Roadside demonstration report
Labor Party Conference
Malala Yousafzai on our asylum policy
Bellingen and Nambucca District RAR: 2018
Roadside demonstration report
It was a very windy but dry day for our final roadside
demonstration of 2018 in Coffs Harbour last Thursday. A great team of
supporters turned out to remind people that our campaign to end offshore
detention continues, and will not let up until all the refugees and asylum
seekers are evacuated from Nauru and Manus. We had a great response from
passing motorists at this very busy spot. Our first demonstration of 2019 will
be on Thursday 10th January on Waterfall Way in
Bellingen from 2.30 until 4.00 pm. Please come and join us if you can.
Labor Party Conference
At the time of writing, the ALP conference is about to
debate the policy on asylum seekers which the party will take to the Federal
election in 2019. The indications are that the party will continue the
bipartisan approach to indefinite offshore detention, boat turnbacks and
refusal to resettle in Australia any of the remaining 1200 people languishing
on Nauru and Manus. This, in spite of the huge campaign, supported by millions
of Australians, to end offshore detention and to resettle these refugees in
Australia, New Zealand and in other safe countries willing to accept them. If
this prediction proves to be correct, then we will need to redouble our efforts
to convince the major parties that it is not necessary to punish people
indefinitely on remote islands in order to keep our borders safe.
Malala Yousafzai on our asylum policy
Malala Yousafzai, the young Nobel Peace laureate, who
is visiting Australia at the moment, compared the welcome that she and her
family had received in various towns in Pakistan when they were forced to flee
from the Taliban, with the treatment of asylum seekers in Australia. She
explained: “Australia is a warm and welcoming country. And when you look at the
immigration policies, they do not actually represent the people of Australia.
Refugees want safety, they want homes, they want somebody to give them
protection, and then suddenly you welcome them with hatred. You do not even
allow them to land or set their feet in Australia...I hope that the people of
Australia do stand up for refugees and show their true human side.” Malala
reminded us that Pakistan had taken in millions of refugees from Afghanistan
during the past four decades, simply because “we have always had this idea that
hospitality is part of our culture, and if somebody has lost their home, no
matter where they are coming from and what was the reason…your job as a human
being is to welcome them, and to support them, and to open your homes and your
hearts as well.”
We have a lot to learn.
Bellingen and Nambucca District RAR: 2018
This year has been an incredibly busy and productive
time for our group. We have gone from strength to strength, increasing the
number of supporters from 500 to 650, which is indicative of the strong public
feeling that the cruelty and inhumanity of offshore detention should be brought
to an end. We have organized four open letters and petitions during 2018,
targeting both Coalition and Labor politicians. Just yesterday, we posted an open
letter to the Prime Minister which had been signed by 1,835 people. At the
sixteen markets that we have attended during the year, we have handed out
thousands of leaflets, had many hundreds of conversations with market-goers and
sold lots of merchandise to raise funds for the Asylum Seekers Centre. Our
fundraising efforts for the ASC have included a film night, a music concert,
lunches and auctions. In total, we have been able to donate $7,500 to the ASC
this year, which is an amazing result. Our campaigning included a very
successful and well-attended demonstration in Coffs Harbour to mark the five
years since the Rudd government declared that no refugees or asylum seekers
held on Nauru and Manus would ever be resettled in Australia. And, of course,
we have held some 25 roadside demonstrations in Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and
Toormina which have been very important in raising public awareness about the
plight of refugees and asylum seekers languishing in offshore detention. Add to
that the hundreds of phone calls and letters to politicians, and letters to the
local press, and you get a clear picture of the commitment of members of our
group to raising awareness about the government’s cruel and inhumane asylum
policy, and to demanding that both the government and the Labor opposition
change their policies.
We hope too, that our weekly newsletter has been
helpful to you in keeping you up to date with the plight of refugees and asylum
seekers, both offshore and in Australia.
None of the above could have happened without the
dedicated support of all those who have turned up to help at the markets, held
banners at the roadside, attended our fundraisers, donated items for the two
auctions that we have held, made phone calls, written letters and much besides.
A huge thank for all your support.
We
will now take a short break for the Christmas period. The next newsletter will
appear in your inboxes on Tuesday 8thJanuary 2019. We hope that you
enjoy some peace and rest with friends and families in the weeks ahead. We’ll
return in the New Year to continue the fight up to and beyond the Federal
election.
It includes articles from many sources and letters to
politicians and newspapers.
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