Bello Nambucca RAR Newsletter 17th December 2019

Christmas Island

Roadside demonstration report

Our fundraising total for 2019

News from National RAR committee

Refugees in limbo

Our first market stall of 2020

Christmas Island

And finally…

Roadside demonstration report

Our final roadside demonstration for 2019 took place last Thursday in Coffs Harbour. As usual, the response from passing motorists was overwhelmingly supportive, which should not surprise us, given that survey after survey indicates that the majority of Australians want the cruelty of offshore detention to end, and want the government to accept the New Zealand offer to take refugees from Nauru and PNG. One of our supporters asked the question: “I wonder if we will still be doing this next December?” The only way we can achieve a “no” to that question is to redouble our efforts in 2020 to bring this shameful chapter in our history to an end. We hope therefore that more supporters will take part in our campaigning next year.

Our first roadside demonstration of 2020 will take place on Waterfall Way in Bellingen on Thursday 16^th January from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. You will find us opposite the entrance to the golf club, near to the Yellow Shed. Why not make a New Year’s resolution to join us?

Our fundraising total for 2019

At the beginning of the year, we had a tentative target of $10,000 to support the Asylum Seekers Centre in Sydney. As you will be aware, the ASC supports hundreds of asylum seekers in Sydney as they wait, seemingly indefinitely, to have their claims for protection to be processed, whilst living very precariously in the community. The ASC provides people with essential support, ranging from meals, English lessons, legal advice, financial support, equipment for children starting school, help in securing housing and employment, and much besides. They are entirely dependent on donations to keep the service going.

Throughout the year, we have raised funds through a range of activities: musical events, auctions, lunches, raffles, the sale of merchandise, and individual donations. Every dollar that we have raised has been donated to the ASC, apart from $160 sent to National RAR committee to cover our insurance and to support their operation. This week, we have transferred $3,000 to the ASC, making the total for the year an amazing $12,200. That’s a great result, and we would like to thank everyone who has supported our fundraising efforts in any way during 2019. The ASC’s Jaclyn Dunn responded: “Thank you so much for your email! What fantastic news. I am blown away by what Bellingen and Nambucca District RAR have done this year. Surpassing your fundraising target by $2,200 is amazing. These funds will help ASC provide vital services to many people. Many thanks to you and everyone involved.”

Our big challenge now is to come up with some new ideas to raise funds in 2020. If you have a bright idea to share, and you are prepared to roll your sleeves up to make it happen, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. 

News from National RAR committee

The RAR National Conference will take place in July 2020 in the Blue Mountains, and the draft programme will be posted on the web site shortly. There will be a strong focus on breakout sessions, together with a number of keynote speakers. The last conference, held in Albury in 2018, and attended by three members of our group, was hugely successful and inspiring. Look out for the details of the 2020 conference on the National RAR web site.

Two members of the National committee have had to step down for personal reasons. This means there is an opportunity for two RAR members to step up and join the National Committee for the rest of the year - up to the July AGM. The committee meets via Zoom (on-line) twice a month on Wednesday evenings (AEST) from 6.00 to 7.30 pm. Please contact Louise at rar.australia@gmail.com if you would like to discuss this.

Refugees in limbo

A world-first study tracking 1100 refugees over three years has found that people who come to Australia seeking asylum are nearly two and a half times more likely to think about killing themselves or to believe that they would be “better off dead” than those with more secure visas. People with insecure visa status are also two to four times more likely than secure visa holders to have been tortured and imprisoned, and to have witnessed friends, family and strangers being raped, assaulted and killed. Those on insecure visas also faced more stress once they arrived in Australia, which was exacerbated by their experiences in detention. Nearly all were terrified of being sent home and most worried about those they had left behind.

These findings should surprise no one. Our government’s punitive asylum policy is focused on making life as difficult and stressful as possible for those seeking protection on our shores. That’s the key reason that our current open letter to the Prime Minister, in which we argue for the return of permanent protection visas, which the Abbott government replaced with temporary visas in 2014. As we state in the letter, which has so far attracted 500 signatures at our market stalls: “These temporary visas, whether TPVs or SHEVs, leave refugees in a permanent state of anxiety, when what they so urgently need is a sense of security to enable them to rebuild their lives.” 

Our first market stall of 2020

Please note that our first market stall of 2020 will be at the Bellingen market on Saturday 18^th January from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. We hope to see you there.

Christmas Island

The politicians have isolated Priya, Nades and their QLD-born girls on Christmas Island, 5,000km from their Biloela home. They are now facing their second Christmas in detention.

Today, please post a card with a message of hope and compassion to Priya & Nades, c/- Phosphate Hill Immigration Detention Facility, Christmas Island, 6798.

