The violent death of a Sudanese Christian man in Parramatta last week is the latest in a string of events that has left Sydney's Sudanese population feeling increasingly insecure.
Last Thursday the Rev Bernard Suwa, pastor of Blacktown Anglican Church's Sudanese congregation, made a public plea for information surrounding the death of his cousin, Geoffrey Taban.
Mr Taban, 26, died a week and a half ago after being fatally beaten outside a Parramatta pub.
His sister Lily Joshua, a member at Blacktown, has accompanied his body back to Sudan for his funeral.
The police have not yet identified a motive for the attack, but Mr Suwa says that Mr Taban's death has left many Sudanese uneasy.
"We as a Sudanese community are beginning to feel insecure and apprehensive," he says.
Sydney's Sudanese population now numbers almost 4000 and is concentrated in the western suburbs, particularly Blacktown and Auburn.
A "catalogue of attacks'
Mr Suwa says that the community, made up largely of refugees from the conflict in southern Sudan, is increasingly suffering from a "catalogue' of racially-based attacks and discrimination.
Sydneyanglicans.net reported the violence Mr Suwa says was sparked by the comment of Macquarie University's Professor Andrew Fraser opposing Sudanese immigration last year.
A Sudanese man was beaten to death in Auburn earlier this year, and Mr Suwa says that members of the Sudanese community in Blacktown are frequently abused in the street and have been pelted with beer bottles from passing cars.
"How can we integrate with the Australian community if we cannot walk in the streets?" he says.
The problem has been further highlighted by Tamworth City Council's rejection of Sudanese refugees.
Mr Suwa is calling on the government and church leaders to speak out and raise awareness of the situation.
He calls on Christians to pray that Australians can be welcoming and understanding, and that Sudanese victims of crime will not retaliate.
"Many of these boys and young men have come through a situation of war," he says.
"Some Sudanese are living reckless lives because they have no direction."
