Newsletter for 13 November 2018 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

_{Roadside demonstration: Thursday 15}^th _{November: 2.30 to 4.00 pm}

_{Our next market stall: Bellingen market, Saturday 17}^th _November

_{“These Hands”, by singer-songwriter Stewart Peters}

_{Nauru update}

_{Manus island update}

_{And finally…….}

_{Roadside demonstration: Thursday 15}^th _{November: 2.30 to 4.00 pm}

_{A reminder that our next roadside demonstration is this Thursday on Hogbin Drive, Toormina. You will find us in our usual spot, down the hill about 150 metres from the fire station, in the direction of the airport. Please come and join us if you can, and help us to win the fight in getting the public on side in our campaign to end offshore detention. We are getting there, but we are not there yet.}

_{Our next market stall: Bellingen market, Saturday 17}^th _November

_{A reminder that our next market stall is this Saturday at the Bellingen Community market from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. We have been allocated site E46, which is accessed via Ford Street. As usual, we’ll be handing out leaflets, talking to market-goers, collecting signatures on our open letter, and selling merchandise to raise funds for the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown. If you can help out for an hour or two, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. The markets are a great opportunity to interact with the public, in additional to catching up with friends and enjoying a chat.} 

_{“These Hands”, by singer-songwriter Stewart Peters}

_{We hope that you enjoyed listening to Stewart’s haunting refugee song, which he performed for us at our recent fundraiser. If anyone wishes to share the song more widely, then it would be appreciated if you could discuss this first with Stewart, by emailing him at: stewart@soundshed.com.au.}

_{Nauru update}

_{Last week we reported that 35 children were still languishing on Nauru, most of them in poor physical and mental health. Since then, another 25 people, including eight children in six family units, have been brought to Australia, leaving 27 children on the island. They could all, of course, be brought to Australia immediately, but our government, for purely political purposes, chooses to let this terrible situation drag on. Serious concerns remain for the many adults and children still on the island, as well as numerous families and couples separated between the two countries and even within Australia. A few examples: A pregnant Somali woman was in the Villawood detention centre for four months until she was released into community detention last week, while her husband remains on Nauru. A Lebanese mother and daughter who came to Melbourne for medical treatment a month ago are in community detention but another daughter of hers, aged 14, and her son, are in the Melbourne detention centre. Nauru-based siblings Narges and Daryoush were transferred to Sydney last week after more than four years of being separated from their parents and sister, but remain in Villawood detention centre instead of being placed in community detention with their family. These examples are but three of many. All of them are avoidable, and our government should be doing everything in its power to ensure that families are reunited, in keeping with our international obligations. And the Labor opposition should be pressing it to do so.}

_{Manus island update}

_{Last week, in the run-up to the APEC summit in PNG, the PNG government returned more than 20 refugees to Manus from Port Moresby, where they were undergoing or awaiting medical treatment. A further 30 or so were told that they would be returned to Manus imminently, regardless of their medical issues. This is perhaps another example, as with the recent conference on Nauru, where the authorities are keen to keep the refugees well out of sight. It is reported that one man, on learning of his imminent return to Manus, attempted suicide. Behrouz Boochani, the well-known writer and journalist who has been held on Manus for more that five years, reports that the situation for the 650 men on Manus is steadily deteriorating, with at least two suicide attempts and three instances of self-harm in the past week. This is clearly an intolerable and unsustainable situation, and we must continue to maintain the pressure on the government and the Labor opposition to bring these men to Australia for resettlement either here, in the US, in New Zealand or in other countries where it is safe for them to begin to rebuild their shattered lives.} 

_{And finally…….}

_{“Only a sociopath could pray and weep for a child on Nauru, and then oppose their medical treatment in court”}

_{Father Rod Bower, Anglican Parish of Gosford.}

_{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 >620 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}

Newsletter for 6 November 2018 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

_{Roadside demonstration report}

_{Kids off Nauru: the momentum builds}

_{Writing letters to the local press}

_{“These Hands”: a song for refugees}

_{DVD for loan}

_{Roadside demonstration report}

_{Another great roadside demonstration in Bellingen last Thursday, with overwhelming support from passing motorists. Our next demo will be on Thursday 15}^th _{November from 2.30 to 4.00 pm in Toormina, in our usual spot on Hogbin Drive, about 150 metres down the hill from the fire station. Please come and join us if you can.}

_{Kids off Nauru: the momentum builds}

_{As of Saturday 3}^rd _{November, just 35 refugee children remain on Nauru, and the numbers will continue to fall in the days ahead. This is great news, but the battle is far from over, both for these children and their families and for the more than 600 men who remain on Manus, many of whom are seriously unwell. There are stories in the press of families arriving from Nauru and being placed in locked detention centres, separated from their sick, hospitalized children. In addition, the government continues to insist that none of the families brought from Nauru will be resettled in Australia. So, whilst they are now off the island, and the sick children are finally receiving treatment for their conditions which have been created by prolonged detention, their future remains very uncertain. Just days ago, on 2}^nd _{November, the Morrison government was unsuccessful in challenging the Federal Court’s power to order the evacuation of dangerously ill children from Nauru, underlining its intention to make things as difficult as possible for refugees on Nauru and Manus, whilst at the same time bowing to overwhelming public pressure to end this shameful chapter in our history.}

_{Our focus, as Gillian Triggs, the former President of the Human Rights Commission, stated in a radio interview last week, must remain on the push to end the practice of offshore detention for good. She also reminded listeners: “For very obvious reasons one tends to emphasise the children….but of course the same arguments apply to their parents, to their grandparents, but most especially to these young men who are on Manus. They have been there for five years or longer and they are in utter despair with very similar medical indications.”}

_{Writing letters to the local press}

_{A number of our supporters regularly write letter to the local press which appear in the Nambucca, Bellingen and Coffs Harbour papers. Sometimes there are none for a number of weeks, followed by letters in all three papers in quick succession. We have a proposal from one of our supporters for a more coordinated and regular letter-writing campaign, which she is happy to coordinate. The plan is to have a roster of letter-writers to ensure that letters are sent to the local press on a regular, weekly basis by a group of supporters. If, say, ten people sign up, then you would be asked to write to the press just once every ten weeks. It would be easy enough for people to exchange and receive hints/guidance on the “topic for the week”.} 

_{If you would be willing to take part in this initiative, which we think is a great idea, then please contact Margaret Henley at: georgiemargie@gmail.com.}

_{“These Hands”: a song for refugees}

_{Those of you who attended the recent fundraiser will have heard the very moving song by Stewart. He has since recorded the song, which you can listen to by clicking on the link below. Enjoy!}

_{http://tbf.me/a/CGeHKv}

_{DVD for loan}

_{We have a copy of the DVD “Freedom Stories”, which you are welcome to borrow if you wish. Freedom Stories takes a considered and poignant approach to the lives and achievements of a group of former “boat people” from the Tampa era who now call Australia home. With astonishing resilience and enthusiasm to contribute, they have slowly built their lives here. Like those who have followed, these were ordinary people caught up in the consequences of political brinkmanship.}

_{Their stories are genuinely inspiring. If you would like to borrow the DVD, then please get in touch with Mike at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.}

_{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 >620 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}