Children behind razor wire
Courtesy of www.getup.org.au
Last July, the Australian government finally ended its shameful policy of keeping children in indefinite detention when they came here seeking asylum. After finally inserting a modicum of human decency into what had been a disgraceful policy for more than ten years - same old policy, but now "out of sight, out of mind".
This time the government wants to send children to remote islands in the Pacific, and this law could be rammed through Parliament next week if we don't act now.
Tomorrow GetUp is launching a NEW TELEVSION AD to oppose this inhumane new law. Click on the link now to watch a preview, and sign the petition today telling the government Australians say no to children behind the razor wire.
www.getup.org.au/campaign/NoChildInDetention
We know a detention centre is no home for a child. Between 1999 and 2003 alone, 2184 children were detained in Australia - one child for nearly five and a half years. Most were under the age of 12. There, they witnessed hunger strikes and suicide attempts. A national inquiry found many lacked appropriate schooling, healthcare and nutrition.
Together, Australians decided that no child fleeing persecution should be made to suffer this way again. But the government is scrambling to reverse our laws after 42 West Papuans were granted asylum, angering Indonesia. It is now understood that all asylum-seekers who arrive by boat will be shunted offshore, denied the right to appeal their cases or to ever settle in Australia.
This policy betrays our community's most fundamental principals. Please help stop this by adding your name to this important petition today.
www.getup.org.au/campaign/NoChildInDetention
Our television ad features a small girl trapped behind razor wire. In reality, this child is the daughter of a 'boat person' whose family arrived in Australia fleeing persecution from Vietnam in 1978. Only this refugee was given a chance - and he went onto attend Harvard and head up a major Australian company.
We must act now, before it's too late. Already Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has set the wheels in motion to introduce this legislation next week, hoping to push it through the Senate while media attention is on the budget.
Now it's up to us. We've beat these laws before and we must join together to beat them again. Sign the petition telling our senators to stand firm for children's rights today.
www.getup.org.au/campaign/NoChildInDetention
Thank you for being part of this,
The GetUp team