Chilout - important announcement

Extract from Chilout Newsletter for April 2017 Important news regarding their organisation’s future.

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As a valued supporter and follower of ChilOut you may be aware of the “refugee swap deal” which the Australian government is negotiating with the United States. While we hope this deal will mean people will be resettled in the United States, our position remains that all people seeking asylum held on Nauru and Manus Island should be brought to safety in Australia immediately, they are our responsibility.

We plan to scale back our current operations while we observe the developments on Nauru and Manus Island closely. We will continue to be active online –  via our website, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms – promoting and campaigning for the rights of children in detention. However, we will no longer undertake other projects and activities (our current Youth Ambassador program ended in March).

We would like to say special thanks to our two staff members who have dedicated their time and passion to the cause: Niru Palanivel, our Campaign Manager has maintained our strong links throughout the sector and with the community and Zoe Grant, who started as a Youth Ambassador, took on the position of Community Engagement Officer, managing our Youth Ambassadors. Both have contributed their wholehearted passion and skills towards freeing the children. We thank them and wish them all the very best.      

ChilOut is one of 23 organisations under the End Child Detention Coalition (ECDC), with a support base of 140,000 people across all states and territories. The ECDC continues the targeted work of child rights in this area and we encourage our followers to support their work. 

Please click here to visit ECDC’s website to learn more!

Newsletter for 21 March 2017 Rural Australians Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

Sri Lankan Curry Lunch Sun 26th March

Auction items?

Next Market - Valla Beach April 1st

Next Roadside Demo - Thurs 23rd March Coffs Base Hospital 3pm

March in March - Sat 25th March 11am

Sri Lankan Curry Lunch: Sunday 26th March at 1.00 pm: 12, River Street, Mylestom

In last week’s newsletter we set out the proposal for a curry lunch to take place this coming Sunday, in response to the urgent appeal for funds by the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, as they struggle to meet the impossible deadlines for asylum seekers in Australia to submit their claims for protection under the Refugee Convention. So far we have not had much response from supporters for the event.  The cost will be $30 per person, and all the money raised will be donated to RACS. If you plan to attend, then it is essential that you let our hosts Margie and Georgie know by Thursday evening (24th March), so that they can either organise the shopping or cancel the event. Please email Margie and Georgie at: gsmh@fastmail.fm or phone: 0414 592 519 to book seats for you and your friends. 

Auction: going, going............?

At the proposed curry lunch, we hope to hold an auction to raise further funds for the RACS appeal. If you have an item that you think will sell for at least $20, then please let Mike know by email at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.  or phone him on: 6569 5419 by Thursday evening.

Markets

As we are sure you will be aware, the Bellingen market was cancelled last weekend, due to the very heavy rain.  We are not having much luck of late, having also been rained off recently in Coffs Harbour!

Our next market will be at the Valla Beach market onSaturday 1st April. If you are able to help out at any time between 9.00 am and 1.30 pm, then please let Mike know by emailing him at : mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.  Let’s hope that the sun shines and that we can make up for the disappointments of Coffs Harbour and Bellingen.

Roadside demonstration: Thursday 23rd March from 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm in Coffs Harbour

Our next roadside demonstration will be this Thursday, 23rd March in Coffs Harbour, (weather permitting). You will find us by the side of the Pacific Highway, opposite the Base hospital. Please come and join us if you can. We have lots of banners and placards to share, and these demonstrations are an important reminder to people that we will not give up the fight for justice and humanity  for asylum seekers, whether they be on Manus Island, Nauru or  mainland Australia.

March in March: Nambucca Heads, Saturday 25th March at 11.00 am

As explained in last week’s newsletter, there will be a March in March in Nambucca Heads on Saturday 25th March, at which we are hoping for substantial presence of our RAR supporters. If you can join us and help carry our banners and placards, then please come to the Plaza shopping centre car park for an 11.00 am start.  We plan to march with our banners to Bellwood Park and to address the crowd.

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.

