Refugees & migrants

The Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) is calling for people to sign a petition to reinstate internet access for refugees on Nauru. They released a statement on December 6 that said: “The Salvation Army administration has come under fire for drastically reducing the time allowed for an appointed representative, Mahdi, to maintain the Nauru asylum seekers Facebook page and website.

Refugees coming to Germany right now are largely from known regions of crisis. They come from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, many African countries and the Turkish-ruled part of Kurdistan. They also include many Roma who want to escape extreme poverty and racial discrimination in Kosovo and other East European countries.

The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations released this statement on December 5. *** The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil associations in Australia and New Zealand, welcomes the news that the deportation of 56 Tamil refugees was halted after a dramatic hearing at the High Court in Sydney late on Monday.

Refugee activists in Melbourne organised a candle lit vigil on November 30 to condemn the federal government's racist policies against refugees. Mohammed Bakhtiari, a former detainee on Nauru, said: "We need to demonstrate to people that we have rights too". Photos by Ali Bakhtiarvandi:

Upcoming rallies for refugees. Save Omid! End offshore processing!

The Refugee Action Coalition released this statement on December 3. *** Tamil asylum seekers at Wickham Point detention centre in Darwin staged a 24-hour hunger strike protest on December 3 in response to increasing numbers of Tamils being screened out and returned to Sri Lanka. A plane-load of 35 mostly Tamil asylum seekers was arrested on Friday, November 30, on return to Sri Lanka and have been taken to Negombo prison, outside Colombo.

A group of 57 refugees, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, have pushed the plight of the more than 100,000 asylum seekers in Germany into the national spotlight. In September, they rejected regulations that constrain their movement and began a long march to the German capital, Berlin. They came from as far as Wuerzburg, a Bavarian town in Germany’s south. Some of them completed the 600 kilometre journey on foot over 29 days. Arriving in early October, the refugees and scores more German supporters established a tent city in the Berlin suburb of Kreuzberg.

Hunger-striking refugee 35-year-old Omid Sorousheh's desperate plea to be recognised as a refugee in Australia has been treated with contempt by immigration minister Chris Bowen, despite clear indications that he was close to death. Omid has been on a hunger strike for 50 days on November 30. That day it was reported he had been finally airlifted from Nauru and returned to Australia.

This statement was released by the Sydney Uni Anti-Racism Collective on November 29. *** At 12:30pm today a dozen student refugee activists occupied Immigration Minister Chris Bowen's electoral office demanding that he act now to save the life of Omid Sorousheh, the Iranian hunger striker on Nauru now on his 49th day of hunger strike.

Green Left Weekly has been flooded with pleas for help and support from several men on hunger strike in the Nauru detention camp. The two letters below are from 35-year-old Iranian Omid Sorousheh, who has been refusing food the longest, and Amin, who was on his fifth day of hunger strike on November 26.   Both men say they will refuse medical treatment until Australia accepts they have a right to asylum.   ***   Dying asylum seeker sends plea to world  

The Refugee Action Collective Victoria released this statement on November 27. *** Omid, an Iranian asylum seeker, 35 years old has been on hunger strike for 47 days including four days of refusing water A statement from asylum seekers on Nauru late last night (26/11/12) said:

Britain is a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. But despite its international legal obligations as signatory to this and other human rights conventions, the reception granted to those knocking on Britain’s door in hope of protection is far from welcoming or humane. In fact, Britain appears to be doing everything in its power to keep its doors tightly closed to those often referred to as “scroungers,” “terrorists,” “economic migrants,” or other “bogus” refugees hiding behind a smokescreen of asylum ― adding deadbolts by the day.