Newsletter for 26 September 2017 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and NambuccaDistricts

_{Next Roadside Demo - Coffs Hospital Thursday October 12th 2:30pm}

_{Next Market Stall -Valla Beach Sat 7th October}

_{The US refugee deal}

_{Arash's story}

_{New RAR petition}

_{Roadside demonstration report}

_{A big thank you to all our supporters who turned up last Thursday for our roadside demonstration in Nambucca Heads. Another successful event, with lots of positive support, together with the inevitable hostility from a small minority of passing motorists. We clearly still have a significant job to do in informing the Australian public about the reality of our government’s cruel and inhumane treatment of asylum seekers . With a largely hostile media , and a compliant Opposition in parliament, we have to continue to articulate the need for a facts-based and humane response to the plight of asylum seekers.}

_{Our next roadside demonstration will be on Thursday 12th October in Coffs Harbour, opposite the Base hospital, from 2.30 until 4.00 pm. Why not make a resolution to join us and put the date in your diary?} 

_{The US refugee deal: some good news at last}

_{Last week the government announced that some 54 refugees from Nauru and Manus island will be resettled in the US in a matter of days. This is great news for this group of people and will finally bring to an end their terrible suffering in offshore detention. Let us hope that they will receive a positive welcome in the US and that they will get the support that they will need to rebuild their shattered lives. It is expected that more refugees will be resettled in the months ahead, but there is currently no available concrete information either about the timescale or the numbers.}

_{Meanwhile, asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected continue to be forcibly returned to their country of origin, and a number of genuine refugees have been coerced into returning to their home countries rather than face a life of indefinite torment in offshore detention. Unbelievably, this includes Rohingya refugees who are being offered incentives to return to Mayanmar. The Iranian government, however, refuses to take back is citizens who face forced removal. Our government’s response is to build a new detention centre at Bomana, on the outskirts of Port Moresby,  at a cost of $20 million, where more than 100 Iranians will be indefinitely detained at the Australian taxpayers’ expense. All of this, of course, is designed to “prevent drownings at sea”!}

_{Arash’s story}

_{Arash is an Iranian refugee who is held on Nauru.  His wife was brought to Australia  from Nauru more than a year ago because of health complications during her pregnancy. His daughter, who he has never seen, was born in Sydney in March.  The Australian Border Force has told him that he can apply for resettlement in the US, but not with his family. He must release all custody of his daughter, and has been sent a “release of custody” form by the ABF. Aresh explains: “The ABF said to me officially, you have two options: bring your family to Nauru and you can go through the US resettlement application process as a family; or your wife and daughter can stay in Australia but you have to give custody of your child to your wife and you will be processed as a single man.” Why should Aresh be forced to choose between family and freedom? Why does our government continue to treat people with such callous inhumanity?}

_{Please email Minister Dutton at: minister@border.gov.au. to demand that Aresh, who has refugee status, be brought to Australia to be reunited with his family.} 

_{Our new RAR petition}

_{We have put together a new petition on behalf of the national RAR  groups, which we will launch at our next market stall, to be held at the Valla Beach market on Saturday 7th October. The petition is in the form of an open letter to Shayne Neumann, the Labor Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Our aim is to attempt to shift the position of the Labor party from its current stance of strong support for the key pillars of the  government’s asylum policy. It officially supports the policy of turning back asylum seeker boats, of indefinite offshore detention and of refusing to resettle in Australia any asylum seekers who arrive by boat. There is, however, a significant minority of Labor members and parliamentarians who want to move to a more humane and principled policy, and we need to pressurise the opposition to move in that direction. It’s worth remembering that there are many people who arrive in Australia by air each year who subsequently lodge a claim for asylum, and who are immediately issued with bridging visas with rights to work, education and other benefits. The International Refugee Convention does not permit countries to discriminate against asylum seekers in relation to their mode of arrival.}

_{We’ll send out details of the new petition in next week’s newsletter.}

_{Check out the index of subjects on our blog  http://bellorar.blogspot.com.au} 

_{It includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and newspapers.}

_{This newsletter is sent to >500 recipients}

_{Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/}

_{(482 likes)}

_{Twitter Account @RARBellingenNam}

_{Email address bellingen.rar@gmail.com}

_{The National RAR web site is at  www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au} 

_{The National RAR facebook site is at  RAR Facebook}