Statement - Barbara Perry, Member for Auburn Victor Oreshkin’s Funeral September 22, 2014
On Saturday I attended the funeral of Victor Oreshkin, a local young man who was a victim of the MH-17 air tragedy. I was touched, by the dignity of his parents, family and friends as they celebrated his life and the message of hope symbolised through the Australian flag placed over Victor’s coffin. Victor’s life and the events surrounding his passing will have a lasting impact on many of us. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Oreshkin family. Auburn Community Unity On the same day we celebrated community unity at the Auburn Festival. I was struck by the fact that on this beautiful spring day at Wyatt Park the colours and the people of the globe came together as Australians to share music, food and culture. As I reflected on this, it was clear that the events of the previous days had not deterred families and friends from coming together. This is possible because we live in a country that values freedom, peace and security. I have often said that we cannot be complacent about what we have and it requires hard work. Moving about the community over the last few days I’ve seen the respect for our police and other agencies that selflessly protect us. We must continue to support them and have trust in our judicial system to ensure that anyone or anything that seeks to harm or undermine our way of life is stopped. Sadly, friends of mine have spoken of feeling uncomfortable and being taunted over the past couple of days. Others have spoken about being scared. We need to take responsibility to ensure that every person, irrespective of their race or religion is respected. It is up to all of us to maintain and build the strength of our community. This is a time for strong leadership, respect and communication from us all. I am committed to further building that relationship and trust with our community. |