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| Valla Market Stall |
Valla
Beach market report
We
had a very successful market on Saturday at Valla Beach, with lots of
supporters dropping by or turning up to help. We collected almost 100
signatures on our new open letter to the Prime Minister, handed out
our new leaflet and had lots of conversations with market-goers, many
of whom expressed dismay about the lack of hope and ongoing suffering
of the detainees who remain on Manus and Nauru after almost six years
of incarceration.
A
big thank you to all our helpers and to the Valla Beach Community
Association for their ongoing support.
Our
next market stall will be at the Coffs Harbourside market on Sunday
23rd
June from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. If you can help out for an hour or
two, then please let Mike know by emailing him at:
mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
Bello
Youth for Refugees Concert report
The
concert was a wonderful experience, with so many young people
involved. It really was a joy to
see so much talent on display, and
the audience was hugely appreciative. Many congratulations to all the
young people involved, for their musicianship, their organizational
skills and their commitment to the refugees in our community. They
give us some hope for the future! Their efforts raised $1,600 to
support local refugees, which is a great outcome. We were pleased to
count at least twenty RAR supporters in the audience.
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| Bellingen Concert |
Report
from our recent general meeting
As
promised in last week’s newsletter, please find attached to this
newsletter a detailed report of our deliberations at our recent
meeting. If you have any comments or suggestions, or want to
contribute to any particular activity, then please get in touch with
us at: bellingen.rar@gmail.com.
Vale
David Wallin
It
is with great sadness that we report on the passing of David Wallin,
who had been a key figure in the refugee support movement for many
years. Prior to the establishment of our current RAR group in 2014,
David and his wife Irene had been very active in campaigning against
the detention of refugees under the Howard government, and travelled
thousands of kilometres across Australia to protest against the
inhumane treatment of people who had arrived on our shores to seek
asylum. David managed our RAR blog, which he maintained meticulously
and updated every week, until just three weeks ago. He will be
greatly missed, and we send our condolences to his wife Irene and to
all his family and friends.
Anyone
who knew David is invited to join his family at the Old Butter
Factory in Bellingen on Thursday 6th
June from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm to celebrate his life over drinks,
nibbles and tall tales.
Link to early history of RAR, Bellingen and Nambucca
Link to early history of RAR, Bellingen and Nambucca
Rescheduling
our roadside demonstrations
Given
that a number of key activists will be attending the Old Butter
Factory gathering, we need to reschedule our roadside demonstrations
as follows:
Thursday
13th
June: Coffs Harbour, by the Big Banana.
Thursday
27th
June: Coffs Harbour, by the Pacific Highway, opposite the Base
Hospital.
Thursday
8th
July: Waterfall Way, Bellingen.
Thursday
28th
July: Hogbin Drive, Toormina.
All
our roadside demonstrations run from 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm. It would be
great to see more people supporting the demos.
Asylum
seekers returned to Sri Lanka
Last week, a boat carrying a
group of Sri Lankan asylum seekers was intercepted by the Australian
navy an escorted to Christmas Island. Press reports suggest that they
were detained for a couple of days before being returned by air to
Sri Lanka. It is alleged that their asylum claims were considered and
summarily rejected. In the meantime, several thousand asylum seekers
in Australia have been waiting for up to seven years for their claims
to protection to be determined. It seems extraordinary that, when it
suits their purpose, the government can determine asylum cases in a
matter of days, but others have to wait years, in the hope that they
will give up and return home to danger. Can’t we do better than
this, in the interests of humanity?
Check
out the index of subjects on our blog http://bellorar.blogspot.
It
includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and
newspapers.
This
newsletter is sent to >620 recipients
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likes)
Twitter
Account @RARBellingenNam
Email
address bellingen.rar@gmail.
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National RAR web site is at www.
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National RAR facebook site is at RAR
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