Sydney has been under lockdown for over two months now and COVID-19 seems to have found more fertile ground in some areas.
The 12 local government areas (LGAs) currently under the strictest restrictions, have a largely multicultural population and many residents work in the retail, transport and hospitality sectors spread across Greater Sydney.
The 2016 census states that the median weekly income for Sydney households is $1,926, but that is significantly lower in many of these areas. For instance, around 21 per cent of households in Cumberland survive on less than $650 dollars week.
Now stuck at home, either for fear of exposure to COVID-19 or to look after children who cannot go to school, people of all ages are unable to go to work.
Some are not eligible for government support schemes while for others, the amount is not enough to buy food and pay rent in what remains one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Rosanna Barbero is the CEO of Addi Road, a not-for-profit organisation which distributes food to the needy. This organisation is headquartered in Marrickville, outside but on the threshold of Sydney’s “Red Zone”.
Talking to SBS Italian, Ms Barbero compares these new poor to her 95-year-old father.
Rosanna Barbero con le scatole di alimentari che ogni giorno vengono distribuite a chi ne fa richiesta. Source: Addi Road
“Just like he used to do, they work hard for little money and no security, a circle that repeats itself with new migrants and refugees,” she says.
Over 300 volunteers help out at Addi Road to pack and distribute food to those who request for it.
Every week we help more than 6,000 people and we cannot say no. We receive 300 phone calls every day
Those who call, says Ms Barbero, ask not only for food, but also for someone to talk to about their suffering.
This reminds her, once again, of her father – a lonely elderly man who is unable to use the internet and therefore order food remotely.
“If it weren’t for me, he too would have to turn to a charity,” she adds.
Ms Barbero came back to Australia not long ago, after working for decades in many aid agencies across the Global South.
Tra i volontari si riconosce Craig Foster, calciatore e conduttore SBS per molti anni, al lavoro ogni giorno dall'inizio della pandemia. Source: Addi Road
I never thought I’d see the inequality I’ve seen in Australia. I never thought I’d see so many people in this country, and in Sydney in particular, who only eat one meal a day
“Many people go to sleep early to save on electricity or heating. Children go to school without breakfast and parents have to choose whether to buy food or pay for public transport,” Ms Barbero reveals.
She goes back to her father once more, remembering his journey.
“I can’t believe what I’m seeing is happening in the country I was born in and where my parents immigrated to find a better life for all of us,” Ms Barbero says.
The 2018 Foodbank Hunger Report calculated that over four million Australians had suffered from food insecurity at some time in the 12 months preceding the report. This amounts to 18 per cent of the Australian population.
Listen to the interview (in Italian) with Addi Road CEO Rosanna Barbero.
LISTEN TO
Low-income households worse off in Sydney lockdown: One meal a day, early to bed to save on electricity
SBS Italian
11:25
