detention – Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group

This is not a defeat, this is a call for action.

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
- Advocacy
Another death in Villawood

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
- Advocacy
Until when: The forgotten men of Manus Island

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
- Detention
‘Do not abandon us’ Behrouz Boochani tells audience in Wentworth Falls

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
- Detention
Wentworth Falls Launch of “No Friend But The Mountains”

by Roger Grealy Kathie Herbert and Joy Connor did us proud in organising and running the afternoon around the local launch of Behrouz Boochani’s book, No Friend But The Mountains. As an interested observer I write to say what a professional group we have and what talented , hard working women Kathie and Joy are.Read more
- Detention
Lobbying Federal Politicians in Canberra

Joy Connor and Marie Sellstrom, President of Rural Australians for Refugees, spent 2 days in Canberra meeting with politicians. They met with Russell Broadbent, sent Marise Payne a gift of Blue Mountains honey and a copy of Behrouz Boochani’s book and met with Julie Bishop. The meetings were facilitated by local member Susan Templeman.
Julie Bishop said that refugee advocates needed to lobby for more involvement by Australia in regional intercountry dialogue such as the ‘Bali Process’, if there is to be any kind of solution to forced migration. Read more
- Advocacy

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