THE community has spoken out against children and their families being detained in offshore detention centres.
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The Grampians/Gariwerd branch of Rural Australians for Refugees marked Universal Children’s Day on Tuesday with a fundraiser and a message.
About 22 people gathered at Gardens Lake Cafe at Alexandra Gardens, where the cafe donated $1 for every coffee bought to the group.
Chairperson Leonie Foster said the event highlighted what the group called the “appalling incarceration” of children while the country acknowledged Universal Children’s Day.
“We’re mainly concerned about the government and the opposition’s stance on the appalling incarceration of these innocent people, and we’re hoping through more publicity we can try and convince the politicians to show a bit more humanity,” Ms Foster said.
“(We want to ensure) that refugees are not treated like criminals, and to keep reiterating that there is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker.”
Under United Nations law seeking asylum in another country is not illegal but Ms Foster said it’s an emotive term which the government continually uses to stoke fear.
“We need to process these people offshore at the point where they used to get on these horrible boats, but have them processed humanely and not have them locked up for five years and even longer,” she said.
The group also continues to spread awareness to local government.
Ararat Rural City Council and Northern Grampians Shire are both Refugee Welcome Zones, though Southern Grampians Shire and Pyrenees Shire are not. The Refugee Council of Australia defines a Refugee Welcome Zone as ‘a Local Government Area which has made a commitment in spirit to welcoming refugees into the community, upholding the human rights of refugees, demonstrating compassion for refugees and enhancing cultural and religious diversity in the community.’
The group also recently donated $1900 to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.