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Twitter Account @RARBellingenNam

Email address bellingen.rar@gmail.com

The National RAR web site is at  www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au 

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Chilout Newsletter September 2016

We store the Chilout Newsletters in the tab at the top of the blog, so you can go back and read the stories from the past. ChilOut Newsletter – September Edition Dear Friend, The August statistics for detention have just been released again showing no drop in the 49 children in the detention centre on Nauru. This is despite the fact that some asylum seekers have been there for over 3 years. Over 24% have been held for 730 days or more. According to the Hon. Minister Charmaine Scotty, Head of Delegation of Nauru at the United Nations a total of 173 refugee and asylum seeker children are on Nauru (including children in the community). We know from countless reports and inquiries that none – whether inside or outside detention – are safe on Nauru. Also we cannot forget about the men on Manus Island. This includes several who have been held so long they are now adults. We call on the government to #CloseTheCamps and #BringThemHere. Australia on the International Platform This month political leaders and civil society representatives signed the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants at the UN Summit on Migrants and Refugees. All 193 member states (including Australia) committed to working towards ending child detention. Let’s make sure they stick to their word! Share, like, and sign our petition to show your support. It was, however, disappointing to see Malcolm Turnbull put forward Australia’s border protection policies as a model for other countries to follow. We hope that other governments realise that Australia’s hard-line border policies come at a tremendous cost to human life. The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) have condemned this statement and noted that our government tends to ignore the 'elephant in the room in the form of our offshore detention system'. This plea to the UN from a refugee held on Nauru shows why we must end long term detention. Children held on Nauru are Australia's responsibility A 2015 UNICEF review of child protection in Nauru in 2015 noted that more had to be done to protect refugee and asylum seeker children. Last week before the United Nations a delegate from Nauru stated that the newly created Child Protection Unit was only for 'national purposes and did not concern refugee and asylum seeker children'. The delegate stated, 'The latter were looked after by the Australian government.' Countless inquiries and reports have found clearly children are not being protected by the Australian government. ChilOut's Youth Ambassador Report   This month our Youth Ambassadors have spoken at a school, on a panel, held a stall at the Youth Humanitarian Festival and held workshops at the Law Society's Young Lawyers event. Check out their Facebook page. To read more about our Ambassadors or to book an Ambassador to speak, visit our website. Latest news Australian Human Rights Commission released its “Pathways To Protection” report – A comprehensive report exploring rights-based alternatives to third country processing in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.  In response to #PathwaysToProtection and in support of Professor Gillian Triggs, ChilOut called on Malcolm Turnbull to explore the alternatives to detention. Read our press release here. Connect Settlement Services (CSS) is the latest in a long line of contractors to pull out of Nauru. (Ferrovial leaves in October 2017, Wilson has also announced this month that it will not tender again.) CSS has 'consistently raised concerns about insufficient mental healthcare and child protection services on the island'. Read more here. The UNICEF True Cost of Australia's Refugee Policies report has revealed that holding someone in detention costs taxpayers $400,000 a year. Ending ‘open detention’ on Manus Island and Nauru could save Australia $2 billion by 2020. A National Audit Office Report report finds ‘serious and persistent deficiencies’ in the Immigration Department’s management of contracts. A former WorkSafe Victoria prosecuting solicitor in this article shows there may be apparent criminal offences being committed against Australian workplace law.   Get Involved! Join a Welcome to Australia Walk near you! No matter where we're from, how we got here or why we've made Australia home – we now share our future – so let's #walktogether. 'Cast from the Storm' is a must-see powerful and uplifting film following students with refugee backgrounds who share their journeys through the inspirational Treehouse Theatre program. Public Education Foundation’s Friends of Zainab Scholarships support students with refugee backgrounds through their High School Certificate and their first two years of university.  Download ChilOut's Printable Posters for demonstrations or other events. Take a photo with the posters, share on social media and show your support!  And don’t forget ChilOut has a new website! Check it out here. Thank you everyone for your ongoing support! This month we had a very special donation from 12-year-old Rosie. She spent her weekend making cards and bookmarks to raise money for ChilOut. We are blown away by her generosity and her compassion! Please donate to ChilOut here. All donations over $2 are tax deductible and any contribution small or large helps! CONNECT WITH US WEBSITE FACEBOOK TWITTER

