Candlelit vigil - Bellingen Wed 19th July 5:30pm
Next Roadside Demo - Coffs Base Hospital Thursday July 27th 2:30pm
Next Market Stall - Valla Beach Sat 5th August
Manus and Nauru
Candlelit Vigil: Wednesday 19th July, Lavenders Bridge Park, Bellingen
Please join us tomorrow evening for the candlelit vigil from 5.30 to 6.30 pm by the river in Bellingen. Ours will be one of more than 50 events nationwide being held to mark the four years since the Rudd Labor government announced that no asylum seekers arriving by boat would ever be resettled in Australia. Since that time, we as a nation have inflicted untold suffering on many hundreds of asylum seekers who have committed no crime. They have fled violence and persecution in their homelands to seek safe haven in Australia, and we have refused to help them. Let us together send a clear message to the government and the Opposition that we are strongly opposed to this cruel, inhumane and unlawful policy. We are better than this!
Bring your friends and family along to the vigil, together with your candles and torches. Let’s shed some light in this dark space!
Roadside demonstration report
A small band of committed supporters turned up for last Thursday’s demonstration in Nambucca Heads. As always, we had lots of support from passing motorists , as well as some abuse from a small minority. The sad reality is that in the current political climate, where there is little principled leadership on matters of human rights and compassion, racist abuse has been normalised. It is far easier, it seems, to scapegoat vulnerable minorities in the search for votes than to stand up boldly for the human rights of all members of our society. All the more reason, we believe, for us to stand firm and to be steadfast in our message of compassion and hope.
Our next demonstration will be on Thursday 27th July beside the Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour, opposite the Base hospital, from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. Please consider coming to join us to add your voice in support of asylum seekers and refugees.
Bellingen market report
Well, it rained, and we got pretty wet! But that’s only part of the story. In spite of the weather, we had plenty of great conversations with market-goers, lots of positive support and appreciation, we collected signatures on our latest petition, gave out leaflets and collected some generous donations for the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown.
A big thank you to our dedicated supporters who came along to help.
Our next market stall will be at the Valla Beach market on Saturday 5th August. Surely the sun will shine! If you can help out at any time between 9.00 am and 1.30 pm, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
Manus and Nauru: when will the uncertainty and suffering end?
Life on Manus island continues to get ever more difficult for the 861 men who are trapped there at the behest of our government. In order to force the men to move out of the detention centre to the Lorengau “transit” centre, the authorities are deliberately making conditions in the detention centre more and more intolerable. Amenities such as air conditioners are being removed, English classes have ceased, the gym has been closed, and friendship groups have been broken up. The plan is to force people whose asylum claims are given positive assessments to agree to resettlement in PNG (where they are not welcome), apply to the US for resettlement there or return to their homelands where they face persecution or worse.
Many of the men have grave fears about moving to the Lorengau facility, as they have good reason to fear attacks from the local people, many of whom resent their presence.
Meanwhile, the US officials who were on Nauru to interview asylum seekers for possible resettlement in the US have suddenly left the island in recent days without notice, two weeks before they were due to leave. No explanation has been offered, though the timing coincides with the announcement last week that the US has reached its much- reduced target for refugees for this financial year and no further refugees will be admitted until October. This leaves the refugees on Manus and Nauru in a continuous state of uncertainty and anxiety. Our government should act to bring them here so that their claims for asylum can be finalised, with a view to their resettlement in Australia on in another country where they will be safe and where they can begin to rebuild their shattered lives.
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