Newsletter for 14 August 2018 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

_{Roadside demonstration report}

_{Fusion Festival : Tuesday 28th August, 11.00 am to 2.00 pm}

_{A good news story!}

_{Behrouz Boochani’s book has arrived!}

_{Roadside demonstration report}

_{Another excellent roadside demonstration at the Big Banana last Thursday, with eight enthusiastic supporters waving appreciatively to all the motorists who sounded their horns, gave us the thumbs up or shouted their encouragement. We reserved our heartiest waves and smiles for the tiny minority of motorists who seemed only to have the energy to wave with a single digit!}

_{Our next demonstration will be on Thursday 23}^rd _{August from 2.30 to 4.00 pm by the Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour, opposite the Base hospital. Please come and join us if you can.}

_{Fusion Festival : Tuesday 28}^th_{August, 11.00 am to 2.00 pm}

_{The Fusion Festival is coming to the Coffs Harbour campus of Southern Cross University on Tuesday 28}^th _{August. It will be a wonderful celebration of the diversity of our community through cultural exchange and social connection. You can look forward to a colourful and lively scene of dancing, cooking and much more. We will have our RAR stall at the event, so if you would like to help for a while, then please contact Mike at:mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. Or just come along to soak up the atmosphere.}

_{A good news story!}

_{Last week a corporate event with a difference took place in Sydney. The event was organized by Michael Combs, who established CareerSeekers in 2016 to help well-qualified asylum seekers get a foot in the door of career advancement in Australia. His motivation can be summed up by this comment: “I was just sick of every second Uber and taxi driver having a degree from their own country but being unable to get any work in Australia.” Last year, his organization placed 168 asylum seekers in corporate jobs. This year the target is to place 450 asylum seekers in professional occupations. A number of major corporations are on board, with twelve-week internships typically extended into full time employment. Hats off to Michael Combs!}

_{You can read the full story on our Facebook page.}

_{Behrouz Boochani’s book has arrived!}

_{Behrouz Boochani, who has been imprisoned on Manus for more than five years, has, against all the odds, published his book “ No Friend but the Mountains.” It is the story of life in a wholly oppressive system which is designed to punish, humiliate and break the spirits of those subjected to indefinite detention. In the foreword to the book, Richard Flanagan does not mince his words.} 

_{“Reading this book is difficult for any Australian. We pride ourselves on decency, kindness, generosity and a fair go. None of these qualities are evident in Boochani’s account of squalor, beatings, suicide and murder.} 

_{I was painfully reminded in his descriptions of the Australian officials’ behaviour on Manus and my father’s descriptions of the Japanese commanders’ behaviour in the POW camps where he and fellow Australians suffered so much.}

_{What has become of us when it is we who commit such crimes?”}

_{Minister Dutton should read Behrouz Boochani’s book.}

_{Check out the index of subjects on our blog  http://bellorar.blogspot.com.au} 

_{It includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and newspapers.}

_{This newsletter is sent to >620 recipients}

_{Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/}

_{(579 likes)}

_{Twitter Account @RARBellingenNam}

_{Email address bellingen.rar@gmail.com}

_{The National RAR web site is at  www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au} 

_{The National RAR facebook site is at  RAR Facebook}

letter to editor - fund raising to support asylum seekers from Marlene Griffin

_{Dear Editor,}

_{As from the start of this month our government has cut off basic support services for many asylum seeker families living in Australia. The meagre allowances they once had will no longer be available to them. Many families will, from now on, be living in increasingly desperate circumstances suffering homelessness and destitution. Churches and charities  are being called upon as a last resort for support but the needs are too great for them to manage. These  support services are essential to these families to cover  basic food needs , help with accommodation , legal services ,  medical services and language tuition. Children will be increasingly at risk from these cuts to provision .} 

_{I am Artist of The Month for August at the Stringer Gallery on Ridge Street , Nambucca Heads,  and will be donating any proceeds from the sale of my art work to support relief services for these families. I have kept the prices on my works as low as possible to encourage sales. Some original art works are selling for as little as $ 15.} 

_{I hope that there will be support in our community for this cause. The gallery is open Wed to Frid from 10 am to 3.00pm and on Saturday morning from 9. 30 am to noon. Please call in and take a look.} 

_{Marlene Griffin}

_{Valla Beach} 

Newsletter for 7 August 2018 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

_{Valla Beach market report} 

_{Next roadside demonstration: Thursday 9th August from 2.30 to 4.00 pm}

_{The inquest into the death of Hamid Kehazaei}

_{Yet more critical medical cases ignored}

_{Fundraising effort by one of our supporters}

_{Valla Beach market report}

_{We had a very successful market under beautiful sunny skies at Valla Beach on Saturday. There were lots of supporters  handing out leaflets, collecting signatures on our open letter, selling our merchandise and of course  enjoying one another's company. We received lots of support from market-goers, who continually reminded us about how ashamed they feel about what the government is doing in our name. A number of people signed up to join our group, which means that we now have more than 600 people who receive this newsletter every week. That's a lot of people who are prepared to stand up for refugees and asylum seekers, and who are part of our campaign to bring this cruel and inhumane asylum policy to an end. A big thank you to the twenty people who have joined us during the past two weeks.}

