Roadside demonstration report
Not the Coffs Harbour market report
Donation to Asylum Seekers Centre
Craig Foster speaks out on Australia’s asylum policy
From Manus and Nauru to Christmas Island
Roadside demonstration report
Showers had been forecast for our roadside
demonstration last week, but instead we enjoyed a warm, sunny afternoon in
Coffs Harbour. We were not very numerous, but made up for that with our
enthusiasm, and we were greatly encouraged by the positive and at times noisy
response from passing motorists.
Our next roadside demonstration will be in
Bellingen, on Waterfall Way adjacent to the Yellow Shed on Thursday
7th March from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. Please
join us if you can to help us keep the issue of offshore detention in the
public eye.
Not the Coffs Harbour market report
The weather was a different story on Sunday! Mike
arrived at the market with all our gear at 6.30 am, only to learn that the
organisers had decided to call off the event due to the wet and windy
conditions. These things happen from time to time, but fortunately, not too
often.
Our next market stall will be at the Bellingen market
on Saturday 16th March from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. If you can
lend a hand for an hour or two, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
Donation to Asylum Seekers Centre
Last week we made a $500 donation to the Asylum
Seekers Centre, following our recent fundraiser. A great start to our 2019
fundraising efforts. Watch out for our next event, which will be revealed in
next week’s newsletter.
Craig Foster speaks out on Australia’s asylum policy
The whole nation was jubilant recently when
Melbourne-based refugee and soccer player Hakeem al-Araibi was finally freed
from a Thai jail and was able to return to Melbourne. The central role played
by ex-Socceroo Craig Foster in securing Hakeem’s release has been widely
praised. Last week, Craig Foster wrote a powerful open letter to Scott Morrison
and Bill Shorten, which was published in the Sydney Morning Herald. In the
letter, he highlights the difficulties that he encountered in the international
arena when pleading for countries to uphold their international human rights
obligations. He states: “One of the reasons it was so difficult to garner international
support was because of our treatment of refugees. This was a constant theme
throughout discussions with international stakeholders.” He goes on to remind
us that it cannot be right for a country that was deeply involved in the
creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be prepared to put
people seeking asylum at risk of physical and psychological harm in order to
deter others. Like so many public figures, organisations, RAR groups, doctors,
lawyers and members of the public, he spells out that: “The policy of
indefinite, offshore detention does not uphold our international obligations
and we need to be strong enough to admit this and to find a fair and humane
solution to this crisis of our conscience”.
It is surely high time for our political leaders to
finally grasp the nettle and to acknowledge that the current policy of
indefinite detention, supported by both sides of politics, is a deep and
shameful stain on our nation’s reputation and conscience. It has caused
irreparable harm to so many people, a thousand of whom still languish on Manus
and Nauru.
From Manus and Nauru to Christmas Island
Just a week ago, there was general incomprehension
about the government’s decision to re-open the Christmas Island detention
centre, just a few months after its closure. It now seems that the purpose of
the move is to continue to make it more difficult for sick refugees to be
transferred to mainland Australia. The plan, it now transpires, is to transfer
people from tiny islands in the Pacific Ocean to a tiny island in the Indian
Ocean, at great expense.
Why should we be concerned about this latest move?
The hospital on Christmas Island is ill-equipped to
deal with the complex physical and mental health needs of the refugees. It has
only six beds! Residents on Christmas Island have to be transferred to
Australia for more complex medical treatment. As Doctors For Refugees president
Barri Phatarfod commented: “Transferring them to Christmas Island is like
evacuating a critical patient from Bourke and flying him to Kalgoorie.”
The plan is to place the refugees in detention on
arrival on Christmas Island. But it is their indefinite detention and their
loss of hope, that has created their medical problems in the first place. How
can this plan help them in the longer term?
The plan will inevitably create further delays for
appropriate intervention. Patients will have to be assessed on Christmas
Island, and then in time, if it is deemed necessary, they will be transferred
to mainland Australia.
The plan adds yet more unnecessary costs for the
Australian taxpayer to bear. Medivac flights from the Indian Ocean Territories
this financial year have cost the taxpayer between $50,000 and $103,000 each.
It seems clear that, in spite of the Bill which was
passed in the parliament just days ago, the government continues to do its
utmost to maintain control of the process, rather than ceding responsibility to
the treating doctors. The Labor party had earlier supported the Bill enabling
the medical evacuation to Australia, with Bill Shorten correctly stating that:
“I believe that the vast majority of Australians understand you can have a
strong border and still treat people humanely within our care,” Later in the
week, however, he said that: “If the medical treatment is required and it’s
delivered on Christmas Island and it makes people well, well that’s fine.”
Please
consider contacting Bill Shorten (6277 7560 or email: Bill.Shorten.MP@aph.gov.au)
and Shayne Neumann ( 6277 8533 or email: Shayne.Neumann@aph.gov.au),
urging them to stand firm and to remind them that the intention of the
legislation is to facilitate the expeditious transfer of sick people to
Australia. Tell them that transfers to Christmas Island should not be
supported, and that the detention centre should not be re-opened.
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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Email address bellingen.rar@gmail.com
The National RAR web site is at www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au
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