Newsletter for 16 May 2017 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

_{Next Roadside Demo - Thurs 18th May Nambucca Plaza 3pm}

_{Next Market Stall Bellingen Sat 20th May}

_{Refugee Action Network Conference}

_{Refugee Week - 18th June}

_{Next Roadside demonstration: Nambucca Heads, Thursday 18th May: 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm}

_{Our next roadside demonstration  is this Thursday in Nambucca Heads, weather permitting. We will gather by the Pacific Highway, adjacent to the Plaza shopping centre. Please consider coming to join us, even if only for part of the time. We really do need a few new recruits to join the usual suspects at our roadside demos, so why not give it a go? We have lots of colourful banners and placards to share.}

_{Next market stall: Saturday 20th May in Bellingen}

_{You may recall that the market in Bellingen two months ago was cancelled due to the very wet weather, meaning that this will be our first appearance here in four months, so let’s make it a good one! This will be the final opportunity to collect signatures on the petition to parliament . We expect to reach 4000 signatures this weekend and we look forward to parcelling them up and sending them on their way before the end of the month. The petitions will be presented to parliament during the sitting week of 13th- 19th June. If you have any signed petitions, please bring them along to the market on Saturday, or post them to Mike –his details are on the sheet.}

_{As always, we are seeking support on the stall between 9.00 am and 1.30 pm, so if you can lend a hand for an hour or two, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. You will find us at F-5, which is located near to the scoreboard.}

_{Australian Refugee Action Network: National Conference, Canberra}

_{We wrote to supporters some weeks ago about this conference, which will take place in Canberra next weekend. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anyone who was able to attend to represent our group. However, in response to an appeal for help, we have been able to send a contribution of $200 to help fund people from a refugee background to}

_{attend the conference.}

_{Refugee Week 2017: 18th – 24th June.  With Courage Let us all Combine}

_{We have received several emails in the past week relating to  Refugee Week, which is coming up in a month’s time. An obvious response for us was to think about a fundraiser, which might enable us to do two things : firstly,  replenish our own dwindling funds, and secondly support one of the numerous refugee agencies which are under such pressure to meet the demands of their work with ever-decreasing resources. So, here is our proposal:}

                            _{Fundraising lunch and auction: Sunday 18th June from 12.00 pm}

_{The event will be held at 39, Rogers Drive, Valla Beach. We have seating for 30 people and we ask you to bring a plate to share. Wine will be provided by our hosts, but please BYO other drinks as you wish. There will be no fixed charge for  attending, but we ask you make a donation as you see fit. At the end of the first course, we plan to hold an auction which, if as successful as our last one, should raise  a useful sum.}

_{What do you need to do?}

_{Book places for you and your friends as soon as possible.}

_{Have a look around your house to find something that we could auction, and that might sell for at least $20. At our last auction, items that went under the hammer included individual bottles and boxes of wine, original paintings, pottery, two nights’ accommodation at a local Airbnb, a magnificent nesting box and much besides. If you are not able to attend the lunch, please consider donating something for the auction, and let Mike know in advance.}

_{It would be lovely to have a musical interlude if possible. Do you play a musical instrument, or know someone who does?  Please let us know.}

_{All the proceeds from the lunch and the auction will go to supporting our RAR group and a national refugee support group.}

_{Please let Mike know if you  can attend or can provide an item for the auction. (mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.  Tel 6569 5419).}

_{It will be a lot of fun! Book your places!}

_{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 >480 recipients}

_{Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/}

_{(482 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}

Poem - the reasons for migrating

I came across a poem by Dr. Ali Alizadeh, a senior lecturer in Literary Studies Monash University, called "Immigration".  It is a wonderful, succinct declaration of the reasons for migrating.   It fits very well for refugees.

I have asked Ali for his permission for us to reprint this poem in our newsletter.   If you think it is suitable perhaps it could be included when there is space.  Ted Lourey

 Ali Alizadeh

Immigration

I'll tell you why.

To survive

the onslaught of religion.

To outlive

the ghosts of martyrs.

To recover

from the world's longest war since WWII.  To live

beyond the hatreds of patriotism.   To see

the kinder face of humanity. 

To think

free of the Faith's manacles. 

 To believe

without the obligation of forming belief.  

 To discover

the basic joy of being.  

 The price?  I'll tell you.  

Evaporation.

Marginalised to the point

 of disappearance.

Barred for nothing

more profound than a shade

 of skin, a tone

of speech, a taste

 of lifestyle.   Alienated

beyond the word.

Ignored by the mighty.

  Detested by the commoner.

Worth it?  Doubtless.

To finally grasp   humanity's fraudulent truth.

To dream the sweetness of equality.  

 To see past

the facade of brotherhood.  

 To be touched

you might say, by the rays

of a luminous discovery.

To abandon,

all faith, and come to cherish

the immense solitude

of non-believing.

To desire.  To know

the power of desire.  To wait

joyfully amid the unpalatable sadness.

Recommend it?

