Join call for immediate action on offshore detention #Safetyforall
On 3 February 2017, the Refugee Council of Australia, in conjunction with over 70 organisations and community groups around Australia, called for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to work together to “bring these people to Australia”.
The full text of the call can be found on the Refugee Council of Australia’s website:
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/media/open-statement-calling-immediate-action-offshore-detention/
Sign the #Safetyforall petition as an individual here:
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/safetyforall
Add the name of your organisation to the list here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_DLZP26g2q0BOeHURxohZsbVChC3nMUJ0AhXNaPk4vYszoQ/viewform?c=0&w=1
Sign the #Bringthemhere petition
A number of organisations are promoting petitions with the aim of influencing the Government to bring the transferees from Manus Island, PNG and Nauru to Australia for processing and resettlement.
A petition is being compiled by the organisations listed below. The link to their websites is included should you wish to sign the petition.
Refugee Council of Australia
Yes, I call on the Australian Government to immediately bring these children women and men we have sent to Nauru to safety in Australia and I urge the government to conduct an independent judicial inquiry into each incident to ensure justice is served to all who have suffered in our name #Bringthemhere
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/bringthemhere/
GetUp!
BRING THEM HERE
To the Prime Minister and Immigration Minister,
Mounting evidence – from doctors, lawyers, and the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea – has shown your policy of mandatory offshore detention is immoral, abusive and illegal.
It has never been clearer that the centres on Manus Island and Nauru must be closed, and the people who have suffered in them be treated with compassion and dignity.
Please take this opportunity to do the right thing by those the Australian government has imprisoned for years, and allow them to start rebuilding their lives in safety, in our communities.
Bring them here.
https://www.getup.org.au/centreaigns/refugees/bring-them-here/petition-bring-them-here
Write to or ring your local member/Senator
Writing letters to your local representative has an impact on policy formation and, as a consequence, how governments enact their policy.
For ideas on how to write and effective letter and contact details for your local member, refer the Refugee Council of Australia website at:
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/take-action/contacting-politicians/
#LoveMakesAWay suggested people phoned the offices of Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in response to the proposed legislation to ban for life from Australia people who sought asylum and arrived by boat after 19 July 2013.
Politicians (Senators and Members of Parliament) can be contacted via the Parliamentary website at:
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members
GetUp suggested people write to Labor senators in order to request that they block the Government’s proposed legislation to ban for life from Australia people who sought asylum and arrived by boat after 19 July 2013. Any Senator or Member of Parliament may be contacted via the link above. The link also provides information on how to address Senators and Members.
Join #LoveMakesAWay movement
#LoveMakesAWay is…
…a movement of Christians seeking an end to Australia’s inhumane asylum seeker policies through prayer and nonviolent love in action.”
http://lovemakesaway.org.au/who-we-are/
The movement encourages people as individuals and groups to take action as follows:
“TAKE ACTION
- Make a paper doll (link to instructions below) and write on it whatever makes it meaningful for you. You might like to write:
- Stick your paper doll somewhere where others can see it. Perhaps:
- Post a photo of your paper doll on social media with the hashtags #BringThemHere & #LoveMakesAWay.
-
PRAY. PRAY. PRAY.”
- Your own prayer
- The details of one person’s case that is detailed in the Nauru Files
- The hashtag #Bringthemhere
- In your home’s front window
- In your car window
- In your workplace
- At your local MP’s office
Link to the paper doll template can also be found on the #Lovemakesaway website at:
http://lovemakesaway.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/A3-Human-Cutout.pdf
Please note the #LoveMakesAWay movement encourages all to use their paper doll idea as a visual expression of support for people incarcerated on Nauru and Manus Island, PNG.
Prayer resources can be accessed via the #LoveMakesaWay website at:
http://lovemakesaway.org.au/2016/08/24/take-action-on-naurufiles/
Share your knowledge by word of mouth or via social media
When sharing pages, stories or images with your friends online, include the tags #Safetyforall, #BringThemHere or #Naurufiles to link them together
Ideas for schools
Schools can access and use the ideas outlined above. For example, there could be a paper doll for each person detained on Nauru and Manus Island, PNG ‘planted’ on the front lawn of your school using the “#LoveMakesAWay doll template and prayer resources.
Get involved with the “Free the children Nauru” movement focussing on care and support for the children detained on Nauru.
https://freethechildrennauru.com/
Prayers could be included in school liturgies.
There are more resources for schools exploring the issue of refugees and seekers of asylum as follows:
- Asylum Seekers and Refugees Education Resource from Edmund Rice Centre available for download at:
http://www.erc.org.au/refugee_education_resource - Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum have a number of resources available for schools and groups that can be accessed at:
http://capsa.org.au/resources/ - http://capsa.org.au/
- Access to resources for students from the Jesuit Refugee Service at:
http://www.jrs.org.au/get-involved/resources/#tabgarb=tab2