Vigil for Aylan Kurdi – Abbott must welcome refugees

Date/Time
Date(s) - Tue 8 Sep 2015
17:00

Categories

• Candlelight Vigil

5pm Tuesday 8 September
Intersection of Northbourne Avenue and Barry Drive (view map)

This event is being co-sponsored by RAC, Love Makes a Way, GetUp and 350.org.

The world has been horrified by last week’s images of drowned three year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi washed up on the shores of Turkey. Aylan, along with his older brother and mother, drowned after their boat capsized trying to reach Europe, being left with no other option but to attempt the dangerous journey by sea. These images, and similar tragic stories of millions of other refugees escaping war and persecution around the world, have led to an outpouring of grief and support across Europe, with crowds welcoming refugees at train stations, and even offering to open their homes to house the recent arrivals.

These scenes have shamed many in Australia, where for years our government has tried to hide the truth on refugees, as well as the abuses that occur in our detention centres, by locking them up in out-of-reach locations like Manus Island and Nauru. The sad fact is if Aylan’s family had tried to reach Australia the Abbott government would have turned their boat around or locked them up indefinitely in camps rife with abuse. These policies are a deliberate attempt to deny many Australians the chance to feel basic human compassion and solidarity with the plight of refugees, all for the purpose of cheap electoral gain. Events in Europe this past week have now shattered that illusion.

Australians are waking up to the fact that ‘Stopping the Boats’ is a cruel and inhumane position to take to those seeking help, and certainly not an idea we would be proud to export to Europe. Please join us at Tuesday’s vigil for Aylan and countless others who have perished in their efforts to reach safety, and add your voice to the growing demand for the Abbott government to open its heart and welcomes the refugees.

Please invite your friends on Facebook. #LightTheDark #WelcomeRefugees