REFUGEE Week is being celebrated from Sunday, June 14, to Saturday, June 20, and the Refugee Council of Australia is encouraging organisations to celebrate a unified Refugee Week based around the theme “With courage let us all combine”.
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The theme has been taken from the second verse of the Australian National Anthem and “celebrates the courage of refugees and of people who speak out against persecution and injustice,” the council’s website states.
Refugee Week is Australia’s peak annual activity to raise awareness about the issues affecting refugees and celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society.
According to the Refugee Council, as of March 31 this year, 1848 people were held in closed immigration detention facilities in Australia, of whom 1031 were asylum seekers who had arrived by boat, with 2512 asylum seekers living in the community under community detention arrangements and 27,216 in the community on Bridging Visa E.
Refugee Week has been celebrated in Australia since 1986 and provides a platform where positive images of refugees can be promoted in order to create a culture of welcome throughout the country.
A number of events will be held locally hosted by the Bega Valley Rural Australians for Refugees (BVRAR).
On Tuesday, June 16, at noon a letter writing day at Well Thumbed Books will be held at Cobargo.
Members of the public are invited to write a letter to a politician to express their concerns about the treatment of asylum seekers, or write a letter to an asylum seeker to extend their friendship.
On Saturday, June 20, at 11am, local author Isobel Blackthorn will launch her new book, Asylum, at Well Thumbed Books, which will also raise funds to support BVRAR activities.
