Simon Monsour and Brian Procopis have received the award for Best Producer at the 2001 Sunnie Awards of the Queensland Recording Association for their work on the album "Scattered People". It is a fitting reward for the efforts of two hard working, humble and generous people. It is also a great tribute to their talent. Their efforts came out of Simon's home studio and yet beat a field including some of the best in the business.

The album evolved out of refugee claimants (asylum seekers) in Brisbane coming together to sing - finding and sharing their 'common ground' - their brokenness, their resilience, their frustrations and their hopes for the future. Songs were written and performed. Friends of the Refugee Claimants Support Centre contributed their songs as well and the CD was launched in late 2000.

One of the songs "Labarik Sira Hotu" has become well known in East Timor as the song used by the United Nations in their advertisements to encourage people to vote in the August 2001 elections. Afonso Corte Real, a Timorese Australian, was nominated for a Sunnie Award for this song.

The Scattered People CD was also nominated for the Sunnie Award for Best Album - Folk/Ethnic/Other.

Tragically, some members of the choir have been refused protection in Australia and have been forced to return to the countries from which they had escaped. We all fear for their safety. The Refugee Claimants Support Centre Choir has since disintegrated, its members demoralized, disempowered or deported. But their voices and their spirit carry on in this CD.

Many refugee claimants in Australia are denied work permission, language classes, access to health services and basic financial support while they undergo a prolonged wait (often years) for their fate to be determined. As legislation becomes increasingly harsh, the Refugee Claimants Support Centre struggles with extremely limited resources to provide assistance. We rely entirely on donations and fund-raising activities for the money to provide emergency relief assistance to clients. All profits from the sale of the Scattered People CD go to projects that assist refugee claimants. You can buy the CD from: