The Refugee Movement – Get Involved

The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart have put out a call to join in a movement in our World history that we cannot ignore.

They have put together a list of things you can do to help.

The first step would be to sign the petition ‘Launch of 150 days of action for people seeking refuge in our land’, : https://bit.ly/3jZirnm

Here are some other steps you can take to make a difference:

Call to Action and Resources Document

17 August 2021

Key asks:

We ask the Australian Government to:

 Introduce a substantive intake of refugees and forcibly displaced people from Afghanistan, in addition to Australia’s annual humanitarian program, noting Canada’s recent commitment to take 20,000 refugees.

2. Grant permanent protection to refugees from Afghanistan who are currently in Australia on temporary visas.
3. Provide people seeking asylum from Afghanistan who are currently in Australia with fair and consistent pathways to seek permanent protection, including by permitting people whose claims have been rejected to submit new applications for protection and issuing a moratorium on forced returns to Afghanistan.
4. Enable priority access to family reunion to refugees from Afghanistan in Australia.

Resources: 

Contact your MP:

• Find your MPs contact email and phone number here.
• Send a template email to your MP. Click here.

Resource sheet from the diaspora community:

• Find letter templates, organisations to donate to, experts to follow here.

Letters and petitions to sign onto:

• Refugee Council of Australia joint organisational letter to Parliamentarians: 7 key asks –The deadline to sign on is midnight Tuesday 17 August. Please get in touch with rebecca.eckard@refugeecouncil.org.au to sign on and if you have any questions.
• Evacuation of interpreters petition.
• Australian response to humanitarian crisis petition.
• Amnesty International petition.
• Letter of Support for Afghanistan by Monash University.

Other calls to action/statements:

• Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia: Solidarity with Afghanistan, what you can do
• RACS Australia: Act to protect people from Afghanistan
• ASRC: Read the media statement here.

Fundraising:

• Asia Pacific Network of Refugees (APNOR) Click here.

Community Refugee Sponsorship (CRS) Australia:

• Find out more about this ground-breaking initiative here.

Some media coverage and commentary (as compiled by ASRC):

• SMH: As the Taliban seizes control, here is what Australia can do.
• The Guardian: Life or death for Hazara’s: Australia has a new moral obligation to act, now.
• The Guardian: Plea for Afghans in Australia to be allowed to stay as rescue mission from Taliban planned
• SBS: More than 250 ADF troops deployed to help evacuate Australians in Afghanistan.
• The Conversation: How Joe Biden failed the people of Afghanistan – and tarnished US credibility around the world.