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Hospitality and advocacy for refugees and for people seeking asylum.
Friday 9 December 2022
Behrouz Boochani
Monday 3 October 2022
Let people seeking safety work, study & rebuild
No matter where we come from, how we got here or what language we speak at home, most of us just want a fair go and a chance for a better life.
But right now, people who came to our shores in search of safety can be denied the right to support themselves or their families with decent work.
Young people seeking a safe life, free from violence and war, can be prohibited from studying by unfair, inconsistent visa conditions, or locked out of HECS-HELP student loans that can bring a life-changing university education within reach.
The failure of previous governments means that people seeking asylum are now living from one insecure, short-term visa to the next for almost half a decade, on average.
The ASRC estimates that at any given time, around 1 in 3 people seeking asylum are living with unfair visa conditions that deny them the right to work.
The pandemic reminded many of us how important it is that we can all access medical care when we’re sick and know there’s a fair social safety net to help us get back on our feet in tough times.
But even when people seeking asylum are allowed to work to support themselves and their families, they are excluded from mainstream social safety nets that are there to help us rebuild and recover from life’s challenges.
Monday 12 September 2022
Sunday 5 June 2022
Romero Welcome Walk 2022
Thank you for your support of yesterday's Welcome Walk supporting refugees and people seeking asylum. Over $12 000 was raised to continue the wonderful work that the Romero Centre does in our community.
Wednesday 25 May 2022
R4R Welcome Walk Team
Welcome Walk
Sunday 5 June 2022
The change of government will hopefully herald a new deal for refugees and people seeking asylum BUT the work of supporting these 10 000 people in our community is far from finished. Please consider joining the R4R team on the walk and / or donating to the Romero Centre to support their work in our community.
The Romero Centre Welcome Walk is on 5 June at Davies Park, West End.
The aim of the Welcome Walk is to bring attention to the thousands of long, exhausting, and dangerous journeys of people who have had to flee wars, persecution, or civil conflicts to seek safety and protection in Australia. The Walk will actively honour and respect everybody’s right to a safe refuge and to acknowledge every community’s right to be a welcoming and humane shelter .
The Walk will bring together people to publicly express their welcoming spirit, and express their solidarity with the principle that no one should ever have to walk alone in their quest for safety. After all, safety, ultimately, can only be found in a caring community. Safety is a global right and responsibility.
Walk with us, for 3 or 6ks starting at Davies Park, West End from 8am, so that people seeking asylum are not walking alone, and help raise vital funds to resource the Romero Centre so it can continue to provide basic human rights such as food, shelter, legal advice, access to language skills, employment, and meaningful community connections.
1.Decide how far you would like to walk 3 or 6k,
2. Register as an individual or register a team - everyone needs to register as an individual and then you can join or create a team, (Powered by Supporter Hub)
3.Make a donation to get you started,
4.Encourage others to donate to you to raise more funds,
5. Come to Davies Park West End on 5 June; 3 km and 6km walkers at 8am for 8.30 start
6.Stay to hear passionate speakers
Wednesday 11 May 2022
Sunday 17 April 2022
Freedom Street - a film presentation not to be missed!
Freedom Street Documentary explores the harrowing plight of three refugees, Joniad, Ashfaq and Azizah, who are trapped in Indonesia.
About this event
Saturday, 30 April 2022 from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm (AEST
Trinity Uniting Church, Wellington Point
47-49 Marlborough Road
Wellington Point, QLD 4160
Australia
Tickets: $15 via Eventbrite
About the film
14,000 refugees trapped in Limbo.
The consequences of Australia's policies are shown in this feature length documentary, telling the stories of Joniad, Ashfaq and Azizah, 3 of the thousands of refugees trapped in Indonesia.
While deconstructing Australia's cruel border protection policy, their moving stories are told in a series of conversations with various experts illuminating the issue in its entire historical and contemporary context. The experts provide insight into Australia's long history of border control and Australian-Indonesian relations which serve to contextualise the struggle of our 3 protagonists as they look towards an uncertain future.
