Roadside Demo Report
Next Market Stall - Bellingen Sat 18th March
Update on visa application deadlines
Sri Lankan curry lunch - Sunday 26th March
March in March - Sat 25th March
Roadside demonstration report
We held another successful roadside demonstration in Nambucca Heads last week. A good turnout by our supporters, including three people that we haven’t seen for a while and one new member – together with Mags the dog! A great opportunity to chat as well as to engage with the passing traffic. The weather was reasonably kind, and we received overwhelming support from passing motorists and truckies. Our next demonstration will be in Coffs Harbour by the Pacific Highway opposite the Base hospital. on Thursday 23rd March from 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm. Do come and join us if you can.
Next market stall: Saturday 18th March at Bellingen market
Our next market stall will be at Bellingen market this Saturday from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. We’ll be collecting signatures on the RAR petition, selling our asylum seeker merchandise and talking to market goers about the plight of asylum seekers, particularly those held in indefinite detention on Manus Island and Nauru. If you can lend a hand on the stall for an hour or two, then please email Mike at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com to let him know.
Update on visa application deadlines
As we reported earlier, many thousands of asylum seekers living in Australia on bridging visas have found themselves facing impossible deadlines to submit their refugee claims. The 60-page application forms typically take, even with the assistance of a lawyer, eight to ten hours to complete, and they have to be “right first time”. Volunteers at Sydney’s Refugee Advice and Casework Service have been working 18-hour shifts, while Australia’s legal fraternity has volunteered hundreds of hours of pro bono assistance. A leading refugee advocate, Kon Karapanagiotidis, writes: “This has just been catastrophic for the asylum seekers caught up in this. Where once we had to call our critical assessment and treatment team once or twice a week to respond to someone threatening or committing self-harm or suicide, it’s five times a day now. This is breaking people.”
In last week’s newsletter, we asked supporters to think about how we might raise funds to help with this crisis. We are really grateful to those of you who have responded with helpful suggestions, as a result of which we can now reveal what we intend to do. Here is the plan!
Sri Lankan curry lunch and auction: Sunday 26th March at 1.00 pm: 12, River Street, Mylestom
Thanks to the enormous generosity of Margie and Georgie, two of our long-standing supporters, you are invited to a Sri Lankan curry lunch at their house in Mylestom. The cost will be $30 per person, and all the money raised will be donated to the Refugee Advice and Casework Service. Wine will be provided, but BYO beer/soft drinks. You might like to dress up in Asian style for the occasion! It will be a lot of fun, and our target is to raise $1000 to support legal advice for asylum seekers. Please email Margie and Georgie at: gsmh@fastmail.fm or phone: 0414 592 519 to book seats for you and your friends. Seating is limited, so get in early.
If you are able to help out with the sweet course, then please give Margie a call.
We also plan to hold an auction at the end of the meal, and we are seeking lots to put under the hammer. If you have something that you can offer for the auction that is not too bulky and that will sell for at least $20, then please let Mike know by email at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com or phone him on: 6569 5419, to give him the details. If you are not able to come to the lunch, but would like to offer something for sale, then please get in touch with Mike to arrange collection. So far we have two lots: a pair of original paintings and a mixed case of red wine. If we can get 20 lots to sell in twenty minutes, we could make a tidy sum!
Please support this fundraiser in any way you can.
March in March: Saturday 25th March in Nambucca Heads, from 11.00 am
Our RAR group has supported the March in March in Coffs Harbour on several occasions. The organisation is not politically aligned and offers a range of groups the opportunity to make their voices heard on a wide range of issues from climate change, coal seam gas, conservation, education , the ABC and many issues in between. This year the event will be held in Nambucca Heads, and we plan to march with our banners and to address the crowd when it reaches Bellwood Park. If you can join us at the event, please come to the Plaza shopping centre car park in Nambucca Heads for an 11.00 am start. We have lots of banners and placards to share. It would be good to have a strong RAR presence.
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