Pls note the change in time for this rally. Wsa previously 5pm. Is now
going to be at 6pm.
Hope to see you there,
Rach
RALLY TO SUPPORT PROTESTING WOOMERA REFUGEES!
FRIDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER 6PM G.P.O, BOURKE ST. MALL, CITY
Free all the Refugees!
Full Legal and Welfare Rights for all Refugees!
Stop the Racist Scapegoating!
Resistance and the Democratic Socialist Party have called a protest
action to support the protests of the refugees at Woomera and other
detention centers.
The recent desperate protests by asylum seekers at Woomera Detention
Centre are another indication of the inhumane conditions faced by people
seeking refuge in Australia.
Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock's threat of jail sentences for the
protesting asylum seekers is bitterly ironic. These asylum seekers,
having fled war torn countries, in some cases facing torture and having
lost relatives to brutal repression, already face a virtual jail from
the time they arrive. Australia is the only country in the world to
mandatorily detain asylum seekers who are unable to obtain papers. These
human beings (Ruddock tries to dehumanise them by calling them
"illegals") often have no chance to obtain visas, yet are left to rot in
remote detention centres, sometimes for several years.
One guard from the detention centre described the protestors as "like a
pack of wild animals". Yet most animals are treated far better than
these people. Imagine the frustration of risking your life to flee
brutal conditions, and having finally made it, finding yourself and your
family, children included, locked up indefinitely. These people need
compassion, not further jail and further trauma.
Lawyers from Woomera indicate that those protesting have not been
allowed even to apply
for refugee status. They have been detained since November last year,
and have been denied access to legal advice and have no idea of their
rights. They are afraid of deportation to possible death. This is not
only arbitrary but indefinite detention.
Resistance and the Democratic Socialist Party calls on the Federal
Government to immediately free the refugees from this inhuman
incarceration. Increased funding should be spent not on barbed wire
fences and water canons, but on settlement services for refugees -
counselling, language and employment programs, housing and health
services. All refugees must have the right to permanent residency. This
is the only human solution.
The rally is also endorsed by Friends of the Earth (Melbourne) and
National Union of Students, Victorian Women's Department.
Call the Resistance Centre on 9639 8622 for more information
--
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