Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts : Newsletter for 7 February 2017 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

Valla Beach Market Report

The Trump Visa Bans

The Refugee Swap Deal - What is happening?

Next roadside demo - Big Banana Thurs 9th Feb

Valla Beach market report

The Valla Beach Market last Saturday was hot and relatively quiet but our stall was well stocked with volunteers, merchandise, and visitors. It is always gratifying to see people wander past, see the banners, and make a beeline for the petition. Most people need no convincing that our current policies on asylum seekers need changing. It is encouraging to know that so many people share our views and want change.

Our next market will be on Sunday 26th February at Coffs Harbourside market, from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm

Trump bans entry to the USA from seven Muslim-majority countries

The recent ban announced by the US president is deeply troubling for the world, feeding in, as it inevitably does and as it is intended, to the deep-seated xenophobia which is rapidly becoming mainstream in the USA, in much of Europe and in Australia. The ban seeks to paint all people of the Muslim faith as potential terrorists, to be feared and mistrusted. The ban includes a temporary halt to all refugees and a permanent ban on people fleeing the conflict in Syria. Many world leaders have criticised the actions of the president, but our own prime minister has been silent on the issue. Not so minister Scott Morrison, a strong Trump supporter, who boasted that the strong action taken by the US president is a sign that the rest of the world is finally catching up with Australia’s successful border protection policy. Getting tough with the most vulnerable people in our world is as easy as it is deplorable and we should continue to speak out against it as best as we can.

The Australia-USA refugee swap. Deal or no deal?

We have had a week of complete confusion in relation to the “deal” to exchange our refugees and asylum seekers for an unknown number of people from South America who have fled violence in their home countries. We know little about the proposals, other than from the US president and his spokesperson, who have stated at various times that the president is willing to “consider” taking 1250 people from Manus Island and Nauru, and that they will be subjected to “extreme vetting”. There are more than 1800 refugees and asylum seekers in these two locations. In addition there are another 300+ who have at various times been brought to the mainland for medical treatment and who remain here as a result of successful intervention by various refugee organisations, but who face being forcibly returned to offshore detention at the whim of the minister. In the meantime, these desperate people have their hopes raised, then shattered on an almost daily basis. We are causing them immense harm, and they have done no wrong. It is time for our Prime Minister to close the offshore detention centres and to bring the people here for processing and resettlement. In the last few days, in an unprecedented move, more than 70 organisations from across the country, led by the Refugee Council of Australia, have come together to call for an immediate evacuation of the offshore detention centres. You can read the joint statement by clicking here:............ This is an important initiative which we want to support in every way we can.

Roadside Demonstration at The Big Banana: Thursday 9th February. 3.00 – 4.30 pm

Our first roadside demonstration of 2017 will take place by the Pacific Highway, beneath the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour on Thursday 9th February. Wouldn’t it be great to send a strong message to our local member of parliament that we are determined to keep up the fight for the closure of offshore detention centres! Please try to join us if you can. We have lots of banners and placards to share . We passionately believe that the roadside demos, and the markets, are a great way to keep up the pressure and ensure that the terrible plight of our asylum seekers is not hidden away, as the government would wish. If you can help, please email Mike at :mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.

BREAKING: Refugee movement comes together to call for immediate evacuation of offshore camps

In an unprecedented move, over 70 organisations from across the country, led by the Refugee Council of Australia, have come together to call for an immediate evacuation of the offshore detention camps.

The joint statement comes after a week of chaos regarding the possibility of a US resettlement deal, with Donald Trump's administration (and Twitter account) releasing multiple conflicting statements regarding the fate of the hundreds of men, women and children trapped in limbo. Many of the people imprisoned on Manus Island and Nauru are from countries currently excluded from entering the US under Trump's travel ban.

Although Malcolm Turnbull maintains that the deal is still on, it was revealed this week that there is no minimum requirement of people to be accepted. As such, the deal could technically go ahead without a single person being resettled.

This uncertainty has caused unthinkable mental anguish to those trapped on Nauru and Manus. These people have already endured physical and sexual abuse, torture and trauma and many have taken, or attempted to take, their own lives. Directly after the announcement of the travel ban, one teenager tragically attempted suicide.

It's high time that this race to the bottom ended. People's lives are at stake.

http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/media/open-statement-calling-immediate-action-offshore-detention/

And remember - in a race to the bottom there are no winners.