Buddies Refugee Support Group

THE KALDOR CENTRE, 7 JULY 2021

The most effective way to prevent pushbacks is to remove the conditions which drive people onto boats in the first place. Regarding the practice of maritime interception, Australia has turned or taken back 38 vessels under Operation Sovereign Borders, the military-led border security operation launched in 2013.
‘Take backs’ involve taking passengers into Australian custody then handing them over directly to the authorities of the place from which they departed, with that handover occurring either at sea – for example from Australian to Sri Lankan vessels – or by Australia bringing people here then flying them back to China, Vietnam, etc.
‘Turn backs’ involve returning vessels to their place of departure, notably Indonesia, on their own vessels or transferred onto lifeboats or wooden fishing boats purchased by Australia. What we should be asking is how exactly Australia is convincing people to go back... more

COMING EVENTS

EVERY WEDNESDAY

Asylum Rights Campaign: End temporary visas

Refugee Action Collective Qld

12 noon–1 pm, Department of Home Affairs, 299 Adelaide Street, Brisbane CBD
Asylum seekers and refugees are fighting for an end to temporary visas and to be granted permanent visas. Please come along and support this RACQ campaign as they share their histories and raise awareness about the torturous and inhumane effects of temporary visas on their lives... more

SUNDAY 29 AUGUST

Buddies Annual General Meeting

11am, ‘Connections on King’, 2-10 Gloucester Rd, Buderim

We are seeking NOMINATIONS (or expressions of interest) from members willing to fill the positions of director and/or secretary in 2021-22. Directors are responsible for managing and directing the activities of Buddies. They meet once a month and the role is not onerous.
The Secretary role includes maintaining the membership register, preparing minutes of general meetings and the Directors’ meetings and managing official correspondence.
For more information: Len 0419 664 524; Lynda 0416 878 431; Paul 0439 679 588 or Gaynore 0402 532 612

Buddies bi-monthly general meetings – dates for 2021-22

2021: 29 August AGM, 31 October and 5 December
2022: 27 February, 24 April, 26 June, 28 August, 30 October and 4 December.

In the last eight years, human values have been undermined, more than $12bn has been spent and the international reputation of Australia has suffered immensely. The key question to ask right now is: “Who has benefited from this policy?”

– Behrouz Boochani, on Twitter

BUDDIES LEARN ENGLISH HOLIDAY
19-24 September

HOMESTAY HOSTS WANTED

Kayla Szumer

Can you offer Homestay for refugees clients of Multicultural Australia in the first week of the school holidays? We are looking for Homestay Hosts for singles, couples and families.

Please reply to buddiesleh@gmail.com or phone Kayla, 0427 380 235 or Robin, 0419 447 399 for more information.

PETITION: #8YearsTooLong for refugees. Let them out, let them stay!

Loghman and other men trapped in Australia’s indefinite detention system are enduring prolonged cruelty, with no end in sight. The best treatment for traumatic prolonged incarceration is freedom. Doctors know this. Release the Medevac cohort so that they can get healthy. Allow them the certainty of settlement here or in a safe country of their choosing. End the harm... SIGN

PETITION: Solidarity with Medevac refugees – free all indefinitely detained refugees now!

The Refugee Action Collective Victoria has launched a petition in solidarity with the Medevac refugees on hunger strike, with all refugees indefinitely detained, and with those still held offshore indefinitely by Australia.
We call on Karen Andrews, Minister for Home Affairs, and Alex Hawke, Minister for Immigration, to immediately free all indefinitely detained refugees... SIGN

Urgent accommodation required

A very reliable and trustworthy asylum seeker is looking for accommodation on the Sunshine Coast (one room would be enough).
He is willing to work off rent/board by doing odd jobs and chores. He would love to live and help out on a farm. Buddies may be able to help with some costs if required.
Character references provided.
Please send inquiries to Len Mangan, 0419 664 524, lenmango123@gmail.com

THE CANADIAN SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

READ JALAL'S STORY

Jill Horton

Jalal Malamede, who was Medevaced to Australia after falling ill on Manus Island and since trapped in BITA for two years, has reason to hope that he will soon be resettled in Canada. The crowd-funding appeal launched by Jill Horton has reached its target, but there is still a delay of some months. Jalal has a message for all Australians. Read his Facebook post.

Send Sahar to safety

Welcome to Maleny

W2M’s latest project is really special and could completely change the life of one person, Sahar, a young single female Hazara refugee from Afghanistan. Stuck indefinitely in Indonesia without any family support or access to basic human rights, Sahar also has no chance of being resettled in Australia. Now Welcome to Maleny is helping Sahar with her application for sponsorship to Canada but we need the help of our local communities... READ MORE

FYI: Donations and fundraising in June

Claire Arico, Buddies Treasurer

In June Buddies made donations to the following groups:
Communify ($250); The Romero Centre ($250); Indooroopilly Uniting Church (Asylum Seeker assistance) ($500) and $200 towards the Romero Centre fundraising walk. Buddies also donated $781 to a local refugee to purchase tools to enable them to begin work.
Funds were raised as follows: Eumundi carparking ($638), container recycling ($13.50) and sale of avocados ($425).

