Despite suffering under Australia’s soul-destroying indefinite detention regime, one young asylum seeker who has been locked up for years has developed a veggie patch, improving everyone’s diet and contributing to OZ HARVEST a huge box of fresh carrots for the needy.Read more
BMRSG’s submission as to why we do not support this bill. “We are concerned that this bill will slow the evacuation of seriously ill people from Manus and Nauru to Australia for specialist treatment thus exacerbating their disorders. Doctors and medical personnel must always be able make the decision for rapid medical evacuation in a society which values human life.
The previous system involved many levels of bureaucracy and constant court battles to enable medical transfers, an expensive and time wasting business.”
This is not a defeat, this is a call to action for us. Our job is not to give up but to build something better starting today.
We will only fight harder for people seeking asylum and be even more fearless. We can’t let this break us or even bend our determination, too many refugees lives depend on us coming together leading with love and direct action now.
Read where we can start and one letter written the day ofter the election result.Read more
After the latest suicide attempt at Villawood I rang Susan Templeman’s Office to let her know that we were all deeply concerned at the mounting number of suicides and attempted suicides caused by indefinite detention policies. Through her office manager she expressed her deep concern but said that, as an opposition MP and a known supported of refugees, her voice makes little difference without direct calls from the public to the Ministers concerned. BCC her in emails.
Read more to get addresses and see sample letters.Read more
This joint report by the Refugee Council of Australia in partnership with Amnesty International, tells the story of the men who have been sent by Australia to Manus Island, Papua New Guinea (PNG), and what has happened to them after they were forcibly removed from the ‘regional processing centre’ on Manus Island one year ago.
Executive summary
“The system the Australian government has designed for refugees and asylum seekers, has a kind of evil and devastating effect. It can ruin the very inner strength of human spirit. To the outsider, Fariborz [Karami] took his own life [on Nauru in June 2018], but the truth is the system took his life. There is no alternative explanation, and we must hold
the Australian government accountable for this action.Read more
Behrouz Boochani, the Kurdish Iranian journalist and award winning autho, discussed his recently published memoir No Friend But the Mountain: Writing From Manus Prison at the Wentworth Falls School of Performing Arts last Saturday. Mr. Boochani fled from Iran to seek refuge in Australia but was instead sent to offshore detention on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. Mr. Boochani is a vocal advocate for Kurdish people and all refugees and asylum seekers. Mr. Boochani Skyped in from East Lorengu, the refugee accommodation on Manus Island where he currently resides, and received a standing ovation from audience members, before talking about his memoir and his time in detention.Read more
