Report on our
protest rally
Roadside
demonstration: Thursday 26th July
Next market: Valla
Beach, Saturday 4th August
Tamil asylum
seeker deported
A message from our
national RAR committee
Report on our
protest rally
A huge thank you to
all our supporters who turned out on Saturday to protest about our government’s
cruel and inhumane asylum policy. About eighty people took part, and our
banners and placards made a spectacular impact, as you can see on the attached
photo. It was a very moving occasion, with people reading the biographies of
the twelve men who have died on Manus and Nauru whilst in the care of our
government. In addition, we had lots of people who came to the microphone to
read poetry or to express their outrage at the current situation for asylum
seekers and refugees, both in offshore detention and in our communities. What
came across most strongly was our shared determination to keep up the fight for
a more compassionate Australia, and to hold to account our politicians who seem
to have lost their moral compass in their pursuit of votes.
We distributed more
than two hundred leaflets, collected about a hundred signatures on our open
letter, and signed up twelve new supporters.
Let’s continue to
campaign together for a kinder Australia, and for an end to offshore detention.
Roadside
demonstration: Thursday 26th July
A reminder that our
next roadside demonstration is this Thursday on Hogbin Drive, Toormina from
2.30 until 4.00 pm. You will find us about 150 metres down the hill from the
fire station, near to what used to be the Sawtell Nursery. It would be great,
following Saturday’s hugely successful protest, to welcome a few new people to
the demo. We have lots of banners and placards to share.
Next market: Valla
Beach, Saturday 4th August
Our next market stall
will be at the Valla Beach market on Saturday 4th
August from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. As usual, we’ll be chatting to market-goers,
handing out leaflets, collecting signatures on our open letter and selling our
merchandise. The markets are a great opportunity to interact with the community
and to help people to be better informed about the terrible reality of our
government’s policy on asylum seekers. If you could join us for an hour or two
at the market, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
Tamil asylum
seeker deported
Tamil asylum seeker
Thileepan, who arrived by boat in Australia in June 2012, was last week
deported to Sri Lanka, after his claim for asylum was rejected. He leaves
behind his wife and their 10-month-old baby, who were both issued Safe Haven
Enterprise visas two days before he was issued with a removal notice. Their
separation will almost certainly be permanent, given that his wife, having been
granted refugee status, cannot return to Sri Lanka, and is not permitted to
sponsor her husband to return to Australia.
Thileepan seemed to
have a strong and well-documented case to be granted protection under
international conventions, but to no avail. How can this cruel separation of a
young family ever be justified, other than in the context of a minister who
declares that we, as a country, cannot afford to be compassionate?
Family unity is a
fundamental principle of international and Australian domestic law. Australia
is a party to the convention on the rights of the child, which states that
children have a right to know and be cared for by their parents, and should
grow up in a family environment wherever possible. Australia is also a party to
the international covenant on civil and political rights, which says the family
“is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to
protection by society and the state”.
A UNHCR spokesperson
had this to say: “This latest incident goes beyond a refusal to reunite
families, to instead actively and indefinitely separate them.”
You might want to
telephone minister Dutton to express your dismay. His electoral office number
is: 07 3205 9977. His email address is: minister@border.gov.au.
A message from our
national RAR committee
RAR now has a
national campaign team comprising two representatives from Albany in Western
Australia, a representative from Wyalla in South Australia, a representative
from the Sunshine Coast, another from Cygnet in Tasmania, two from Victoria,
and four from NSW (Armidale, Southern Highlands and the Blue Mountains).
Following the success of this last week’s protest rallies, the team will be
working on campaigns relating to SRSS, children in detention, and an election
campaign strategy. Please send suggestions to the team and requests to join the
group to the national RAR email address: rar.australia@gmail.com.
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