Newsletter for 31 July 2018 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

_{Roadside demonstration report}

_{Next market stall: Valla Beach, Saturday 4th August}

_{Five myth-busting facts about refugees}

_{Deaths in detention}

_{Roadside demonstration report}

_{We had a great turnout for our roadside demonstration in Toormina last week, with supporters old and new putting on a colourful display of banners and placards. We attracted overwhelming support from passing motorists, which perhaps gives the lie to the assertion by the main political parties that there is no appetite for compassion in the Australian community.}

_{Our next demonstration will be on Thursday 9}^th _{August from 2.30 to 4.00 pm next to the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour. We hope that we will again have a good turnout to help us get our message across about the urgent need to end the cruel policy of indefinite offshore detention. Please put the date in your diary and join us if you can.}

_{Next market stall: Valla Beach, Saturday 4}^th _August

_{Our next market stall will be at Valla Beach market this coming Saturday from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. As usual, we’ll be talking to market-goers, handing out leaflets, selling our merchandise on behalf of the Asylum Seekers Centre and collecting final signatures on our open letter. If you are able to join us for an hour or two, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.}

_{Five myth-busting facts about refugees}

_{Fact 1. 85% of refugees are hosted in the developing world.}

_{There is a perception that most refugees are making their way into the global north. The data tells us that the opposite is the case – with 85% of refugees stuck in developing countries, many of which are desperately poor and receive little support to care for these populations.}

_{Fact 2. More than two-thirds (68%) of all refugees come from just five countries, namely:}

_{1              Syrian Arab Republic. (6.3 million).}

_{2              Afghanistan (2.6 million).}

_{3              South Sudan (2.4 million).}

_{4              Myanmar (1.2 million).}

_{5              Somalia (986,400).}

_{Fact 3. Four out of five refugees remain in countries next door to their own. Sub-Saharan Africa is now home to 31% of the global refugee population.}

_{Fact 4. 52% of the world’s refugees are children. Children under 18 represented over half the world’s refugees in 2017. A total of 138,700 unaccompanied and separated child refugees and asylum seekers were reported.}

_{Fact 5. 61.4% of the refugees live outside of refugee camps. In urban locations 95% of refugees were living in individual accommodation with very few in camp locations.}

_{By the end of 2017, 68.5 million individuals (including 25.4 million refugees), were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict or violence.}

_{Source: UNHCR}

_{Deaths in detention}

_{Given the secrecy surrounding all aspects of the government’s offshore detention regime, the photograph below is perhaps a timely reminder of the true horror of indefinite offshore detention, which has destroyed so many lives.}

_{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 >580 recipients}

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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}