Letter to Minister Andrews: It's eight years today

Dear  Minister Andrews ,

It's eight years today since Kevin Rudd’s announcement  to send asylum seekers to offshore detention centres.  In this time, over 4000 asylum seekers have been detained  offshore.  At the moment roughly 240 refugees and people seeking asylum still remain on Manus Island or Nauru.                                                                  

Many of these asylum seekers are fleeing their countries as a result of wars – most often initiated by Western Nations  and many such wars have been supported  and promoted by Australia. We must therefore play our part in repairing  the damage and human upheaval wrought by such wars.

The human costs on the detainees are mounting by the day. Already 13 young men have died over these past six years and many more have attempted self-harm out of utter despair.

International agencies have been appalled by the conditions under which our offshore detainees  live and the effects on their health, spirits and self-respect.

The harsh treatment of asylum seekers  – most of whom have been proven genuine refugees casts  shame on this country  in the eyes of ourselves and of the rest of the world.

Apart from the human suffering,  indefinite detention contravenes several International Laws and Conventions. Every person has the right to seek asylum in another country to escape persecution or threat to life. Australia was one of the original 48 nations to vote for this when, alongside other nations, Australia signed “The Declaration of Human Rights’. Our present policy also breaches a number of articles stated in the “Convention on the Rights of The Child”.

It is time to find an alternate and conscionable solution. It is time to bring detainees  here or to other welcoming countries such as New Zealand or Canada.  We here in Australia must play our part. We must accept a fair number of refugees into our communities here in Australia. The number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia  over the past 5 years is a very small number of the world’s total. It has been estimated at less than 1%. Developed Countries like Australia must take their fair share of the numbers being displaced and likely to be displaced from war torn countries in coming years. Instead the burden at the moment is falling on poorer countries  such as Lebanon, Jordon and Pakistan that are taking more than a fair share of present refugee numbers.

There is a worker shortage in many areas of Australia at the moment due to a lack of overseas labour . Here is a possible solution. Find work for these asylum seekers instead of paying colossal sums for them to be detained. Many refugees were skilled people in their home countries and some were successful professionals. They have much to contribute to Australian communities.

We do not need offshore detention to ‘stop the boats’. The boats are now few in number and  our Australian Border Force has been in action for many years to deal with this problem.

Its time to re-think our policies on these issues so that they reflect our solidarity, decency and care . We must put an end to this shameful chapter and put an end to Offshore Detention. It has been going on for eight years too long.

From a political viewpoint the present government  need to understand that there are many of us that will never vote for a political party that continues to pursue offshore detention and uses refugees as a political ploy .

Yours Sincerely,

M....... G...... 

Valla Beach . New South Wales. Australia 2448    19. 7 2021

                                    

 

 

 

 

Letter to Minister Hawke: Eight years too long

 

From: M..........................
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2021 11:15 AM
To: 'Alex.Hawke.MP@aph.gov.au' <Alex.Hawke.MP@aph.gov.au>
Subject: Eight years too long

 

Dear Minister Hawke,

Today, 19^th July 2021, marks the grim eighth anniversary of the Rudd government’s decision to consign asylum seekers arriving by boat to indefinite limbo, a policy which your government has pursued relentlessly over the years.

You are very familiar with the details: at least 14 people have died whilst in the “care” of the government, many hundreds have self-harmed out of despair at their indefinite detention, many have been coerced in to returning to their homelands, and most of those remaining are seriously unwell. The cost in human suffering is enormous.

We know from many sources that Nauru and PNG are not safe places for refugees, and that they live in constant fear. In spite of the government’s statements to the contrary, the welfare of these people is the responsibility of the Australian government, which shows little regard for their plight, and continues to spend an enormous amount of taxpayers’ money to keep them out of sight and out of mind.

These refugees pose no threat to Australia’s border security. That is taken care of by the ABF.  The resettlement of more than 900 refugees in the US has not led to a resumption of the people-smuggler trade.

It is time for the government to end the suffering of these people, who have fled war and persecution in their home countries to seek asylum on our shores, as is their right under international conventions to which Australia is a signatory.

I call on you, therefore: to immediately accept the NZ offer to resettle 150 refugees per annum ;  to bring all the refugees remaining in PNG and Nauru to Australia for resettlement here or in other safe countries; to release all those remaining in onshore detention or APODs into the community where it is safe to do so, and to ensure that they receive the medical assistance and other support that thy need. They are entitled to a future.

This inhumane and cruel treatment of innocent people has gone on for far too long.

Yours sincerely,

M.... G........

Valla Beach, NSW 2448

People rally for refugees aross Australia. Two recent Bellingen RAR events

 Across Australia  there are people rally to show their disgust at the inhumane indefinite detention of refugees.

These events took place on the north coast of NSW.

"A near-record turnout for the demo, and a great market in very windy Bellingen yesterday. "

 

"We took $500 in sales, donations and the raffle, 

which was incredible. "

 

"Also, lots of signatures on our open letter and 38 postcards sent on their way this morning to Morrison and Hawke. Perhaps they’ll give the issues some thought!"

 

REFUGEE WEEK IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

 

The Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group Letter Writers braved freezing conditions on two occasions during Refugee Week to set up a stall in Leura Mall. We asked passers by to add their signature to an open letter to Anthony Albanese, put together by Bellingen and Nambucca District RAR,  asking him to commit Labor to a more humane and principled policy on refugees than the current government.

We also asked people to sign  postcards  to Immigration Minister, Alex Hawke and Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews asking them to take up the NZ offer to resettle refugees from Manus and Nauru.

Given the adverse weather conditions, the renewed COVID threat and the impending lockdown, we were overwhelmed by the positive public response. We received 213 signatures on the open letter and we’ll be posting 155 postcards to Parliament House. The groundswell of support for a humane policy and for the Australian government  to do the right thing is growing. Governments need to listen.

 

Judy R.......

BMRSG

Leura

Two letters to Pat Conaghan MP for Cowper re the Murugappan Family.

 Dear Mr. Conaghan,

I was heartened to hear the new leader of the Nationals Party adding his voice in support of the Murugappan family. Like so many Australians, he believes that it is time to end the uncertainty for this family, and to let them return to, and settle in, Biloela. He went so far as to say that, if the little girls’ names had been “Jane and Sally”, this matter would have been concluded a long time ago.

Do you agree with Barnaby Joyce’s assessment of the situation? Will you now join your leader in calling on the government to release the family from community detention in Perth and to allow them to restart their lives in Biloela, where the community will welcome them with open arms?

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Mike G.........

........Valla Beach NSW 2448

 

 

Dear Mr Conaghan,

 

As we know, the Nationals Party now has a new leader in Barnaby Joyce. In recent times he has expressed the view that the Murugappan family should be allowed to return to Biloela and be granted permission to stay in Australia .

Many of us support this view and are concerned to know what your own position is on this . Do you support the view of your new leader and can we look forward to support from your party to put an end to the years of isolation and suffering of this family?  They have the support of their community in Biloela , the husband was in work and they were no drain on the public purse. As the situation has unfolded, millions of dollars have been spent keeping the family isolated on Christmas Island. Do you support this arrangement and will you be a voice in parliament to  press for the family to be able to return to their Queensland home ?

Yours sincerely,

Marlene G........

.........., Valla Beach NSW 2448