Chilout Round Up of Refugee Week and issues of children in detention

ChilOut - Children Out of Immigration Detention http://www.chilout.org/ Dear John, Free the Children in Refugee Week As part of Refugee Week, ChilOut travelled to Canberra with members of the Australian Coalition to End Immigration Detention of Children. On Monday 15 June – the Free the Children Day of Action – we displayed our cage installation on the Parliament House lawns. Members of the public and parliamentarians were invited to free one of the 231 dolls from the cage as a symbol of freeing a child from detention. ChilOut’s Campaign Coordinator, Claire Hammerton, and two ChilOut Youth Ambassadors, Mohammad Ali Baqiri and Sarah Yahya, were keynote speakers at the event, along with actor and activist Imogen Bailey. Check out our short clip of highlights, including extracts from the stories of our inspiring Youth Ambassadors who came to Australia as child refugees. During the week we had frank and promising discussions with several key politicians from all the major and minor parties, including Senator Madigan, Senator Lazarus, Richard Marles MP, Senator Sinodinos, Melissa Parke MP, Anne Burke MP, Craig Laundy MP, Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Russell Broadbent MP and Senator Hanson-Young.  We also received great media coverage. Our Campaign Coordinator and Youth Ambassadors were interviewed by: ABC, Network 10, Canberra Times, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, ABC Radio National, Triple J Radio, 2SM, 2GB and 2SER. Thank you to everyone involved and all our supporters - an incredible and worthwhile event! Why are children still in detention?According to the latest statistics from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, as at 31 May 2015 there are: 138 children in immigration detention facilities within Australia; 81 children in detention facilities in Nauru; and 863 children living in community detention. Did you miss our very own Youth Ambassador Mohammad Ali Baqiri on ABC’s Q & A Program on 15 June? He shared his story of being detained in Nauru as a child and asked the panel why children were still in detention. See Mohammad’s question and the panel’s answer here. We need to keep asking this question until no more children are held in immigration detention! Babies transferred to Nauru and snap rally tonightBaby Asha, born in Darwin this year, was secretly transferred to the Nauru detention centre in the middle of the night with no warning given to her parents. Since the transfer, Asha and her parents have been living in a tent in unsafe and horrific conditions for an adult, let alone a tiny baby. We also know that at least one other baby born in Australia was recently transferred to Nauru. Despite the lack of proper facilities in Nauru, up to 17 more babies born in Australia are due to be transferred to Nauru in the near future. In conjunction with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, ChilOut is supporting a peaceful rally at Sydney Square (next to the Town Hall) tonight at 5:30pm to call for Baby Asha to be brought back to Australia and for no more babies to be sent to Nauru. Come and join us or support us via social media using the hashtag #bringbackasha. Find more details about the event here. More than 80 children currently detained in Australia and slated for transfer to Nauru. Unless we take action, more will be sent into harm’s way. ChilOut continues to reiterate the call, both publicly and to MPs and Senators, that no child should be sent to Nauru and that all children currently in detention in Nauru should be brought to the Australian mainland as a matter of urgency. Further sexual assault allegations and imprisonment for reportingWhile the Government has stated that it accepts all the recommendations made by the Moss Review, allegations of sexual assault in Nauru detention centre have continued to emerge. Children are still detained on Nauru despite this mounting evidence, including one allegation that a child as young as two years old was abused. To make matters worse, a bill has been pushed through Parliament that prevents anyone working in a detention centre from speaking publicly about what they see. From July, contracted workers including doctors, teachers and other professionals could face up to two years in prison for publicly revealing the inadequate medical treatment provided to asylum seekers in detention. Two doctors, including children’s doctor Professor David Isaacs who has spent time in Nauru, have spoken to the media and used a prestigious medical journal to protest against these repressive laws. ChilOut End of Financial Year AppealWe are so appreciative of the support we receive for the work we do! One of the best ways you can help end children in detention is to make a donation to us via our website – either as a one-off donor or a regular supporter. Donations over $2 are tax deductible so with only hours until the end of financial year, please make a donation now at: www.chilout.org/donate. Are you a runner (or walker) and interested in raising funds for ChilOut at this year’s City to Surf? Please join our City to Surf team for this year’s run on 9 August and help us raise much-needed funds to end child detention. You can sign up to join our City to Surf team or donate to our runners here.

ChilOut - Children out of immigration detention · Australia This email was sent to bellingen.rar@gmail.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with ChilOut - Children Out of Immigration Detention on Twitter or Facebook.