Only to loathsome enemies

and to my dearest friends.

letter from Mike Griffin to Shane Neumann on Labor Party Policy on Asylum Seekers

_{Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 4:14 PM}

_{To: Shayne Neumann MP}

_{Subject: Asylum policy}

_{Dear Mr Neumann,}

  _{On 5th May 1992, the Labor minister for immigration introduced an urgent Bill into parliament to legislate for the mandatory detention of people fleeing danger and persecution, and who were seeking the protection of the Australian government in accordance with our international obligations. At the time, the minister, Gerry Hand, assured parliament that the new law was “only intended as an interim measure”. He further stated that the government had no wish to “keep people in custody indefinitely” and that he “could not expect parliament to support such a suggestion”.}

_{As we all know, the effects of this “interim measure”, still supported by Labor, have been catastrophic for the thousands of asylum seekers who have sought safety on our shores over the past twenty five years. We still have almost 2000 asylum seekers and refugees languishing on Nauru and Manus Island, whose only hope now is the possibility for some of them to be traded and resettled in the USA.  Those remaining will no doubt continue to be pressurised to “go back to where they came from” or offered the untenable prospect of resettlement in PNG,  Nauru, or indeed anywhere else on earth where the government, supported supinely by Labor, might persuade another country to accept them.}

 _{I find it utterly shameful that the Labor party, of which I was a member for more than 30 years, continues to support this cruel, inhumane and unlawful policy. There was a time when Labor would stand up for those in need, would act out of principle and humanity and would be proud of its policy positions in relation to justice and equality. Clearly that does not apply to asylum seekers and refugees.}

_{The boats have stopped. It is surely time to end the misery of our offshore detainees , to close the camps without delay, and to resettle those found to be genuine refugees in Australia. Using these wretched people as human shields in order to somehow protect the Australian people is an utterly reprehensible policy, and Labor should not support it.}

_{I look forward to the time when Labor rediscovers its soul.}

_{Yours sincerely,}

_{Mike Griffin}

_{Valla Beach}

_{NSW 2448}

Newsletter for 9 May 2017 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

Next Roadside Demo - Thurs 18th May Nambucca Plaza 3pm

Next Market Stall Bellingen Sat 20th May

25 Years of Mandatory Detention

Roadside demonstration report

Last Thursday’s demo started well, with lots of support from passing motorists, but sadly, the skies became blacker by the minute and after three quarters of an hour, the heavens opened! Being fair-weather demonstrators, we had to beat a hasty retreat. However, that was not before a delightful young person came running from the Big Banana cafe carrying bottles of water for each of us. She just wanted to say thank you to us for our efforts and to express her solidarity with our cause, before rushing back to her work. How wonderful is that?

Our next roadside demonstration will take place on Thursday 18th May from 3.00 pm until 4.30 pm in Nambucca Heads. You will find us in the usual spot beside the Pacific Highway, adjacent to the Plaza shopping centre. Let’s hope that the sun shines!

Next  market stall: Bellingen market, Saturday 20th May

Please note that our next market stall will be at Bellingen market on Saturday 20th May from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. The markets present a great opportunity for us to remind people about the cruelty and inhumanity of offshore detention. It would be great to welcome supporters old and new to join us, either for a chat or to help out for an hour or two. If you can spare some time to help out, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.  If you remembered to print off the petition sheet which was attached to last week’s newsletter, then you might have signed petitions to bring along to the market to add to the growing number that we have already received. We now have approximately 3500 signatures from RAR supporters around Australia.

25 years of mandatory detention, and counting

On 5th May 1992, legislation was rushed through parliament to prevent a group of Cambodian asylum seekers from claiming refugee status in Australia. The immigration minister of the time, Gerry Hand, assured parliament that the new law was “only intended to be an interim measure”. The law provided that  “boat people” must be detained  and that  a court was not to order their release. All this, in the “national interest”, a political claim which seemed to require no elaboration.

As we know, the effects of this “interim measure” have been catastrophic for thousands of asylum seekers who have sought safety on our shores over the past 25 years. Today, more than 2,000 refugees and asylum seekers languish on Nauru and Manus island, many of them since 2013. As at 28th February 2017, a further 1,300 individuals are mandatorily detained in Australia, many of them for more than four years.

At the time that the legislation was passed, Gerry Hand insisted that the government had no wish to “keep people in custody indefinitely”. Indeed, he said that he “could not expect parliament to support such a suggestion”.

Yet here we are, 25 years later, and the system is more draconian than ever, with the Minister possessing  unprecedented powers to decide on the fate of individual asylum seekers.  It is worth reminding ourselves that Minister Dutton wields sweeping and unchecked powers that are beyond the review of the courts. A recent report, released last week, calls for the minister’s current powers to be reined in and for bills to expand them even further be halted. A Fraser-era  minister for immigration, Ian Macphee, says in the report that he is “disgusted by the power accorded to current ministers regarding the lives of people fleeing persecution”.It is surely more important than ever to maintain our rage about the injustice, the cruelty and inhumanity of our government’s deliberately punitive system of indefinite detention.

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 >480 recipients

Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/

(482 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