School students call to action against mandatory detention

 June 23 has been chosen as a national day of action for refugees,
a protest against the Australian government's inhumane policy of mandatory
detention [of asylum seekers]. We demand that the detention camps be closed,
and that refugees be treated with the dignity and humanity they deserve.

On Palm Sunday this year, more than 45,000 people marched demanding
freedom for refugees. June 23, occurring the weekend after World Refugee
Day, is expected to be the largest refugee protest to date. It will be
a critical event in the campaign to end mandatory detention.

The past months have seen support for refugees grow. More and more Australians
of diverse political persuasions are beginning to recognise that the policy
of mandatory detention is racist and inhumane — a means for the government
to scapegoat the weakest and most vulnerable for its own political advantage.
More and more Australians have had enough of being misled to believe that
our nation faces a serious threat to its security from the some of the
world's poorest and most persecuted human beings.

Fortians for Refugees urge our fellow high school students to establish
refugee action groups in their schools — let's show that students are uniting
to make a stand on this issue.

We urge students to participate in the June 23 national protest, to
be a part of the largest ever mass expression of support for refugees.

From Green Left Weekly, June 5, 2002.

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From GLW issue 495