The documentary highlights the cost of Australia's undemocratic policies both on the refugees and the Australian taxpayers over the years, while urgently sounding the alarm for meaningful and humane solutions to an ever-worsening issue.
The Filmmaker/Director, Alfred Pek will be in attendance and available for questions at the conclusion of the film.
Wednesday 16 March 2022
Palm Sunday Day Rally - 10 April, King George Square, Brisbane
* Action for Afghanistan - 20,000 intake now
* Permanent protection not poverty
* Peace not militarism - stop the wars that create refugees
* The Very Rev'd Dr Petter Catt - Dean of St John's Anglican Cathedral and Chair of the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce
* Cameron Leckie - Retired Australian Army Officer and member of Independent and Peaceful Australian Network
* John Shipton - Father of Julian Assange
Saturday 5 March 2022
R4R March Meeting
Our next meeting for 2022 will be held on
Thursday, 10 March 2022
Trinity Uniting Church
47-49 Marlborough Road
Wellington Point
Meeting will commence at 7.00 pm
We gather from 6.30pm for a cuppa and a chat prior to the commencement of the meeting.
Despite the lifting of restrictions feel free to wear a mask.
Please bring your own cup!
Hand sanitising and social distancing is still required.
Everyone is welcome.
Tuesday 15 February 2022
Why are refugees still waiting for entry?
With Australia reopening its borders to tourists, why are thousands of refugees still waiting for entry?
Disclosure statement
Claire Higgins receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
Regina Jefferies does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Refugee camp in Syria
More than five months after Taliban forces overran Kabul, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke made a long-awaited announcement in January to resettle Afghan refugees. Over the next four years, Australia will offer 10,000 places to Afghans in humanitarian need and another 5,000 visas to Afghans reuniting with family in Australia.
The news came as a Senate committee released a “damning consensus report” that called Australia’s approach to the evacuation of Afghans last year “short-sighted”, “confused” and “dishonourable”.
The Senate committee urged the Australian government to “play a global leadership role” in resettling those displaced from Afghanistan. But just 15,000 visas fall far short of this task, particularly as these places will come out of Australia’s existing refugee and migration quotas, reducing space for others in need.
The Refugee Council of Australia called the announcement “hopelessly inadequate”. It pointed out that a large proportion of the pledged 10,000 humanitarian places could be taken up by Afghans who were evacuated to Australia last year, leaving just 4,500 spots for those overseas.
Meanwhile, 150,000 Afghans have submitted applications for refugee and humanitarian visas to Australia since Kabul fell.
Members of the Afghan community met with Hawke this week to urge him to recognise Australia’s “moral obligation” to the people of Afghanistan, calling for at least 20,000 more humanitarian resettlement places.
With borders closed, thousands are stuck in limbo
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely diminished Australia’s modest contribution to global refugee resettlement needs.
In 2019-20, Australia was planning to welcome up to 18,750 people in humanitarian need, but this number was slashed to some 13,750 annual places for 2020–25.
This is a tiny proportion of the more than 1.4 million displaced people identified by the UN refugee agency as being in need of resettlement each year.
Crucially, Australia’s program was suspended in March 2020 due to the pandemic. This left around 9,500 refugees waiting in limbo for borders to re-open almost two years later. There were only extremely limited exceptions for refugees to be resettled in the interim.
In contrast, after a short suspension early in the pandemic, the United States, Canada and some European countries resumed their resettlement programs in 2020, welcoming more than 30,000 refugees. These countries then welcomed the bulk of the more than 39,000 refugees resettled in 2021.
In December 2021, Australia reopened its borders to vaccinated skilled migrants and international students and began to welcome refugees who had been waiting for resettlement. Home Affairs did not respond to a request by The Conversation, however, for the numbers of refugees resettled since December 15, or when the program would ramp up.
Two months on, it is clear the government has been slow to develop COVID-safe processes that would allow for a larger-scale refugee intake.
Many refugees awaiting resettlement are stuck in countries that have low COVID vaccination rates. Some may also have received vaccines that have not been approved in Australia.
