Join our weekly solidarity protests
Every week, we gather to stand in solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers demanding permanent visas. These protests are a call for change, urging the government to provide security and stability for those who have lived in, and contributed to, the Australian community for 12 years and more, but are still without permanence in this country.
RAC Canberra supports the 24/7 encampments in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. In solidarity, we are holding weekly protests outside Senator Katy Gallagher’s office and MP Alicia Payne’s office, to add our voices to the call for permanent visas. Please come along, if you can, even if you can’t stay the hour, or make it each week. We’ll bring the signs, but feel free to bring your own as well.
Why We Protest
Up to 8500 Individuals and families who come to Australia to seeking a safe home more than a decade ago have never had their claims for protection fairly assessed. For years, they have lived with uncertainty and the fear of being returned to danger. Precarious temporary visas have kept people in a state of limbo. Without permanent status, they cannot fully integrate or plan for the future. We believe everyone has the right to a safe home and the opportunity to build a stable life.
Our weekly protests highlight the struggles faced by these refugee communities. We want to raise awareness and push for policies that offer permanent solutions. Standing together, we amplify the voices of those who are faced severe hardship as a result of Australia’s current policies.
How You Can Help
Joining our protests is a powerful way to show support. Each person who stands with us strengthens our message. You can also amplify our collective voice through social media or by talking to friends and family.
Another way to help is by contacting local representatives. Let them know that you support permanent visas for the thousands of people who have been failed by an unfair and flawed process. Your voice can influence change at the policy level.
Our Weekly Protests
We meet every week in two locations in Canberra:
- Senator Katy Gallagher’s Office ( 40 Corinna Street, Phillip), every Wednesday from 12-1 PM
- MP Alicia Payne Office (221 London Circuit, Civic), every Thursday from 12-1 PM
These gatherings are peaceful, respectful, organized and inclusive. Everyone is welcome to join, regardless of background or experience.
- Bring signs or banners that express support.
- Wear comfortable clothing and bring water.
- Invite friends and family to join.
Standing in solidarity for permanent visas is more than just a protest. It’s a movement for compassion and kindness. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of many people.
Join Us in Making a Difference
We invite you to join us in our weekly protests. Your presence can help create a more inclusive and supportive society. Let’s work together to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
12:30 PM, Sunday 3 June
The Pavilion, Australian Centre for Christianity & Culture
15 Blackall St., Barton
The racism behind the policies
Where it comes from
This general meeting will begin with a discussion of the origins of racism. It has been widely pointed out that were refugees coming to Australia and elsewhere European, the cruel policies pioneered in Australia and now being copied elsewhere would not exist. The very different treatment offered by some countries to refugees from Ukraine compared to those from the Middle East and Africa is an example.
But is this simply a part of the human condition? An introduction by John Minns will suggest not and will look at the historical origins of racism.
There will also be a discussion of future plans, including our response to the latest legislation Labor has introduced (see below) and suggestions for the campaign in the coming months.
Agenda
- Racism behind the policies – where did it come from?
- Report back on Stop Labor’s Deportation Bill public meeting
- Political update
- Marking July 19 – 11 year anniversary
- Refugee Week schools’ project
- Other business.
The meeting will be followed by a light lunch of winter-warming soups.
All are welcome.
12 noon, Saturday 20 January
The Pavilion, Australian Centre for Christianity & Culture
15 Blackall St., Barton
PUBLIC MEETING
Speaker: Dr Jordana Silverstein
6.30pm, Wednesday 1 November, 2023
RSSS Bldg. Ellery Cres. ANU
Concern for the welfare of child refugees has been put forward by Australian governments as the reason for increasingly harsh policies. In 2001, the Howard government claimed that refugees had thrown their children overboard in an attempt to enter Australia. This was shown to be a lie. But it was used as an excuse for sending refugees to offshore prisons on Manus Island and Nauru – including children.
Later, the deaths at sea of children and their families was used as the reason for adopting even more punitive policies such as banning those who come by boat from ever settling in Australia and for turning back boats.
The physical and psychological health of thousands of children has been badly damaged by Australia’s refugee policies. Numerous professional medical reports as well as leaked ‘incident reports’ from these detention centres have illustrated the massive harm done to children kept in them for years. In many cases, these have included suicide attempts.
‘Caring’ for children has become the excuse for harming them.
This public meeting features Dr Jordana Silverstein, who has just published Cruel Care: A History of Children at Our Borders. The book details the history of Australia’s refugee policies as they have been applied to children.
Dr Silverstein is a senior research fellow at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness at the University of Melbourne. She is also the author of Anxious Histories and co-editor of Refugee Journeys. Her criticism and essays appear widely in Australian publications.
People who came to Australia to seek protection and a safe place to call home have spent up to 10 years in brutal detention, or on temporary visas with no certainty or security, separated from family. We should be welcoming people who have fled war and persecution, not punishing them and their families.
Thousands of people across Australia will rally for Justice for Refugees and an End to Cruelty. Join us in Canberra, 1pm, Garema Place, on 10 April. Add your voice to this call for freedom.
For more information, see our Facebook event page here: Justice for Refugees: End the Cruelty Palm Sunday Rally
Map: Event: 2022 Palm Sunday Rally
Find downloadable resources, including posters and leaflets, for our 2022 Palm Sunday Justice for Refugees – End the Cruelty rally attached below.
Downloadable/Printable Resources
Video Resources
Bishop Carol Wagner
CFMEU
AEU
UWU
Greens
Kim for Canberra
Craig and Moz – full version
Craig and Moz – Shorter Version 1
Craig and Moz – Shorter Version 2
Hazara community
Unions ACT
NTEU
Please download our letter writing kit for December.
Included in this kit is the information you need to create your own letters or use the proformas (courtesy of https://www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au/rar-groups/online-group/)
- Guide and Background notes prepared by ARAN’s Letter Writing Network.
- 2 proforma letters that you can copy (and personalise) to send by post or email.
- Postal Addresses for MPs and Senators
- Email addresses for MPs and Senators
The topic is Australia’s poor response to the refugee crisis in Afghanistan. We are calling on the Morrison government to:
- increase Australia’s refugee intake from Afghanistan to at least 20,000, and
- grant permanent protection to refugees from Afghanistan.
Australia’s response has been nothing short of disgraceful. The humanitarian disaster occurring in Afghanistan is obvious, with widespread evidence of poverty, starvation and the ruthlessness of the Taliban regime. Australia promised 3000 places in our refugee intake for people from Afghanistan. Yet to date, not one of those permanent protection visas has been issued. People who arrived in Australia from the evacuation flights from Kabul in August have been given temporary (maximum 1 year) visas only. Other Afghan refugees who were already in Australia also remain on temporary protection visas. This is totally unacceptable. It is not at all reasonable to think that it will be safe for refugees to return to Afghanistan in the foreseeable future.
Please use the information and sample letter in the kit to write, at least to Prime Minister Morrison, and demand better.
Thank you for your continued support in the campaign for justice for refugees. Pleas share this widely.
Canberra RAC letter writing campaign
Letter Writing -PS In case you haven’t seen it, here’s a powerful editorial from last week’s Saturday Paper – worth a read.
Read the Refugee Action Campaign’s September Political Update here: