http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/i-was-expecting-a-peaceful-loving-country-refugee-speaks-out-after-assault-20140607-zs0nq.html
'I was expecting a peaceful, loving country': refugee speaks out after assault
June 7, 2014 - 3:29PM
Gemma Khaicy
When African refugee Tumezgi Tesfay came to Australia from war-torn Eritrea last year, he hoped for safety.
Instead, he was viciously attacked outside Wollongong train station only five days after he arrived.
It is an ordeal he is still trying to overcome as he settles into the Illawarra eight months on.
"I am very scared because if you see my country, a fight is normal, but here I was expecting a peaceful, loving country," he said through an interpreter.
His said his attackers, Timothy Williams and Jaimee Lee Haynes, both deserved to be imprisoned.
Williams was sentenced to nine years' jail while co-accused Haynes was jailed for 2˝ years on Friday.
The pair's unprovoked assault was caught on CCTV, but Mr Tesfay said he could not watch the video because it was too distressing.
"I didn't know I was damaged like that," he said. "When I saw the news I couldn't believe it.
"It was upsetting to watch the footage. I didn't see all of it, I switched it off."
The video showed Mr Tesfay walking past the station - he was on his way home from the library - when Williams and Haynes pulled him into a laneway.
They asked for money.
He responded by digging out a few coins from his pocket.
"I couldn't understand what was going on," he said.
Williams then pulled out a credit card to show him, momentarily distracting Mr Tesfay.
It was then Williams struck.
He threw a vicious punch at Mr Tesfay's head, sending him sprawling backwards onto the pavement.
Williams then subjected Mr Tesfay to a frenzied attack, punching him at least 17 times in less than a minute.
"I didn't know whether I'd live or die," the refugee said.
"The punch was very heavy on my face.
"I couldn't control myself and I fell down."
He was robbed of $60, a bracelet and his prized possession - a necklace with a crucifix from his godfather.
"It was very important and valuable to me," he said.
"No-one gave it back."
His tooth was also knocked out and he needed stitches in his left ear.
The 25-year-old could barely remember staggering home and alerting a friend to help him.
"I am very surprised how I escaped from them and went home," he said.
Mr Tesfay said he never expected such brutality in Australia.
He was grateful, however, for the outpouring of support from the community.
"These people have an open heart, they heal my pain," he said.
"I want to say thank you for their messages and goodwill."
Supported by Illawarra Multicultural Services, the refugee is hoping for a happier resettlement this year.
Illawarra Mercury
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2331761/lllawarra-refugee-attack-cctv-footage/?cs=300
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nsw/timothy-williams-jailed-for-violent-robbery-of-refugee-in-wollongong-20140605-39lzj.html
Timothy Williams jailed for violent robbery of refugee in Wollongong
June 5,2014
Shannon Tonkin
A man has been jailed for nine years over the vicious and unprovoked assault of a refugee at Wollongong railway station last October.
Timothy Williams, 26, from the Illawarra, pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery with wounding, admitting he and co-accused Jaimee Lee Haynes, 28, were behind the October 6 attack, in which the victim was punched multiple times before being robbed.
The refugee, who had arrived in Australia from his native Eritrea only five days earlier, required stitches in his left ear and lost a tooth in the ordeal.
The entire incident was captured on CCTV, a matter presiding judge Paul Conlon said provided the court with a reliable account of how the incident unfolded.
"A viewing of this footage is all that is needed to make an accurate assessment of the objective seriousness of this offence," he said, describing Williams' actions as a "sickening attack".
"It is clear that when the offenders reached the station pedestrian walkway they were waiting for a victim.
"When the victim was stopped, it was also clear that there was a plan of action."
In handing down the judgment on Thursday, Judge Conlon slammed Williams' attempts to downplay the seriousness of the assault and his role in it during a conversation with a court-appointed psychologist.
"He provides [the doctor] with a palpably false version of his confrontation and vicious assault on an unsuspecting victim," Judge Conlon said, noting Williams had suggested that the victim had provoked him by calling him a "black bum".
"This footage serves to demonstrate the lie to any suggestion that the victim in anyway provoked this altercation."
Williams was given a non-parole period of six years, backdated to when he first taken into custody at the time of the offence.
He will be eligible for parole in 2019.
Haynes will be sentenced for her role in the assault on Friday.
The Illawarra Mercury
Received on Sat Jun 07 2014 - 10:47:31 EDT