_{Our next market stall will be at Bellingen market on Saturday 15th September from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. If you can join us for an hour or two on the day, then please email Mike at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.}

_{Next roadside demonstration: Thursday 9th August from 2.30 to 4.00 pm}

_{A reminder that our next roadside demonstration is this Thursday  by the Pacific Highway, next the the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, from 2.30 until 4.00 pm. These demonstrations are an excellent way to bring the cruelty of indefinite offshore detention to the attention of the Australian people, and they undoubtedly have an impact. We have lots of banners and placards to share, and we would urge supporters to come and join us if you can.}

_{The inquest into the death of Hamid Kehazaei}

_{The tragedy of the avoidable death of Iranian asylum seeker Hamid Kehazaei was laid bare in the coroner's court in Brisbane last week. The coroner made it absolutely clear that the Australian government is responsible for the care and welfare of the asylum seekers that have been sent to offshore detention, and that the government had failed in its responsibility to provide Hamid with care comparable to Australian standards. Hamid died after a series of clinical errors and delays, including a lack of antibiotics and the overruling of a doctor's request for an urgent transfer by a Canberra bureaucrat, which follows a familiar pattern. The president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Bastian Seidel was scathing in his condemnation of the government's stance . He stated: "Bureaucrats should never ever be allowed to override a clinical decision made by a medical doctor.... There comes a point when Minister Peter Dutton needs to be asked to take responsibility for the actions of his department." Dr David Berger, an executive member with Doctors for Refugees, stated that the continued medical neglect of people in offshore detention to whom Australia owes a legal duty of care is "scandalous".}

_{He added: "It is safe to say there is no functioning healthcare in any form that an Australian would recognise and no way to escalate concerns in any manner, let alone a timely manner. These cases are not isolated ones."} 

_{Yet more critical medical cases ignored}

_{In spite of the clear findings by the coroner in the case of Hamid Kehazaei, our government continues to resist the requests of doctors to transfer patients to Australia for urgent medical treat In recent days, details of  two critical cases have emerged. The first concerns former Iraq policeman Mohammed Hamza Hussein, who lost his sight in one eye when he was beaten with a post during the attack on the Manus detention centre in 2014, and who is now going blind in his other eye. Ophthalmologists report that he requires urgent intervention- including treatments not available on Manus Island- in order to save his sight.. Mohammed says: "I'm the father of four girls, but I've been locked up here for five years.. I want to be able to see my family again."}

_{The other case concerns Somalian refugee Abdisalam, who has been on Manus for five years. Doctors say that he is at risk of losing his leg, or dying from compartment syndrome if his suspected broken femur continues to be left untreated. Amazingly, there is currently no working X-ray machine on Manus Island to determine the extent of his injuries. Abdisalam says:" I cannot sleep day or night because of this horrible pain that none of you can ever imagine. The pain kills me every minute....all I see is just pain. The leg is broken, and the fracture in the bone is not yet medically dealt with. Please, I need desperately emergency medical assistance." Dr David Berger commented: "This is a case where somebody with an urgent condition does not have their case escalated. And as we have seen, delays in treatment are threatening to life."}

_{The contract for medical services with the Australian government is provided by Pacific International Hospital. Their latest government contract with PIH costs the Australian taxpayer more than $110,000 a day for this appalling level of service.}

_{Our government's response for information about these cases was, as always, that it does not comment on individual medical cases.}

_{If you would like to contact Minister Dutton's department to demand that doctors' request for urgent medical transfer of patients must never be overridden by Canberra bureaucrats, and that these, and other patients must be transferred immediately, then you can phone his office on: 07 3205 9977, or email him at: minister@border.gov.au.}

_{Fundraising effort by one of our supporters}

_{Many of you will know that all the money that we raise from sales and other fundraising events is donated to the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown. The ASC does fantastic work supporting asylum seekers in and around Sydney as they wait to have their claims for protection finalised,  a process that now drags on for years under the government's "fast track" processing policy. The need for funding has increased dramatically over the past month, as government support for this cohort of up to 12,000 asylum seekers is gradually withdrawn.}

_{One of our supporters, Marlene Griffin, is currently "artist of the month" for August at the Stringer Gallery on Ridge Street in Nambucca Heads, run by the Nambucca Valley Arts Council. The gallery is located between the post office and the library. Marlene has paintings large and small on sale, ranging in price from $20 to $250. All proceeds from any sales will be donated, via our RAR group, to the ASC. Please therefore consider paying a visit to the gallery, and help us to support ASC's work by purchasing a work of art. The gallery is open from 10.00 am until 3.00 pm from Wednesday to Friday, and from 9.30 am until 12.00 noon on Saturday.}

_{Check out the index of subjects on our blog  http://bellorar.blogspot.com.au} 

_{It includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and newspapers.}

_{This newsletter is sent to >620 recipients}

_{Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/}

_{(579 likes)}

_{Twitter Account @RARBellingenNam}

_{Email address bellingen.rar@gmail.com}

_{The National RAR web site is at  www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au} 

_{The National RAR facebook site is at  RAR Facebook}