Fed: Sierra Leone athletes settle into Australian community

AAP General News (Australia)
08-20-2006
Fed: Sierra Leone athletes settle into Australian community

SYDNEY, Aug 20 AAP - Ten Sierra Leone Commonwealth Games athletes who have been granted
permanent visas have settled into the Australian way of life, a refugee advocate says.

The other four athletes from war-torn Sierra Leone who went missing from the athletes'
village during the Melbourne games in March hope to be granted visas this week.

Refugee advocate David David Addington today said 12 of the 14 athletes, all now living
in Sydney, were working in a variety of occupations, including in factories, markets and
the construction industry.

Of the remaining two, one was studying and the other was between jobs.

"They have already been accepted by the community and settled into the Australian way
of life," Mr Addington said.

The four athletes who were yet to be granted permanent visas hoped this would occur
by the end of the week.

"We are optimistically awaiting the happy news on the other four," Mr Addington said.

A spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs refused to
confirm or deny the 10 athletes had been granted permanent visas.

He said applicants were advised individually of the outcome of their cases and it was
up to them to decide if they wished to make the outcomes public.

AAP pj/cjh/jlw

KEYWORD: COM06 VISAS

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