Seize the moment
Around 50 people still detained by the Morrison Government in unsafe hotels and crowded detention centres. Please don't forget them
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews can free refugees with a signature. Please, can you give her a call now urging her to give freedom to those still detained for up to 9 years?
With an election on the way, it would be all too easy to stop taking action and leave the future of those who are still not free to fate.
Mehdi, who with his cousin Adnan was finally allowed to begin a new life in the US two weeks ago. Writing in The Guardian, Mehdi said:
“Certainly, it would be much easier for me to stay silent, but my conscience pushes me to write and fight with my friends who are suffering in detention onshore and offshore.”
A quick, phone call to Karen Andrews is an easy, powerful action you can take right now - you don’t need to be an expert, you can find tips on the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASCR) action page.
Online forum
Fair Go for Refugees: Australia can do better
Australia is failing refugees: what a decent approach would look like
When: Weds 6 April 7-8.15pm AEST
Register: online Zoom registration After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining online forum.
This online forum, hosted by the Australian Refugee Action Network, will explore our treatment of refugees and those who seek protection, and how this could be entirely different, with some reflection on Australia’s more enlightened response to the Vietnamese refugees crisis in the late 70s. Instead of punishing refugees for seeking safety as we currently do, Australia could be offering safe resettlement and treat people who seek our protection with dignity, fairness and compassion. Australia should have a more generous approach to refugees and work with regional neighbours to create safe resettlement options and pathways for people fleeing persecution and war.
Speakers:
- Craig Foster - former Australian of the Year, former soccer player, and refugee rights advocate.
- Shabnam Safa, Chair National Refugee-led Advisory and Advocacy Group (NRAAG)
- Asher Hirsch, Refugee Council of Australia
- Dr Claire Loughnan, University of Melbourne
- Abbas Nazari - author of After the Tampa (Tampa refugee 2001 and Fulbright Scholar)
You’ll also hear more about the actions planned for Palm Sunday (10 April 2022), when people across Australia will take action and stand in solidarity with refugees, calling for Justice and Freedom for Refugees.
Australian Refugee Action Network
Please note the ARAN webpage is live and has lots of resources and ideas including info specifically for Faith Communities. See Actions page on the ARAN website
Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce (ACRT) is an activity of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA).
We believe our faith calls us to welcome the stranger and care for the people who find themselves displaced, marginalised or homeless, and those in need of protection. We want to see a compassionate and generous response to welcoming refugees into Australia.