It can take two months for ordinary mail to reach Christmas Island. To help your card arrive in time, make sure you add a 50c Australia Post Priority Label: bit.ly/prioritylabel

Thank you to everyone who has offered to send gifts to Christmas Island. Because of the limited capacity for mail on the twice weekly flights to Christmas Island, a simple card is the best way to show your support right now. Rest assured a ‘Christmas care package’ has already been sent from Bilo.

And finally...

This is our last newsletter for 2019. We will now take a break for a couple of weeks. Our next newsletter will appear in your inbox on Tuesday 7^th January. A huge thank you to you all for your support and commitment during the past year. Our work is not over, and we will need to return, refreshed, in 2020 to keep up the fight for justice for refugees and asylum seekers whose lives and wellbeing have been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency for so many years.

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 >670 recipients

Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/

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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

Bello Nambucca RAR Newsletter 10th December 2019

Valla Beach market report

Bush, Beach and Bash update

Roadside demonstration: Thursday 12^th December, Coffs Harbour

World Human Rights Day: Tuesday 10^th December

Medevac laws repealed

Medevac. So, what is the “secret deal”?

Valla Beach market report

Saturday’s market was a busy event, with lots of people arriving to buy their fresh fruit and vegetables and hunt for Christmas presents. We had an excellent spot under the trees in a busy location and there were many visitors to our stall. People were very keen to sign our open letter to the Prime Minister, and many of them expressed their anger and despair at the repeal of the medevac legislation in the Senate last week. A big thank you to the thirteen supporters who turned up at different times to lend a hand. We remain a strong and resilient team!

This was our final market for 2019. We will post details of our market calendar for 2020 in the first newsletter of the new year, but in the meantime, you might like to put the Bellingen market on Saturday 18^th January 2020 in your diary.

Bush, Beach and Bash update

Following last week’s social and fundraising event, we received a further $60 in donations from supporters who were unable to attend, bringing the total raised to $965. We’ll give you a final update on our 2019 fundraising for the Asylum Seekers Centre in next week’s newsletter.

Roadside demonstration: Thursday 12^th December, Coffs Harbour

Our final roadside demonstration for the year will be this Thursday, 12^th December, by the Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour, opposite the base hospital, from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. Please join us if you can, to help us show our steadfast commitment to the refugees and asylum seekers in Australia and offshore who continue to suffer at the hands of our cruel government, which seems to be completely lacking in empathy and compassion.

World Human Rights Day: Tuesday 10^th December

World Human Rights Day is a day that marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – a document which our government helped to write. Our nation signed up to uphold and protect the human rights of all people, including those who came here to seek asylum. Instead, our government’s punitive laws and policies are deliberately designed to humiliate and punish some of the most vulnerable people on the planet who fled their countries to seek safety and protection on our shores. Instead of helping them, we have created systems aimed at crushing their spirits, ruining their health and forcing many of them to return to danger, in clear contravention of our international obligations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes:

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.

Article 14. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

It is clear, and deeply shameful, that our government is falling well short of the obligations that it entered into when it signed up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Medevac laws repealed

Sadly, but perhaps predictably, Senator Lambie sided with the government last week, thereby allowing the repeal of the medevac legislation. Once again, it will be bureaucrats, rather than doctors, who will make decisions about whether or not a detainee on Nauru or in PNG should be transferred to Australia for medical treatment which cannot be adequately provided offshore.

All the evidence is that the medevac legislation was working exactly as it was meant to do. Lives have undoubtedly been saved. We now return to the previous regime, where deliberate delays are built into the system, and where the recommendations of doctors will be routinely overridden by bureaucrats in Canberra. As before, lawyers will have to intervene on behalf of patients, and, as before, the government will spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ money in the courts in futile attempts to prevent transfers. And for what, we are entitled to ask? The only explanation seems to be that the government simply wants to demonstrate, yet again, that it is tough on “border security”, that only the Coalition can keep us safe, and that Labor cannot be trusted. In the end, it is all about politics, and has nothing at all to do with the humane treatment of sick refugees, who are but pawns in their games. It is a truly shameful and tragic state of affairs.

Interestingly, four doctors on the Coalition benches voted for the repeal of the legislation, notwithstanding their professional obligations to do no harm and to treat sick people without discrimination. They are Dr Katie Allen, who is a paediatrician, Dr Fiona Martin, who is a psychologist, Dr David Gillespie and Dr Andrew Laming. They all voted to give the power to assess the medical condition of seriously ill people to non-medical professionals. A staggering example of the power of ideology and self-interest to usurp professional ethics.

