Refugee Action Collective (Vic)

PROTEST

Malaysia refugee swap deal inhumane
Refugee groups in Malaysia are also protesting against this inhumane refugee swap deal.
We can’t let the Australian government to get away with this people trafficking deal.
Asylum seekers need to have their claims processed in Australia.
Come and show your opposition to the Malaysia deal.

Friday 29 July
12.30-1.30pm
Outside Dept of Immigration
Casselden Place
cnr Lonsdale Street & Spring St, city

Organised by Refugee Action Collective.
Supported by Refugee Advocacy Network
For information: 0413 377 978, 0402 262 753

Press Release of boys sewing lips at MITA (Broadmeadows Detention Centre): Three unaccompanied minors protest over weekend of 23rd July 2011.

On the afternoon of Sunday 24th of August, The Refugee Action Collective received distressing images and news of 3 boys sewing their lips together at the Broadmeadows Detention Centre. When trying to visit these boys Serco officers would not comment on whether the boys had received medical help. All three boys are unaccompanied minors from Kuwait, Iran and Iraq. They have been unlawfully detained for up to 11 months. They are desperate and need immediate medical care and support. We demand Serco to release information on the condition of the boys immediately.

“This news of self mutilation was very hard to see and hear. It just shows how inhumane Australia’s refugee policy is. These are children that have already gone through enough in their homeland and getting here. They are already traumatised and we are destroying them even more by locking them up indefinitely without knowing when they will be released. They are incredibly desperate which is clearly reflected in these actions” Refugee Action Collective and regular visitor Daniella Olea

“Latest we have heard from the boys this afternoon is that they have seen doctors outside the facility. We are still not able to access information but we believe they have removed stitches ending a 48hr protest. This is one of the many protest we have seen in MITA Broadmeadows so far” Refugee Action Collective and regular visitor Frances Evans.

“Bowen stated in response to last protest at Broadmeadows that MITA would be closed as a detention facility – this needs to happen immediately as every day of delay is doing damage” Refugee Action Collective spokesperson

Contact: Frances Evans 0416037348
Kristalo Hrysicos: 0431923279
Daniella Olea 0404189272
Benjamin Solah: 0402 766 009

For immediate release:
Refugee Action Collective condemns the Malaysian solution
July 24, 2011

The Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) condemns the Australian government’s agreement to send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in an agreement to be signed with the Malaysian government tomorrow. We insist that arrivals by boat be processed in the Australian community. We should also accept more refugees from the camps in Malaysia, increase the quota and actually abide by it instead of deporting people who risk their lives to get here.

RAC Victoria would like to reiterate that it is not a crime under the UN Refugee Convention to apply for asylum. A refugee’s claim should not be affected by the method in which they arrive. The Australian government is playing politics with people’s lives by demonising refugees who arrive by boat and playing them off against other refugees who arrive in other ways.

“From Australia’s perspective, there is no problem with people coming here seeking protection,” Refugee Action Collective spokesperson Benjamin Solah said. “Refugees have a right to seek asylum in this country. They aren’t a threat to us. All they want is our help, but instead the government is locking them up and shipping them overseas. It’s disgraceful.”

RAC Victoria is also concerned with the increased militarisation of Australia’s borders. “Australia’s border protection regime makes it much more dangerous for people to arrive here by boat, which is why we see boats crash and sink like we did in December on Christmas Island. And for all of Gillard’s condemnation of people smugglers, the Malaysian “solution” makes the Australian government the biggest people traffickers in business.”

We are concerned that asylum seekers will rot in detention camps in Malaysia where refugees are regularly caned and beaten by authorities. The Malaysian government treats refugees as “illegal” migrants, even if they have already been recognised as refugees by the UNHCR. “The “Malaysian solution” threatens to plunge Australia’s treatment of refugees to new depths – deporting refugees to one of the few countries in the world that treats asylum seekers worse than those in Australia,” said Corey Oakley from the Refugee Action Collective.

For further comment contact Benjamin Solah on racvicmedia@gmail.com or 0402 766 009