a kangaroo on a box of matches. Through his faith and tenacity, Fablice has
established himself as a creator of influence in the Australian arts scene,
working as a rapper, MC, Dancer, Festival Producer and curator. He was awarded
the first-ever Refugee Scholarship Award from Multicultural Arts Victoria and
was selected to be an advisor on the Melbourne Festival Youth Board. Fablice
received the Victorian Young Achiever of the Year in 2016. He is an
icon amongst local indigenous youth and has performed workshops for remote
Aboriginal communities. Fablice has released a single featuring iconic
Australian songwriter Paul Kelly.
At the age of eight, Fablice and his family found
themselves in the midst of a bloody civil war, which saw the genocide of more
than one million people within a matter of weeks. Soon after, his parents were
killed and he fled to neighbouring Rwanda, where life became even more difficult.
At the age of eleven, he returned to Burundi only to be kidnapped and forced to
be a child soldier. Eventually, Fablice escaped and made his way to a refugee
camp in Tanzania, where his sister had taken refuge. After three years of
hunger and deprivation Fablice, his sister and two nephews were granted
humanitarian visas to travel to Australia.
Fablice credits his parents with instilling in him a sound
set of values and a strength of faith that has enabled him to overcome the many
challenges he has endured. Among his busy schedule, Fablice visits schools to
share his story and, hopefully, inspire young people to believe that they have
the capacity to change the world and make it a better and more inclusive place.
He quotes Pope Francis, who called for young people to “get up off the couch”
and make a difference.
Fablice encourages his audience to embrace the three
things that have guided his life and empowered him to confront challenges and “live
life to the full”. These three things include his faith in God; belief in the
power of education to lift people from poverty and oppression; and the
humanitarian values gifted by his parents.
While at Holy Cross College, Fablice spoke to Senior
School students and performed a lunchtime concert. Students were inspired by
his story and achievements. The feeling of students was best summed up by one
student who, through her tears, remarked, “this is the best day of my life and
the best thing the school has done for us”.
Accompanying Fablice was Paulie Stewart, front man of
the Australian Punk Rock Group, Painters and Dockers, whose own life story is
also inspirational. Paulie had a liver transplant a few years ago and now
spends much of his time working with the Jesuits in Melbourne, undertaking
considerable community service work, especially in Timor-Leste, where his
brother Tony was one of the Balibo 5 executed by Indonesian soldiers in 1975.
Paulie is a great supporter of Fablice and travels with him around Australia
visiting schools.
While somewhat of a silhouette, the video below shows
the fun and spirit of the lunchtime concert.
You can hear Fablice’s story by viewing his TEDx Talk presentation at St Kilda, Melbourne.
Mr Peter Collins
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