Manus Island – Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group

Ged Kearney’s maiden speech to the House of Representatives 21 May 2018

“That brings me to the issue of asylum seekers, a passionate and emotional issue for the voters in Batman’s community. I think proudly of the great achievements of both sides of this House, of Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke, who with bipartisan support provided sanctuary to those fleeing the consequences of war in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and later from the events of Tiananmen Square. …

I cannot comprehend how a nation that provided a safe home to so many in the wake of World War II, including our large Jewish community of Holocaust survivors, allowed the Tampa and the children overboard scandal to evolve into the shameful policy of indefinite detention on Manus and Nauru. Racist dog whistling has demonised and vilified a community that has everything to give Australia. And the sacrifice of this human potential has been made solely for political gain.Read more
- Detention
2018 Human Rights Dinner keynote address by Behrouz Boochani

Standing up for human rights is about picking the battles that are long and exhausting precisely because they are the ones that matter the most.
Even after five years of misery and oppression, Behrouz Boochani hasn’t given up. So how on earth can any of us?
As he said in his keynote address via video from Manus island last night at the Annual Human Rights Dinner in Sydney:
“Our advocacy will be acknowledged as truly valuable and worthwhile only when we can secure the release and safety of the refugees imprisoned on these islands.”
Never give up. We won’t.Read more
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Walid Zazai speaks from Manus to the Palm Sunday Rally 2018

Walid Zazai speaks from Manus
31 December 2017 As the clock ticked towards midnight, I felt both dread at another long year and hope for what seems unimaginable to me – freedom.
Hello everyone, my name is Walid Zazai. Thank you for asking me to speak again.

Much has changed since last year’s Palm Sunday Rally.
On 7 August 2017, Hamed Shamshiripour died on Manus.On 21 September 2017, 24 Manus men left PNG for the US, thefirst to be resettled under what Donald Trump called a ‘dumb deal’.
On 29 September 2017, Rajeev became the sixth Manus Island refugee to die in the last four years. His death follows those of Reza Barati, Hamid Kehazaei, Kamil Hussain, Faysal Ishak, Ahmed & Hamed Shamshiripour.
November 2017 is a month I hope one day my memory will erase.Read more
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A letter from Manus Island to be read on Palm Sunday

Imran, a refugee on Manus, has written this letter on behalf of the refugees and asylum-seekers on the island to coincide with Palm Sunday rallies across Australia. Dearest Friends, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to everyone joining the rally on Palm Sunday, and of course, to those who support us in myriadRead more
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Friday essay: the Chauka bird and morality on our Manus Island home

Michelle Nayahamui Rooney grew up on Manus Island and returned to her home in November 2017. Here is the story of her childhood, what Manus island means to her as she tries to explains what the detention centre has done to this community.

“My poem Chauka, yu we? started as an angry reaction to the appropriation of the Chauka and the inhumane treatment of asylum seekers. As a scholar and as a Manus Islander, I have tried to reason through the historical, political, social and moral issues that gave rise to the detention centre. At the same time I am left angry, sad and guilty…”Read more
- Detention
BRING THEM HERE OFFSHORE DETENTION: THE SUFFERING CONTINUES

While the Detention Centre on Manus Island was forcibly closed by the PNG Government there are still more than 600 men detained in unsafe conditions on Manus Island.
There are approximately 340 people – men, women and children – held in the Nauru detention centre, including 43 children. A further 750 people have been released into the tiny Nauruan community, including more than 100 children. They have temporary visas, very limited rights, and they cannot leave the island.
Read this concise update of what is continuing to happen on Manus Island and Nauru by the Bellingen and Nambucca District RAR. Jan 2018.Read more
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