Chilout Round Up of Refugee Week and issues of children in detention

ChilOut - Children Out of Immigration Detention http://www.chilout.org/ Dear John, Free the Children in Refugee Week As part of Refugee Week, ChilOut travelled to Canberra with members of the Australian Coalition to End Immigration Detention of Children. On Monday 15 June – the Free the Children Day of Action – we displayed our cage installation on the Parliament House lawns. Members of the public and parliamentarians were invited to free one of the 231 dolls from the cage as a symbol of freeing a child from detention. ChilOut’s Campaign Coordinator, Claire Hammerton, and two ChilOut Youth Ambassadors, Mohammad Ali Baqiri and Sarah Yahya, were keynote speakers at the event, along with actor and activist Imogen Bailey. Check out our short clip of highlights, including extracts from the stories of our inspiring Youth Ambassadors who came to Australia as child refugees. During the week we had frank and promising discussions with several key politicians from all the major and minor parties, including Senator Madigan, Senator Lazarus, Richard Marles MP, Senator Sinodinos, Melissa Parke MP, Anne Burke MP, Craig Laundy MP, Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Russell Broadbent MP and Senator Hanson-Young.  We also received great media coverage. Our Campaign Coordinator and Youth Ambassadors were interviewed by: ABC, Network 10, Canberra Times, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, ABC Radio National, Triple J Radio, 2SM, 2GB and 2SER. Thank you to everyone involved and all our supporters - an incredible and worthwhile event! Why are children still in detention?According to the latest statistics from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, as at 31 May 2015 there are: 138 children in immigration detention facilities within Australia; 81 children in detention facilities in Nauru; and 863 children living in community detention. Did you miss our very own Youth Ambassador Mohammad Ali Baqiri on ABC’s Q & A Program on 15 June? He shared his story of being detained in Nauru as a child and asked the panel why children were still in detention. See Mohammad’s question and the panel’s answer here. We need to keep asking this question until no more children are held in immigration detention! Babies transferred to Nauru and snap rally tonightBaby Asha, born in Darwin this year, was secretly transferred to the Nauru detention centre in the middle of the night with no warning given to her parents. Since the transfer, Asha and her parents have been living in a tent in unsafe and horrific conditions for an adult, let alone a tiny baby. We also know that at least one other baby born in Australia was recently transferred to Nauru. Despite the lack of proper facilities in Nauru, up to 17 more babies born in Australia are due to be transferred to Nauru in the near future. In conjunction with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, ChilOut is supporting a peaceful rally at Sydney Square (next to the Town Hall) tonight at 5:30pm to call for Baby Asha to be brought back to Australia and for no more babies to be sent to Nauru. Come and join us or support us via social media using the hashtag #bringbackasha. Find more details about the event here. More than 80 children currently detained in Australia and slated for transfer to Nauru. Unless we take action, more will be sent into harm’s way. ChilOut continues to reiterate the call, both publicly and to MPs and Senators, that no child should be sent to Nauru and that all children currently in detention in Nauru should be brought to the Australian mainland as a matter of urgency. Further sexual assault allegations and imprisonment for reportingWhile the Government has stated that it accepts all the recommendations made by the Moss Review, allegations of sexual assault in Nauru detention centre have continued to emerge. Children are still detained on Nauru despite this mounting evidence, including one allegation that a child as young as two years old was abused. To make matters worse, a bill has been pushed through Parliament that prevents anyone working in a detention centre from speaking publicly about what they see. From July, contracted workers including doctors, teachers and other professionals could face up to two years in prison for publicly revealing the inadequate medical treatment provided to asylum seekers in detention. Two doctors, including children’s doctor Professor David Isaacs who has spent time in Nauru, have spoken to the media and used a prestigious medical journal to protest against these repressive laws. ChilOut End of Financial Year AppealWe are so appreciative of the support we receive for the work we do! One of the best ways you can help end children in detention is to make a donation to us via our website – either as a one-off donor or a regular supporter. Donations over $2 are tax deductible so with only hours until the end of financial year, please make a donation now at: www.chilout.org/donate. Are you a runner (or walker) and interested in raising funds for ChilOut at this year’s City to Surf? Please join our City to Surf team for this year’s run on 9 August and help us raise much-needed funds to end child detention. You can sign up to join our City to Surf team or donate to our runners here.

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