Harmony Time concert report
What happens next?
Roadside demonstration: Thursday 19th March, 2.30 to 4.00 pm
Sydney High School student speaks at the UN
The suffering continues for Medevac evacuees
Harmony Time concert report
We
had a wonderfully uplifting and entertaining concert on Sunday to raise
funds for the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown. The musicians were
simply outstanding and those attending told us how much they had enjoyed
such a varied performance by so many talented musicians.
A
huge thank you to Heather Rose and friends, to the Eleventh-Hour Choir
and to the musicians of the Coffs Harbour Conservatorium of Music for
their inspiring performances.
Also,
a big thank you to Marlene who organized the event so superbly, and to
our loyal band of RAR supporters for making it all work so well on the
day.
Ticket
sales, donations, the sale of paintings and the raffle mean that we
have been able to donate $2,000 to the Asylum Seekers Centre, which is
an excellent outcome.
What happens next?
The
spread of the corona virus, and the consequent necessity to curb public
gatherings and other activities will no doubt impact on us all, and
will severely limit our ability to campaign and to fundraise in the
months ahead. Bellingen market, scheduled for Saturday 21st March, has been cancelled, and no doubt Valla Beach market will also be called off.
We
were hoping to organise a fundraising get-together lunch and auction
towards the end of April, but that too will now have to be postponed.
We will continue with our roadside demonstrations for now, and will keep the situation under review.
Given
the significant limitations on our activities in the months ahead, our
newsletter will be published once a fortnight, rather than weekly, until
further notice.
Roadside demonstration: Thursday 19th March, 2.30 to 4.00 pm
Our next roadside demonstration will take place on Thursday in Coffs Harbour, by the Big Banana, from 2.30 to 4.00 pm.
The forecast is for a sunny day, so why not make a resolution to join
us to help to keep the plight of refugees in the public eye? Don’t
forget to wear covered shoes to keep the ants at bay!
Sydney High School student speaks at the UN
 |
| Australian high school student Renuga Inpakumar has addressed the United
Nations about the plight of two Tamil refugees in a Victorian detention
centre. Source: Facebook |
A week ago, Renuga Inpakumar, a year 12 student from Sydney, travelled to Geneva to address the 43rd
session of the UN Human Rights Council. She spoke passionately about
the plight of Tamil refugees, who face persecution and worse in their
homeland, and she was very critical of the Australian government’s
treatment of Tamil asylum seekers who have sought protection in
Australia. Renuga is a dedicated advocate of two Tamils, Sivaguru
Navanthirasa and Loganathan Janurupan, who, she stated, have languished
in “various Australian detention centres for more than ten years.” She
reminded the meeting that Australia is in breach not just of the “spirit
of brotherhood”, but of its obligations under international law.
It
seems extraordinary that our government continues to treat people in
such a cruel and inhumane manner. In response, Minister Dutton simply
reminds us that he is tough on border protection issues, and that his
job is to keep Australians safe.
The suffering continues for Medevac evacuees
Our
government seems determined to add to the suffering of refugees who
were transferred to Australia for medical treatment. Many of them have
received no medical treatment at all to date and remain in lockdown in
hotels in Melbourne, Brisbane and other centres. In one hotel in
Melbourne, costing $160 per night, plus huge security bills, there are
56 refugees,
including a young man who goes by the name of Moz. He
reports that the men are all confined to the hotel, except for the two
occasions each week when they are transported to the MITA detention
centre, where they exchange the four walls of a hotel room for barbed
wire fences. “It’s a kind of torture”, says Moz. “The Australian
government is really expert at torturing us. We really need help. We
were tortured on Manus for seven years and now we are locked up in this
place. For what crime have we been imprisoned for seven years? What is
our crime?”
These
men should, of course, be released into the community, and they should
receive the medical treatment that they clearly need.
If you would like to contact the Acting Minister for Immigration, his details are:
Tel: (02) 6277 7790
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