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This fortnight's themeRefugees Issue 110
 
 

 
"The Courage to Take Action"

Imagine that you live in a prison. You came to the prison with your Mum 2 years ago when you were 4 and have no memories of the time before then. Your Mum is always depressed and cries to go home. You have never met your father or your older brother and sister as they were killed in a war in a land far away. You have a younger sister who was born in detention when you and your mother arrived. Your Mum finds it difficult to cope with your sister. Your Mum became pregnant after being raped when you were escaping the war in your homeland. Your only memories are confined to living behind razor wire.

Young Girl

You don-t know the pleasures of going to the local park or simply walking where you like. You have never eaten at a restaurant or been to a fun park. You do not have a friend your own age. Everywhere you go you have to have documents. You worry that your mother cannot cope with the life you are living. You do not understand why there is so much sadness. You have so many worries and you are only 6. You are a child of an Australian Detention Centre.

At present there are actually 68 children living in detention centres in Australia. Their lives are not far from the reality of the imagination exercise you just read. 6 babies have been imprisoned in high security detention centers with razor wire, electronic fences and infra-red devices since they were born...

Young Child

Just over a year ago on Thursday June 10 2004 Australia marked the passing of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's deadline for children and their parents to be released from immigration detention. This means that we are going against the report that found that Australian laws related to children in detention are breaking United Nations regulations. We are failing to follow the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This is a disgraceful situation for Australia to be in.

In the year 2000 the United Nations designated June 20 th every year as World Refugee Day. The purpose of this day is to draw attention to the plight of refugees and to celebrate their courage and spirit. On this day we are called to remember refugees and to seek means to actively help solve refugee problems. The theme for World Refugee Day 2005 is "Courage".

Unloading a truck

On this day we are called to recognise the courage of refugees who not only have endured so much in becoming refugees, but also show great courage in rebuilding their lives in difficult and often unfamiliar conditions. This year for World Refugee Day you are urged to not only recognise and support the courage of refugees but also to have the courage to act on their behalf. At present 2 Parliamentary Bills have been put forward by MP Petro Georgiou. These Bills offer hope for a new, more humane way of dealing with refugee issues. In particular, they call for a 90 day limit on the amount of time people can be detained. The Bills are called:

  • A Bill for an Act of compassion

  • A Bill for an Act to reform the mandatory detention system

The teaching and learning activities that follow invite you to explore these Bills and the ways in which you can become actively involved in the refugee issue. Have the courage to act on behalf of the 68 children in detention whose basic human rights we as a nation are denying. Have the courage to take responsibility for our country.

Young Boy Raking

 

    

Teaching and Learning Activities

Activities Across the Curriculum

1) Go to the following site and read the summary of the 2 Bills that MP Petro Georgiou-s has put forward to improve the lives of refugees:
www.justrefugeeprograms.com.au/whats
happening_newsletter.php?act=newsletter&id=34

a. Write down 4 summary points for each Bill

  • A Bill for an Act of compassion
  • A Bill for an Act to reform the mandatory detention system

2) Ways that you can take action on this issue and become involved:

  • Communicate your support to Federal Liberal MP Petro Georgiou about the new policy. See website below for his contact details.
  • There are a number of Liberal backbenchers who have joined Mr Petro Georgiou in speaking out calling for a reform to mandatory detention. They include Bruce Baird, Russell Broadbent and Judi Moylan. Contact them thanking them for their support. See website below for contact details.
  • Write to your local Federal member, the Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition communicating your support for the proposed Bills.

For details of all political members click on the following site:
www.aph.gov.au/house/members/mi-alpha.asp.

3) 'A Just Australia: Australians for Just Refugee Programs- has issued an outline of the key points for you to include in your communication. The key points are as follows:

  • The boats have stopped - regime change in Afghanistan and Iraq, combined with the curtailing of people smuggling operations in the region have all but ceased boat arrivals

  • They are refugees - the majority of boat arrivals were found to be genuine refugees

  • Detention is unnecessarily long - there is considerable community concern that asylum seekers continue to be detained for periods longer than the prison sentences imposed on violent criminals, and may be detained indefinitely.

  • Long term detention is harmful - the federal court has recently found that the government failed in its duty of care to provide adequate services to psychiatrically ill long-term detainees at Baxter

  • Refugees are making a contribution to Australia - people on temporary protection visas have been welcomed and integrated by Australian communities, and are making a significant contribution, particularly in regional and rural areas.

  • The solutions are already there . Welfare agencies such as Uniting Care have tried and tested programs for the community-based processing of asylum seekers.

For further details on communicating to your MP click on the following A Just Australia site: www.ajustaustralia.com/home.php

Maths

1) Chilout is an Austalian organisation dedicated getting all children in detention released. Visit the following site www.chilout.org/.

  • Make a list of all the children who are in detention. Include their names, detention centre and their nationalities.
  • What detention centre has the most children in it?
  • What percentage of children is in Villawood detention centre? (Number of children in Villawood divided by 68 times 100)
  • How many children have been born in detention?
  • What percentage of the total number of children in detention has been born there? (number of children divided by 68 times 100)
  • What nationality is the highest?
  • What percentage of children comes from the nationality you found for your answer to (f)?
  • How many nationalities are represented in your list?
  • What surprises you about this list and the figures you calculated?

Art

Click on the following Chilout (Children out of Detention) site
www.chilout.org/information/downloads.html and scroll down to the heading 'Posters to download and print-. View the posters and then use the ideas from the posters as well as the information from the backgrounder to create a poster with the theme for World Refugee Day: Courage. Put the posters around the school for World Refugee Day on June 20 th.

Parish/Community/Social Justice Groups

1) The following statement is from John XXIII, Encyclical Letter on Establishing Universal Peace in Truth, Justice and Liberty, Pacem in Terris, 11 April 1963, #73-74.

"A natural consequence of a person's dignity is unquestionably their right to take an active part in government... A situation is created in which civic authorities can, from the greater frequency of their contacts and discussions with the citizens, gain a clearer idea of what policies are in fact effectual for the common good; and in a system which allows for a regular succession of public officials, the authority of these officials, far from growing old and feeble, takes on a new vitality in keeping with the progressive development of human society."

Discuss the responsibilities of Catholics in Australia to become involved in the refugee and asylum seekers issues. How can you become involved in the political discussion?

2) One way to become actively involved is through POLMIN. POLMIN is The Australian Political Ministry Network Ltd. It is a national not for profit organisation committed to bringing about systemic change in Australian society through the influencing of public policy for the common good in accordance with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Click on the site for information. www.polmin.com.au/

Other Useful Links:

 

  
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