Roadside demonstration report
Coffs Harbourside market: Sunday 8th March, 9.00 am to 1.30 pm
Harmony Time: a concert on Sunday 15th March at 2.00 pm
A huge thank you, and a fond farewell
Refugee organisations react to last week’s ICC report
Behrouz Boochani’s book: No Friend but the Mountains
Roadside demonstration report
We
were a small band of enthusiasts at our roadside demonstration last
week, but we succeeded in getting lots of attention and support from
passing motorists. We acknowledged that it is not easy to maintain the
momentum after so many years of standing by the roadside. However, we
quickly agreed that what we are doing is but a tiny sacrifice when
compared to the terrible suffering inflicted on refugees and asylum
seekers by our political leaders on both sides of parliament. They have
been denied their freedom, their dignity and their human rights for
almost seven years.
We will keep up the fight!
Our next roadside demonstration will be on Thursday 5th March on Waterfall Way in Bellingen from 2.30 to 4.00 pm.
You will find us in our usual spot near the Yellow Shed, opposite the
entrance to the golf club. Please consider joining us if you possibly
can.
Coffs Harbourside market: Sunday 8th March, 9.00 am to 1.30 pm
A reminder that our next market stall will be at the popular Coffs Harbourside market on Sunday 8th
March. We are still looking for helpers for the market, 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.
Harmony Time: a concert on Sunday 15th March at 2.00 pm
 |
| The previous RAR concert was throughly enjoyed. |
A
reminder that our Harmony Time concert will take place in the Nambucca
Community and Arts Centre in Nambucca Heads on Sunday 15th
March, starting at 2.00 pm. We have a terrific line-up of musicians to
uplift and entertain you, including members of the Coffs Harbour
Conservatorium, the Eleventh-Hour Choir, and Heather Rose and friends.
We
hope that you have the date in your diary and that you will encourage
your friends and family to join us. Our aim is to raise a four-figure
sum for the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown.
Tickets
are priced at $20 for adults and $10 for students. There is no charge
for children under ten. You can purchase your tickets NOW from
Helloworld Travel, situated on Bowra Street in Nambucca Heads, or you
can order them for collection and payment at the door by contacting Mike
at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. or by phone: 6569 5419. Alternatively, you can purchase your tickets at the door on 15th March.
We will have our RAR stall and a raffle, and there will be works of art on sale at bargain prices.
If
you can help out on the day of the concert, or if you can contribute
something for our raffle hamper, then please contact Marlene at: marlene.griffin46@bigpond.com.
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| Vintage Opaline Glass Vases |
A huge thank you, and a fond farewell
This
week, two of our longstanding supporters, Carol and John Vernon, are
leaving the area to take up a new life to be close to family in
Melbourne. They were founding members of the Bellingen and Nambucca
District RAR group, established in 2014, and they have been wonderful
and steadfast activists since that time. Many of you will have met them
at our markets, our roadside demonstrations and our fundraising events
over the years. We will greatly miss their enthusiastic support, their
friendship, their generosity and their conversation. We wish them well
in their move to Melbourne.
The
good news is that, as they are downsizing, we now have in our
possession a large number of items for our next lunch/ auction. So, if
you would like to be the new owner of some excellent Vernon memorabilia,
then watch this space for the date of our next fundraiser.
For
the past year or so, John has managed our blog, so if there is anyone
out there who could take on the job, which John tells us is not onerous,
then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
Refugee organisations react to last week’s ICC report
In
last week’s newsletter, we reported on the findings of the
International Criminal Court in relation to the Australian government’s
“cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” of asylum seekers and refugees
in offshore detention. A number of groups, including Amnesty
International Australia, Asylum Seekers Centre, the National Justice
Project, the Refugee Council of Australia and others, have responded
swiftly and collectively to the ICC judgement.
Dr
Graham Thon, of AI Australia, states: “This should be all the
encouragement the Australian Government needs to secure third-party
resettlement options so people who have suffered so much can start to
rebuild their lives. It is completely unconscionable, when there are
offers on the table from countries like New Zealand to resettle people,
that Australia keeps them detained in conditions that have been found
objectively to be cruel and inhumane.”
The
Refugee Council of Australia, Paul Power, states: “This long-running
ill-treatment of people seeking protection from persecution has done
untold damage to Australia’s reputation. Any point that the Australian
government wanted to make to the world was clearly made years ago. It’s
pointless and unbelievably cruel to be still holding people seven years
later.”
We clearly still have much work to do!
Behrouz Boochani’s book: No Friend but the Mountains
Many
of you will have read Behrouz’s now-famous book, but you might be
interested to know that it is now available in some local libraries as
an audio book. It is read by an interesting variety of voices, including
Richard Flanagan, Thomas Keneally, Isabel Carmody and Geoffrey
Robertson. There is a long waiting list at Coffs Harbour library.
The book is also available on Audible.
It includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and newspapers.
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