Next Roadside Demo - Bello Thursday June 15 2:30pm
Next Market Stall - Coffs Harbour Sunday June 25
Refugee Week fundraising lunch - 18th June
National day of action - Ring your pollie!
Life on Manus - Imran's story
Roadside demonstration report
We had a very successful roadside demonstration in Coffs Harbour last Thursday, with nine supporters holding our banners and placards for passing motorists to see and hopefully reflect on. Lots of positive support as always, with honking of horns, cheerful waving and thumbs–up from many motorists.
Our next roadside demonstration will be in Bellingen on Thursday 15th June, from 2.30 pm until 4.00 pm. You will find us in the usual place on Waterfall Way, adjacent to the public library. Why not put the date in your diary and join us for a while?
Market report
A cool but sunny morning for our market stall in Valla Beach last Saturday. Although the market was not particularly busy, we had lots of positive conversations with market-goers, collected a good number of signatures on the new national RAR petition, gave out lots of leaflets and sold various items of merchandise. A big thank you to all our supporters who turned up to lend a hand, and to the Valla Beach Community Association, who don’t charge us for our presence at the market.
Our next market will be in Coffs Harbour on Sunday 25th June from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. The market will be held at the temporary location adjacent to the Park Beach car park. If you can help out for a while, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
Refugee week fundraiser: Sunday 18th June from 12.00 pm
We have just a few spaces left for our important fundraising lunch and auction on 18th June at 39, Rogers Drive, Valla Beach. If you haven’t signed up yet, then please do so this week so that we can finalise the arrangements. Wine and beer will be provided by our hosts Mike and Marlene, and we would appreciate it if you would bring a plate to share. We have some exciting items for the auction already, including: two nights’ accommodation for a couple at Hil’s End in Bellingen, numerous works of art, a Royal Doulton serving bowl, 4 Orrefors Martini glasses, a beautiful plant in an unusual pot, two framed limited edition prints from Kew Gardens in the UK, bottles of wine, and much besides. We are still urgently seeking additional items for the auction, so if you have something to donate that you think will fetch at least $20, then please let Mike know asap by email: at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com or by phone at: 6569 5419. Let’s make it a big success!
All the proceeds from the event will go to support refugee causes: The Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown and our RAR group.
National Call to Action: Wednesday 7th June, between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm
A nationwide call to action has been organised for tomorrow, Wednesday 7th June. The plan is for a phone marathon to tell our politicians that we do not support the policy of offshore detention and that we call for the safe and urgent settlement of all genuine asylum seekers and refugees currently detained indefinitely on Nauru and Manus Island. Nothing will change until enough voters tell our politicians that we do not support a policy that depends on the suffering of innocent men, women and children who have committed no crime.
Will you please phone the office of your local MP, which for most of us is Luke Hartsuyker? His phone number is: 6652 6233.
If you feel up to it, please also consider phoning the offices of the following people:
Peter Dutton, Minister for Immigration: (07) 3205 9977
Malcolm Turnbull: (02) 9327 3988
Bill Shorten: (03) 9326 1300
Shayne Neumann, Shadow Minister for Immigration: (07) 3201 5300
Please join the campaign if you can. It will only take a few minutes.
Life on Manus: Imran’s story
Some months ago, as we were packing away our banners and placards at the end of our demo in Coffs Harbour, a car pulled up alongside us and the person in the passenger seat lowered her window. What did we know about life on Manus? Didn’t we realise that these men are paid to stay there; that they are well looked after; that they have no worries; that they spend their days at the beach; that they live on a paradise island, and that they should be grateful to us.
The 900 or so men who are trapped there indefinitely tell a very different story, as we know from the refugees themselves, the many accounts from doctors, aid workers, teachers, social workers and others who have had direct contact with the refugees and asylum seekers.
Imran Mohammad is a stateless Rohingya refugee from Mayanmar, and he has been held on Manus for almost four years. He has written about the enormous fear and uncertainty for the refugees as they await the closure of the detention centre over the coming months. He tells of the great fear that all the men have of moving out of the centre into the community, where they are unsafe and where they are regularly subjected to bashings and assault. He says: “What we know is that there is no place for us in this world. If there was, we would have been resettled somewhere and we would not have suffered beyond our ability to cope in this minefield. We don’t expect any hope from the Australian and the PNG governments. It has always been felt that we would never leave this island alive and it has become apparent the abuse and torture implemented by both countries is unending.”
How can members of the public believe that these men are happily living in paradise?
How can the Australian government, supported by the Labor opposition, continue to inflict such cruelty on innocent people in our name?
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