CRISIS HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR ACTION ON REFUGEES
The crisis which has unfolded in Afghanistan over the past weeks has resulted in an outpouring of sympathy from many Australians.
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Not just from those who work in the refugee/asylum seeker sector, but from all Australians who have a can empathise with fellow human beings in this crisis situation.
Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) is one of the many groups advocating for those fleeing Afghanistan at this time, a large number of whom helped Australian and other coalition forces over the past 20 years.
RAR, an organisation made up of volunteers spread around five states, is co-ordinating the lodgement of applications for Offshore Humanitarian visas for many of these refugees. They desperately need to leave Afghanistan and find safe haven.
They are fleeing because their lives are threatened. Advocates are also requesting that the relevant federal Government ministers increase Australia's intake of Afghan refugees to 20,000.
Another of their requests is for the many Afghan citizens already living here, who fled their homeland years ago for the very same reason others are fleeing now, to be granted permanent residency status. So many have applied over the years and are still being told their applications are under review.
As with the COVID lockdowns, we are constantly told we need some hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is no way those who fled in fear of their lives at any time could possibly go back now.
They need hope at this time... hope that after so many years they will be able to stay in Australia permanently and continue to contribute to our communities and our economy as they are doing now.
Most of us don't think about how lucky we are to have Australian citizenship. It is only an accident of birth or through our parents choosing to come to Australia, many as refugees or fleeing post World War II Europe, that we live in this wonderful country. Take the time to imagine what it would be like if we were the people who had to flee our country.
Our council signed up to be a Refugee Welcome Zone in 2011. Are we a welcoming community?
Will Mead, convener, Rural Australians for Refugees Griffith
RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD LIE WITH PEOPLE
Since the grave error of the introduction of the closing down of our nation's borders, crippling the lives of its citizens, our governments of all persuasions dig in their collective heels of stupidity.
The Australian people have been waiting with bated breath for their elected Prime Minister to act on their behalf and exercise his position of legal authority in being in the highest position in the land to do so.
Yet instead of exercising his right to do so, he does "nothing", instead he claims it is the Premiers of each state who are the ones who decide what control of decisions are determined even when such decisions are detrimental to the wellbeing of our nation's people as a whole.
Our PM runs with the Premiers' "causes" at the expense of the people he claims to serve, the people who trusted him to do so only to have their trust violated by incompetent, misguided individuals running the show unwisely.
Our nation is "not" a signatory to anything that forces our people against their will by a mandate that causes them to lose their freedom of choice that has been grossly mismanaged, aided and abetted by the very ones who claim to be serving the peoples' collective affairs.
Telling them their ticket to freedom from lockdown rests with a 70 per cent target of vaccination is nothing more than "mandate blackmail" using this virus as a reasoning to force their hand.
Such could have been better managed had the people been allowed to be responsible for their own health issues by learning to live with this virus despite the fatalities associated with viruses in general.
All the people get is "lip service" and a destructive force being allowed to continue to be reinforced, widened and ongoing to no avail.
Yvonne Rance, Griffith
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