Medevac. So, what is the “secret deal”?

Much has been made in recent days of the so-called secret deal between Senator Lambie and the government, which vehemently denies that any deal exists. The consensus seems to be that a deal to resettle some refugees in New Zealand is finally on the table. But the government has been shifting its position on the NZ offer for some time. From a position of “this is never going to happen”, we received a letter from the Director of Regional Processing and Resettlement on 4^th October, in which he states: “Australia appreciates the offer from the New Zealand Government to resettle refugees, however we are focused on completing the larger arrangement with the United States.” It is therefore reasonable to conclude that, once the US resettlement programme has run its course, the government will finally engage with the New Zealand government to resettle refugees in NZ. However, it is important to note that, since last week, government ministers have constantly referred to “getting people off Nauru.” There is no mention of the several hundred men in PNG, which is deeply concerning. We need to be very alert to this, and be prepared to campaign strongly in the New Year to get all refugees on Nauru and in PNG to places of safety.

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 >670 recipients

Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/

(579 likes)

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

Day of shame as Medevac repealed

The repeal of the Medevac legislation yesterday means that the refugees in PNG and Nauru will once again be left without medical treatment.

For over six years, the Coalition government has deliberately deprived refugees of medical treatment. Even during the operation of the Medevac Bill, they colluded with the Nauru government’s efforts to block people who had been approved for medical transfer. 

There has never been a connection between people seeking asylum and national security. The government simply wants total control over the lives of those they have imprisoned offshore.

But it cannot escape its responsibility for those they are holding offshore. 

Their willingness to use psychological and physical torture as part of their refugee policies is revealed by the mistreatment of over 40 asylum seekers being held on starvation rations and without phone or legal access in the Bomana detention facility in Port Moresby.

The government has no resettlement process. The US deal is almost exhausted. Around 70 refugees are still waiting in Port Moresby to be transferred to the US. Join us to protest this Saturday and as we continue fighting to demand all the asylum seekers and refugees in PNG and Nauru be brought to Australia and given the protection they asked for in 2013.

Refugee Action Coalition

Newsletter

Letter to Senator Lambie

Senator Lambie,

You should hang your head in shame. Today, you have agreed to allow bureaucrats, rather than medical professionals, to decide on whether or not people on Nauru or in PNG should be transferred to Australia for medical treatment.  Tonight, Morrison and Dutton will be popping the champagne, because, thanks to you, they have had a “win”! Is that what our politics has descended to? 

Will you be joining them?  I’m devastated, and I’m sure that there are many refugees on Nauru and in PNG who will now be thrown into even greater depths of despair. How will you feel when the next refugee commits suicide out of sheer desperation that nobody cares about their plight? I don’t think that I will sleep easily tonight. Will you?

Mike G.....

Raising funds for refugees. A Valla experience.

Raising funds for refugees with a pleasant social experience is proven strategy. It works in our rural society. Our group has raised well over a $1000 this year.

Thanks to Mike and Marlene for their hospitality. Thanks to all who have contributed to our fundraising and our voter education.

Gillian Triggs says 'vindictive point-scoring' behind Coalition's medevac repeal

 

The Coalition government’s campaign against the refugee medical evacuation laws is based on “mistruths” and “vindictive point-scoring”, the former president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs, says.

On Friday Triggs was appointed United Nations assistant high commissioner for protection, working with the UN high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi.

Grandi said Triggs would bring “extensive expertise, knowledge and vast experience in international refugee protection” to the role.

In Triggs’ five-year term as AHRC president, which ended in 2017, she faced a combative government that took umbrage at her criticism of its treatment of refugees and asylum seekers held on Manus Island and Nauru.

Read complete The Guardian article

Bello Nambucca RAR Newsletter 3rd December 2019

 Roadside demonstration report

Bush, Beach and Bash report

Valla Beach market stall: Saturday 7^th December

Life in Australia for Medevac transferees

Medevac and Senator Lambie

Roadside demonstration report

We had another successful roadside demonstration next to the Big Banana last Thursday, with lots of support from passing motorists. Our seven supporters were joined for a while by two students who had recently graduated from the Coffs Harbour Senior College. Their interest and enthusiasm was truly uplifting!

Our next demonstration, which will be our final one for 2019, will be by the Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour, opposite the base hospital, on Thursday 12^th December from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. We hope that many of you will try to get along to support us in reminding the public about our shameful treatment of asylum seekers and refugees.