Sick Tamil refugee detained for 11 years

Canberra Times, 11 July

A Tamil refugee who has been in immigration detention for 11 years is pleading for freedom while being treated for blood cancer.
Rajan Navanthirasa, 48, came to Australia by boat in 2009 and, according to his lawyer Alison Battisson, has been assessed by the Australian government as in need of protection. She has recommended her client be released into the community, but despite that his detention continues.
“He is a lovely, gentle man who doesn’t have a criminal record and has been recognised as having protection obligations owed to him,” Ms Battisson said... more

Asylum seekers at MITA begin new hunger strike

7News, 16 July

Asylum seekers who’ve spent years in detention on and offshore have resumed a hunger strike at the Melbourne facility where they are being held, supporters say. The Refugee Action Coalition says about a dozen asylum seekers brought to Australia for medical care about two years ago are part of the protest action.
The men, who are detained at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA) centre, stopped eating on Thursday night, less than a fortnight since they ended their last hunger strike, which lasted 15 days... more

Life or death for Hazaras: Australia has a moral obligation to act, now

The Guardian, 19 July

The allied forces are leaving Afghanistan – and already the Taliban are killing individuals. Specifically targeted is Afghanistan’s Hazara community.
Hazaras are predominantly Shia Muslims, hold liberal values and promote education. Their educational and cultural success since 2001 pose a living contradiction to Taliban dogma.
Australia, the European Union, the United States and Afghanistan’s friends in the global community have a moral obligation towards them... more

COVID-19 and immigration detention

The Saturday Paper, 17 July

During the pandemic, immigration detention centres have become more crowded. Despite many guards living in Covid-19 hotspots, there are no extra precautions for asylum seekers, no distancing and no access to vaccines. Advocates warn of a superspreading event if the virus gets in.
Detainee Imasi Yousef is worried: the centre is full. There is no social distancing. No public notices. No gloves or masks. No sanitiser. “Absolutely not. We are like normal… only everything has changed for the worst,” he says... more

A stranger to his son: Locked in detention limbo

WA Today, 9 July

In his homeland, people who speak out against the government can be tortured, shot or hanged. But this, says Amin Afravi, an Iranian asylum seeker holed up in Brisbane, is nothing compared with how he has suffered at the hands of the Australian government.
In Iran, people are shot or tortured for the simple act of protesting. But this, he says, is nothing compared with the recent trauma. He has no privacy. No freedom. He says he is treated like a five-year-old.
“It is,” he says, “an animal’s life”... more

Three countries, eight years: one refugee’s nightmare odyssey through Australia’s detention system

The Guardian, 17 July

Loghman Sawari was a child when they sent him to what he calls the 'prison island'. A member of the Ahwazi Arab ethnic minority, Loghaman fled Iran almost eight years ago when he was 17. Today he remains in detention in Australia. Over eight years within Australia’s offshore regime, Sawari has watched boat mates and cell mates set free to begin lives, to attend schools or take jobs, to start families.
But he remains in detention, facing an indefinite incarceration after a flight to the United States, which has provisionally accepted him for resettlement, was cancelled in December... more

Behrouz Boochani: For eight years, Australia has been taking refugees as hostages. It’s time to ask: who has benefited?

The Guardian, 21 July

Eight years have passed since the Australian government mandated offshore detention for the more than 3000 asylum seekers who arrive by boat.
The government needs our bodies for political power, while the detention industry needs us to fuel its money-making torture machine. But what has Australia truly gained?
When I think about the stories of these refugees, including myself, the first thought that springs to mind is the abduction of human beings on the sea. We were kidnapped and forcibly transferred to an island we had never heard of. We were robbed of our identity... more

Thank you to Robert Kann, Len Mangan, Kayla Szumer, Lynda Utting and Diana Woolley for their contributions to this edition.

BUDDIES BULLETIN – EDITORIAL POLICY
DEADLINE FOR CONTRIBUTIONS: 5pm Wednesday
Please send contributions for the newsletter to the editor.
EDITOR / PRODUCTION: Wendy Oakley
WEBSITE: Wendy Oakley
FACEBOOK: Anneliese Broadaway

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ABOUT BUDDIES REFUGEE SUPPORT GROUP
Buddies is an independent community group based on the Sunshine Coast which advocates for just and compassionate treatment of refugees, consistent with the human rights standards which Australia has developed and endorsed.
We support policies towards refugees and asylum seekers that reflect respect, decency and traditional Australian generosity to those in need, while advancing Australia’s international standing and national interests.
Confidentiality  Your email address is completely confidential.
To contribute to Buddies   Buddies’ fundraising contributes to refugee and asylum seeker support. You can direct debit to:
Suncorp Bank, BSB 484-799
Account No: 123508960
Account name: Buddies Refugee Support Group Ltd
Your donations are much appreciated by those we help.

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Buddies Refugee Support Group · PO Box 367 · Buderim, Qld 4556 · Australia