Newsletter for 23 January 2018 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen Districts

_{Next Market Valla Beach Sat 3rd Feb}

_{Next Roadside Demo - Coffs Base Hospital Thursday January 25th 2:30pm}

_{RAR National President visit}

_{Manus Island - confusion and secrecy}

_{Fundraiser film screening Sunday March 4th}

_{A new volunteer service that everyone can get involved with}

_{A new support service for refugees in Coffs}

_{Bellingen market report}

_{Another excellent market in Bellingen last Saturday under sunny skies. Eleven supporters turned up at different times during the morning to lend a hand, together with many others who dropped by to have a chat and to sign the open letter to Bill Shorten. We collected 260 signatures and  took more than $150 from sales of asylum seeker merchandise. Our “Boat People” T shirts continue to be very popular! As you may know, all the profits from sales are donated to the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown to help them in their incredible work with refugees and asylum seekers in the Sydney region. A gold medal to Michael Blockey, who, on arrival, commandeered a clipboard and a stack of leaflets, and proceeded to stand in the hot sunshine in the middle of the laneway to persuade market-goers to sign the open letter. He single-handedly collected more than 100 signatures!}

_{Our next market will be at Valla Beach on Saturday 3rd February from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. If you can help out for an hour or two, please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.} 

_{Next roadside demonstration: Coffs Harbour: Thursday 25th February from 2.30 to 4.00 pm}

_{Our next roadside demonstration is this Thursday in Coffs Harbour. You will find us on the Pacific Highway, opposite the Base hospital. Please come and join us if you can, as attendance at these demos not only keeps the issue alive in the public eye, it is also a great personal confidence boost. We have a "Honk for Human Rights" placard and the response from so many passing motorists makes one realise that the vast majority of people want human rights to be respected. We have a new banner to display, but it requires two more pairs of hands to bring it to the attention of passing motorists! These demos are a great way to remind the public that the terrible suffering of asylum seekers and refugees on Manus and Nauru continues to worsen with each day that they are indefinitely detained in our name.}

_{Visit of our National RAR President:  Saturday 3rd February}

_{Our National President, Marie Sellstrom, will be visiting us on Friday 2nd /Saturday 3rd February  and will be attending the Valla Beach market on Saturday 3rd. She would love to meet as many supporters as possible and to chat informally about our work and the role of the national RAR committee. Do please drop by  if you can at any time between 10.00 am and 1.00 pm.Alternatively, or additionally, you would be most welcome to come to 39, Rogers Drive, Valla Beach for a light lunch from 1.30 pm. If you plan to come to the light lunch, please email Mike in advance to let him know, so that we can plan accordingly. mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.}

_{Manus Island: The confusion and danger just gets worse}

_{In recent days, a dispute between  Paladin, the contractor appointed by the Australian government, and a local  PNG security company, Kingfisher, has created yet more fear and insecurity among the detainees held in the three centres on the outskirts of Lorengau. Paladin is being paid almost $600,000 PER DAY by the Australian government to manage security in the three centres, but the PNG government is now refusing visas for Paladin workers, insisting that jobs should go to local people employed by Kingfisher. Little is known about the contracts signed by the Australian government with companies providing services on Manus, including Paladin,  JDA Wokman, Toll Group and International Health and Medical Services.  The federal government has refused to to release documents to the Senate about the nature and costs of the various contracts.}

_{As a result of the security contracts impasse, refugees have been warned not to leave the accommodation compounds, as it is not safe for them to do so. Nick McKim, the Greens senator who was on Manus Island last week, says: “The feeling here is overwhelmingly one of abandonment, and of uncertainty”. Things surely cannot go on much longer like this. These people have suffered enough.}

_{Reminder: Fundraiser film screening: Bellingen Memorial Hall: Sunday 4th March at 2.00 pm}

_{Please don’t forget that we have organised a screening of Hope Road  on Sunday 4th March to raise funds for the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown. (the details were set out in the Newsletter of 9th January). Please put the date in your diary and come along with family and friends to enjoy the film and to help raise funds for the ASC. Tickets are $15, concessions $12, available at the door.}

_{A new volunteer service for refugees}

_{A couple of our RAR supporters have started volunteering for a new micro-learning scheme called Chatfor10, and they reckon it’s great. Chatfor10 (a not-for-profit social enterprise) connects refugees and people seeking asylum to volunteers for convenient language practice. It connects volunteer language partners and learners through a messaging app called WhatsApp. They choose a topic, send ten text or audio messages along with helpful feedback on improving learners' English. Then you connect to a new partner and repeat. For English learners, whether they’re in Australia, Manus Island, or elsewhere, Chatfor10 provides regular, consistent language practice at just a few messages every day. For volunteers, Chatfor10 provides help to people in need in their own time. It takes just few minutes a day to make a difference in someone's life. To find out more, visit http://www.chatfor10.com/}

_{A new support service for refugees in Coffs Harbour}

_{A new branch of Settlement Services International has recently opened in Coffs Harbour. SSI is the not-for-profit organisation that has been selected for the Federal government as the Coffs Harbour provider of the new Humanitarian Settlement Program, which supports refugees from the moment they arrive at the airport until they are established in the community. RAR supporters may wish to contact the local office or find out about partnership and volunteering opportunities: visit the SSI office at 2/126 West High St, Coffs Harbour (the back of the Vision Australia building), or visit www.ssi.org.au}

_{In December 2017 Federal Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker launched the office. Whilst he did say at the launch that ‘my father came to Australia at 17 in 1951 and at that time there were virtually no settlement services whatsoever, so I am more than mindful of the importance of settlement services in allowing people to make an easier transition into life in a new country’, his government maintains the shameful, illegal and immoral treatment of asylum seekers.}

_{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.}

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_{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}