Bush, Beach and Bash report

There was a great turn out of thirty supporters for our final fundraising event of the year on Sunday. Half of the group enjoyed a stroll around the Jagun nature reserve, led by John and Bronwyn who shared with us their great knowledge of the flora and fauna of the reserve. Somehow, we didn’t make it the beach! Lunch on the deck followed, and it was clear that everyone welcomed the opportunity to eat, drink and enjoy one another’s company until mid-afternoon. We raised an amazing $905 from donations and the raffle of a bottle of Veuve Cliquot. Together with the money raised from the recent sale of coins, other donations and sales at our market stall, it looks as if we will far exceed our 2019 fundraising target of $10,000 for the Asylum Seekers Centre. We will let you know the total amount for the year in our final newsletter of 2019 on 17^th December.

Valla Beach market stall: Saturday 7^th December

Our final market stall for 2019 will be at the popular Valla Beach market on Saturday 7^th December from 9.00 am until 1.00 pm. We’ll be collecting signatures on our open letter to the Prime Minister, handing out information leaflets and selling merchandise to raise funds for the Asylum Seekers Centre. Please drop by to sign the letter if you are visiting the market. If you can help out at our stall for an hour or two, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. New volunteers are always very welcome. 

Life in Australia for Medevac transferees

At this critical point in the government’s efforts to repeal the Medevac legislation, it is worth remembering that the Coalition has always been opposed to the transfer of sick refugees to Australia from offshore detention, and has spent large sums of taxpayers’ money attempting to block transfers over a number of years through the courts, but to no avail. The courts have routinely ordered the transfer of sick people, accompanied by family members, on the grounds that their medical needs – most often mental health problems – could not be met offshore. Once the refugees are here, lawyers intervene to prevent their return to the punishing regime from which they have been transferred. Since the start of 2016, only about eight people have been returned to offshore detention, much to Minister Dutton’s chagrin.

But what is life like in Australia for this group of people? The reality is that they live in fear of being returned offshore, they have few rights, and many restrictions on their lives. Most of those transferred remain in community detention and are subject to curfews, restrictions on their movements and the requirement to report weekly to the authorities – much like alleged criminals on bail. It is not surprising that they are often unable to overcome the sense of worthlessness that offshore detention instils. Academic and journalist Saba Vasefi explains: “Poor rehabilitative services and deprivation from civil engagement are two major components which contribute to refugees’ disempowerment.” People’s fear and uncertainty breeds anxiety and prolonged illness. One refugee reported: “Two days ago, my sister called my caseworker and she said: “you might get sent back to Nauru,” and so then again we get depressed.”

Nicolas Procter, professor of mental health nursing at the University of South Australia, has been working with asylum seekers for 25 years and advises governments on health and suicide prevention programmes for refugees. He says: “It takes time for people, particularly who have been in some cases in excruciating distress and despair, to be able to talk about that, to be able to bring about a calmer sense of self in all of that experience. That’s one of the real-world issues that this at-times-fragile and vulnerable group are in need of.” Unsurprisingly, professor Procter says that removing the threat of being returned to Nauru or PNG would help patients’ recovery. He adds: “Many people are dealing with such tremendous amounts of uncertainty that is linked to excruciating states of distress. If you want to rock somebody’s mental health, give them a dose of uncertainty and that will do it.”

There is clearly an urgent need for the government to treat these sick people with humanity and sensitivity, to manage their medical problems appropriately and to reassure them that they will not be returned to the terrible situation on Nauru and in PNG. We need a compassionate, safe, and permanent solution for these people, so that they can finally have some sense of security and, with support, rebuild their shattered lives.

Medevac and Senator Lambie

At the time of writing, we are still in the dark about Senator Lambie’s voting intention in relation to the government’s bid to repeal the Medevac legislation. She has stated that she will back the government provided that it meets her demand for a quid pro quo which she refuses to disclose as it is a “national security issue.” It has been widely speculated that she will back the government provided that it agrees to take up the New Zealand government’s offer to resettle 150 refugees, but this has neither been confirmed nor denied. Senator Lambie has been under huge pressure to do the right thing, namely to refuse to support the repeal of the legislation, from a wide range of organisations and citizens. It seems that only the Coalition, supported loudly by its friends in the Murdoch press, is keen to see the Medevac legislation repealed. Most Australians, according to a recent Guardian poll, back the legislation in its current form, or believe that it should be more compassionate. Only 22% of respondents believe that the current legislation weakens Australia’s borders. But that has not stopped Senator Mathias Cormann from spouting the usual government nonsense, stating on Monday: “Each individual senator has to make a decision: whether they stand on the side of stronger national security or weaker national security.”

It is very likely that the repeal bill will be tabled in the Senate this week. We can only hope, for the sake of the sick refugees, that the government suffers another defeat.

 

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 >670 recipients

Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/

(579 likes)

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