However, the government requires humanitarian entrants be fully vaccinated before arriving. The Refugee Council of Australia is calling for Canberra to create space in quarantine facilities to facilitate the entry of refugees who do not meet the vaccination requirements.
The US and Canada are doing better
Even though Australia has announced 15,000 visas for Afghan nationals over the next four years, its contribution is still well behind that of Canada and the US.
The Canadian government made a pledge of 40,000 places for Afghan refugees after the fall of Kabul. Delays in processing have meant only about 6,500 have been granted entry so far. But these places are in addition to Canada’s existing annual resettlement program (unlike Australia).
Since mid-2021, the Biden administration has admitted more than 74,000 Afghan nationals, many of whom now need to apply to stay in the United States permanently.
And for 2022, President Joe Biden has pledged to provide permanent resettlement to up to 125,000 refugees from around the world, although progress has been delayed somewhat as authorities work to speed up the entry of Afghan refugees.
With the Taliban once again allowing chartered evacuation flights to Qatar, the US plans to expedite its system of interviews, security and health checks, and visa processing for those fleeing Afghanistan.
No clear path for Afghans already here, either
Not only has the Australian government been slow to process Afghans fleeing their homeland, it has also not made it easier for those already in Australia to stay permanently.
This includes around 5,000 Afghans living on temporary visas for the last decade. The visa conditions prevent individuals from bringing their family members to safety in Australia.
The Afghanistan-Australian Advocacy Network has also called for the government to review its eight-year ban on the resettlement of Afghan refugees from Indonesia. Several thousand people are stuck there without work, education or health care, waiting for a chance at resettlement elsewhere.
Meanwhile, around 25 Afghan refugees remain in limbo on Nauru or in Papua New Guinea, while others are detained in hotels in Australia.
The Senate committee’s call for Australia to be a global leader in refugee protection has been issued many times in recent years - by representatives of the US, the UN refugee agency and civil society groups.
Such leadership can have real impact. Ahmad Shuja Jamal, a special advisor at the Refugee Council of Australia, told the Senate committee Australia could use its influence to encourage neighbouring Pakistan to allow Afghan refugees to enter and wait for resettlement safely. This diplomacy can “literally save lives”, he said.
Instead, Australia’s response during the pandemic reveals a country quick to close its borders and drag its feet. This ignores the strong community support for the admission of Afghan refugees and Australia’s “international standing” as a country with a well-established resettlement program.
Should Australia wish to stake a credible claim to leadership in helping refugees, a much greater contribution to the protection of those fleeing Afghanistan is a crucial place to start.
Tuesday 1 February 2022
Set Them Free
#SetThemFreeDirector: Richard Keddie
Editor: Sebastian Broadbent
Sunday 23 January 2022
Freedom Street Film Presentation
Event description
14000 Refugees are trapped in Limbo; caught in the crossfire of Australia's Border Policy and Indonesia's Indifference
Trailer:
We are delighted to invite you to Freedom Street Documentary's World Premiere.
Due to the ongoing escalation of the COVID-19 situation, we have decided to change the event to a zoom event. Please see the new updates below for further information.
When: Saturday (Jan 29, 2022) 6:30pm for 6:45pm start
Where: Zoom Conference (Link to join the room will be sent prior to the event)
This is an opportunity for us to learn the entire context behind Australia's cruel deterrent policies, as well as an opportunity for discussing the upcoming Federal Election and explore the ways you can take action in demanding justice for refugee rights in our region
Booking is essential! Limited space only for this conference
Tickets: $15
Buy tickets here!
Hosted by People Just Like Us
About Freedom Street Documentary:
Freedom Street Documentary explores the harrowing plights of Joniad, Ashfaq and Azizah, three refugees who are affected by the consequences of Australia's policies who are trapped in Indonesia. This feature-length documentary tells their moving stories whilst deconstructing Australia’s cruel border protection policy in a series of conversations with various experts, illuminating the issue in its entire (dark) historical and contemporary context.