Chilout Newsletter January 2015

Chilout Newsletter January 2015

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ChilOut - Children Out of Immigration Detention http://www.chilout.org/ Update on the Release of Children  Despite the Minister for Immigration’s promise that children would be released in the early months of 2015, hundreds of children remain in detention. According to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s latest statistics, dated 31 December 2014, there are: 420 children in locked detention facilities in Australia; and 135 children in a locked detention centre on Nauru. In addition, there are also still approximately 28 unaccompanied children living in the community on Nauru living in fear for their safety and having limited opportunities for education, work or play. ChilOut will continue fighting until there is no child left in detention and until the law is changed so that children can never be locked up again. The Government has said that the children held in detention on Nauru are not part of its planned release of children and remain subject to its offshore processing policy. However, unlike the Government, ChilOut will not abandon these children. We are currently working on our 2015 strategic plan of which a key component will be getting children off Nauru and ensure that no child seeking asylum is sent offshore in future. Latest News New Immigration Minister – Cabinet Reshuffling sees Dutton Replace Morrison Former Health Minister Peter Dutton has replaced Scott Morrison as the new Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. You can read more here. ChilOut are concerned that the new minister appears to echo the hard line approach of Mr Morrison, including his persistence in referring to those seeking asylum as “illegals” and “potential criminals” on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s website. While there are no children detained on Manus Island, the recent unrest and the refusal of Mr Dutton to address the concerns of detained refugees is deeply worrying. ChilOut urges the new minister to break the cycle of cruelty that has defined our immigration regime over the past twenty years and implement policies that are grounded in compassion and guided by our international human rights obligations. Baby Ferouz and his parents released from detention into the community In news worthy of celebration, the Myuddin family who have been detained for fourteen months, have been released from detention in Darwin. Baby Ferouz, who has known no life other than the inside of a detention centre, is one of the 30 babies that was born in Australia to asylum seeker mothers who will be allowed to remain in the community while his claim for protection is processed. You can read more about it here. The battle to free Ferouz has been a long and arduous one – and the impact on his mother Latifar has been devastating. Ferouz was born in Brisbane after Latifar was brought to the mainland from Nauru after her health deteriorated. Latifar was prevented from seeing Ferouz immediately after the birth, and their battle for freedom has been waged every day since. ChilOut are delighted for the Myuddin family, but their fight is not yet over. While they will be permitted to move to Melbourne where they have an extended family support network, the legislation passed last year means they will only be eligible to apply for a three-year temporary protection visa and will never be able to apply for permanent protection. ChilOut will continue to advocate for families like the Myuddins, so that they may find a safe place to live and raise their family. AHRC Report into Children in Immigration Detention Soon to be Released Keep your eye out for the release of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report into children in immigration detention. The report must be tabled by the Attorney-General by 11 February 2015. ChilOut made a submission to the AHRC’s inquiry and also appeared before the inquiry’s public hearing to highlight the severely detrimental impact of detention on the mental health of children. Amnesty Berry Event –  “Nauru’s Forgotten Children” Amnesty International’s Berry Local Action Group is holding a public forum in Berry on Saturday 31stJanuary 2015 on Nauru’s forgotten children. The forum will feature ChilOut’s very own Dianne Hiles, as well as an impressive line up of speakers including the author of The Undesirables: Inside Nauru. The forum will examine Australia’s asylum seeker and offshore processing policies in this 25th anniversary year of Australia’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. For full details of the event, please go to: http://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/naurus-forgotten-children-public-forum-at-berry-nsw-31-january-2015-tickets-14954672829 Last Chance to Apply for ChilOut’s 2015 Youth Ambassadors Program Are you between the ages of 15 and 25 and an Australian citizen or permanent resident? Are you from a refugee background or passionate about refugee issues? Do you know anyone who might fit this criteria? If so, please let them know about ChilOut’s 2015 youth ambassadors program. We are currently looking for approximately 10 youth ambassadors who will work with ChilOut in 2015 on issues surrounding children in detention. All youth ambassadors will receive training from ChilOut and will work closely with ChilOut’s Youth Ambassador Coordinator and Campaign Coordinator. ChilOut’s youth ambassadors program started in 2004 and is aimed at empowering young people to have a voice and advocate for the rights of children seeking asylum. All the information about our 2015 program can be found on our website here.However, applications for the program close on 31 January 2015, so make sure you get in now before it’s too late! For any questions about the program, please email ChilOut’s Youth Ambassadors Coordinator at ambassadors@chilout.org ChilOut Needs Your Help! ChilOut is a very small organisation with only two paid staff members working part-time. Although we are only small, with passion and dedication and some amazing volunteer assistance we still manage to an enormous amount done! However, without further financial help we do not have sufficient resources to carry out all our planned work in 2015.  This is why we need your help. Please donate to ChilOut today at www.chilout.org/donate. However small or big, your donation will enable to ChilOut to continue its important work to ensure that all children are released from immigration detention and that children are not detained in future. By supporting ChilOut you will play a vital role in ensuring that children are no longer held in remote offshore facilities where they are subjected to abuse. We have a lot planned for 2015, including a campaign to highlight Australia’s continuous violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and a push to bring all children back to Australia – including 28 vulnerable children on Nauru who have no parents to care for them. We can’t do this work without your help, so please support us by making a donation. ChilOut - Children out of immigration detention · Australia This email was sent to bellingen.rar@gmail.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with ChilOut - Children Out of Immigration Detention on Twitter or Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, the essential toolkit for leaders.