Roadside demonstration report
Next market stall: Saturday 16th November, Bellingen market
Bush, Beach and Bash: Sunday 1st December, from 11.30 am
Accommodation needed for asylum seeker family
Do you have an unwanted acoustic guitar?
Australians in Canada supporting our refugees
Roadside demonstration report
We
had a great turnout for last Thursday’s roadside demonstration in
Bellingen, and the response from passing motorists was overwhelmingly
positive and enthusiastic. We wondered how our elected representatives
would react if they were to observe such positive support for ending the
cruel policy of indefinite offshore detention!
Our next demonstration will be on Thursday 14th November in Coffs Harbour, next to the Big Banana, from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. Please join us if you can.
Next market stall: Saturday 16th November, Bellingen market
Our next market stall will be at the Bellingen Community Market on Saturday 16th
November from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. We have been allocated site C13,
which is accessed via the Park Street entrance. We expect to have a busy
morning handing out information leaflets, asking people to sign our
open letter to the Prime Minister and selling merchandise to raise funds
for the Asylum Seekers Centre. Please drop by to sign the letter if you
are at the market. If you can help out for an hour or two at our stall,
then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
Bush, Beach and Bash: Sunday 1st December, from 11.30 am
Hopefully
you will have read about our next fundraiser in last week’s newsletter.
Our plan is for a social get-together and fundraiser to help us reach
our $10,000 2019 target for the Asylum Seekers Centre. Please arrive at
39, Rogers Drive, Valla Beach at 11.30 am, armed with a plate to share.
If you don’t feel up to the Bush and Beach elements, or if it rains,
then just turn up at 12.30 pm or earlier for lunch. We are asking for a
$20 donation. Drinks will be provided, and there will be a raffle. It
will be a great opportunity for a social get-together before things get
too busy as Christmas approaches. Please put the date in your diary, and
let Mike know if you are planning to come, as we hope you will. Please
email Mike at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
Accommodation needed for asylum seeker family
We
wrote some months ago about a family, comprising a mother and her three
young children, who were living in a one-bedroom cabin on the property
of one of our supporters. They are still there, and still desperately
looking for a unit in Coffs Harbour. A group of our supporters are
contributing to a fund to pay the rental on a property when one becomes
available, but so far, the family have had no luck in securing a rental
unit. If you, or anyone you know, has any contacts who may be able to
help in the search for a rental unit on the east side of the highway in
Coffs Harbour, then please contact Margaret on 0414 592 519. Their
current accommodation is just not suitable for a family of four.
Do you have an unwanted acoustic guitar?
The
eldest child of the asylum seeker family referred to above is learning
the guitar at his Bellingen primary school, and is showing a lot of
talent, but he needs to practice at home. If you have an unwanted
acoustic guitar at home that you are prepared to donate to Kelvin, that
would make him very happy. In the meantime, he is collecting recyclable
bottles to help him save up to purchase one, so he is clearly keen and
willing! Please contact Margaret on 0414 592 519 if you can help.
Australians in Canada supporting our refugees
A
group of Australians living in Canada have established a group named
Ads-Up (Australian Diaspora Steps Up), to help bring refugees from Manus
and Nauru to Canada under the country’s sponsorship scheme. They were
driven to action following the recent election in Australia which saw a
huge spike in acts of self-harm and attempted suicides. Last week the
first refugee sponsored by the group arrived at Toronto airport after
almost seven years on Manus, and a second man will arrive next week.
Meanwhile, another group, which we wrote about and raised some funds for
at our market stall in Coffs Harbour a couple of months ago, has now
raised approximately $330,000 in sponsorship funding and is about to
submit its first batch of 17 applications. It’s shameful that our
government is unwilling to take action to rescue these refugees from
their terrible situation in offshore detention, but it is inspiring to
learn about people with open hearts in other parts of the world who are
prepared to intervene and to offer refugees a new life. As the Iranian
refugee who arrived in Canada last week said on his arrival: “Before
this, I had no future.”
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