Blue Mountains Refugee Supporters joined the online Action for Refugees on Palm Sunday. Supporters from Blackheath to Sydney showed their support by posting a photo of themselves hold a sign. Some, who found taking a selfie while holding a sign too difficult, photographed their pets. Kathie Herbert, Deputy Chair of BMRSG, who started BMRSG support in Katoomba, said, “Social distancing protocols were strictly adhered to! “Read more
Ms Keneally took the opportunity, with Andrew Giles, the shadow minister for multicultural affairs, to meet members of the Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group, while in the area visiting Mt Tomah and Bilpin with the Labor shadow ministry in the wake of the bushfires.
“It was a perfect opportunity for Andrew Giles and I to come meet with this group, particularly to discuss the range of issues they are campaigning on and for me personally, it was a great morale boost to know that there are so many people in the community who want to ensure a just and fair outcome for asylum seekers and refugees,” Ms Keneally said.Read more
Mandeep* was in detention for nearly 10 years. During his time at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, his mental health and the injuries he suffered fleeing civil war at home slowly worsened. BMRSG volunteers visited Mandeep during this time, campaigned for his release and are now supporting him in the community as he transitions from detention to living in and negotiating his way around Sydney. Find out how BMRSG supports those who come seeking safety.Read more
By Joy Connor Chair BMRSG 2018 -2019 saw an increase in aggressive negative rhetoric towards our asylum seeker friends. It saw the end of hope for a more compassionate policy for several years. In the eighteenth year of our existence, the AGM was a time to revisit what keeps us going: the vision of a caring, inclusive community that starts with affirming each other. We affirmed all the hardRead more
Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, re-introduced the Refugee Protection Bill 2019 to Parliament this morning. It was seconded by independent MP Dr Helen Haines. “Confining people for an indefinite period of time, whether it be on Christmas Island, in Nauru or on Manus, was never a lawful, ethical or affordable policy. It’s grossly inhumane,Read more
My Mum passed away a year ago at 98. Not long before, she had magnets made for everyone that said “Christmas is the key to the future’ This year It hit me that the Christmas story of a baby born to a homeless refugee family destined to bring A Christmas message, Peace to the earth, changes what we value in this sad old world whatever belief system we follow.
Decisions made from a Christmas value base are the key to a future where we care for each other and our aching planet.
In these last days of a hard hard year , as the mountains burn around us let us be grateful for the faithfulness of those who live by these Christmas values.Read more
