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 16th 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 18th 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 7th
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.
It includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and newspapers.
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