Refugee and Migrant Sunday
This week the Universal Catholic Church stands in solidarity and prays with Migrants and Refugee week. During June, the Social Justice Advisory Council invited students and staff to consider who they could stand with refugees during an assembly on Australia’s Refugee Week. The theme in June was With Refugees, and I thought it was appropriate that we share with you on the eve of Migrant and Refugee Sunday, the great work that the students did in stories and experiences of refugees from across the globe.
Presented by Hannah Lawrence, Charlotte Murray Nobbs and Marnie Gomes
Environmental Refugees
It’s estimated that in the next 83 years, 13 million people who live in coastal cities and towns will be displaced due to rising sea levels because of climate change. Although, officially, climate change is not yet a valid reason for an asylum claim, despite displacement from rising sea levels feeling ever present for the low lying pacific island of Kiribati.
My name is Anote, I am the former president of Kiribati. “Climate change for most if not all of the countries in the Pacific is a survival issue”, I’m seeing my grandchildren grow up, and the question that is always on my mind [is]: ‘What’s going to happen to my grandchildren in 20, 30, 40, 50 years time?’.
Our government has just approved the Adani coal mine, the biggest coal mine in Australia’s history, yet we have never known more about the implications of coal to the warming of the planet then right now.
What could you do?
Working to limit your own environmental impact and working with organisations to stop the development of projects like Adani will help not only our planet but the millions of environmental refugees we will see in our future.
Off Shore Detention
It’s estimated that 20 million people in four North African and Middle Eastern countries - Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Yemen - are facing extreme drought, and many of these individuals are becoming refugees, forced from their homelands in search of stable food sources.
“My name is Mustafa, I was born in Somalia. I came to Australia in September 2013. I was in Christmas Island for three months and then they sent me to Manus Island. They said, ‘We have changed our policy if you become a refugee you will settle in Manus Island, if not, you will go back to your home'. That’s what they tell us. I had a refugee determination and still I am on Manus Island. Although now I am in Port Moresby for medical treatment. If I don’t get help soon I might lose a kidney. I came to Australia when I was 23. I am 28 years old.
What could you do?
Last year our government passed the medivac bill which meant that people like Mustafa could be transferred to Australia to receive urgent medical treatment if recommended by two Australian doctors. This year our government wants to repeal this bill and these refugee’s right to healthcare. You can contact your local member via email or phone about the importance of this bill and why they should continue to support it.
Refugees who leave because of war
44,400 people are forced to leave their homes each day because of conflict or persecution. That is 63 times the size of Vinnies. During the Sri Lankan civil war, 44,000 Sri Lankan refugees came to Australia seeking asylum and now many are being sent back.
My name is Priya, a mother of two young girls. At 5.00am the other morning, Border Force knocked on my door and gave me and my family ten minutes to pack up the life we’ve built here in Queensland. Our government wants to send us back to Sri Lanka, even though they can’t guarantee our safety there and Australia is our home. We’ve been in a Melbourne detention centre for over a year now and last month the High Court dismissed our case. We could be deported any day now.
“I am Beatrice, a 19 year old refugee from South Sudan, living in a refugee camp in Uganda. Even though I am one of the lucky ones who managed to flee Sudan, life is hard in the refugee camp. “There is nothing you can provide, there is no milk. We have not eaten and any water that you get even down at the sewage, you just drink to survive even though it is dirty".
Bidel Abraham has been a refugee three times, fleeing the conflict in South Sudan to Uganda. Each time he has settled in Uganda, he has found fewer and fewer trees. “The first time the trees were many, the third time trees are scarce”. Uganda hosts 1.2 million refugees and trees are a precious resource for refugees, however, due to their growing rarity they are becoming a source of conflict. The UNHCR provide seedlings and information to refugees and local communities.
What could you do?
Williams House collected donations of Basmati rice, cooking oil and flour for House of Welcome, a support shelter for refugees and asylum seekers and old technology for the Asylum Seekers Association. Supporting organisations such as these is crucial in our efforts to support those fleeing danger overseas so please give generously. You could also join us for our annual Jesuit Refugee Trivia Night!
When: Thursday 12 September
Where: College Hall
Time: 3:15pm-5:30pm
Cost: $10 includes prizes and a serving of Caritas Curry! All money raised will support the great work of JRS.
How to sign up: Bring $10 to school in Week 8 and buy your tickets from the Year 10 Caritas Christi committee who will be selling in the Caritas Christi Courtyard each lunch time.
Thank you for your support.
Hannah Lawrence and the Social Justice Advisory Council
