Members of the Griffith chapter of Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) gathered outside Commonwealth Bank on Monday July 19, rallying against the Federal Government's refusal to offer settlement in Australia to asylum seekers who have come here by boat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Community members were asked to sign an open petition to reverse this legislation.
The date marks 8 years since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that any asylum seekers who arrived in Australia, or who were found in nearby waters, without a visa would never been resettled.
Since then, more than 3,100 people have been sent to 'offshore' detention camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.
Eight years later and there are still 233 people trapped in offshore detention facilities, with 1,47 imprisoned in closed detention in Australia, their only crime feeling danger and attempting to arrive on our shores via boat.
RAR Griffith President Will Mead was one of 10 founding members of the local chapter in 2018, now the community group has 46 members.
"All asylum seekers, need hope. Acting in solidarity with them offers that" Mrs Mead said.
READ MORE
Along with many other organisations who advocate for the humane treatment of asylum seekers and refugees, Griffith RAR are calling on the Australian Government to:
So how can the community get educated and stay informed on the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers coming to Australia?
According to Mrs Mead, people have the right to seek asylum in 'any way' they can.
"This attitude from some that 'we need to look after our own first, we don't need any of these other people here' is horrible" Mrs Mead said.
"We all need to respond with our hearts and with compassion because every single one of these people in crisis is just like us, they just weren't lucky enough to be born with Australian citizenship."
If you would like to get involved with Griffith RAR you can send an email to rargriffith@gmail.com, send them a message on Facebook or visit www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.areanews.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News