Refugee Rights Action Network WA
Leonora – Caravan of Compassion II
Printer-friendly versionFor those coming or thinking of coming to Leonora with us, here are the details and information. If you can’t come, but want to support us, consider making a donation, details at the end.
Leonora – Caravan of Compassion II
Dates: Friday 21st of January to Sunday the 23rd of January, 2011.
Travel: Our provisional departure point is the Public Transport Centre, also called East Perth passenger terminal, Summers St East Perth. Assembling from 10.00 AM Friday 21st for a 10.30 departure. Arriving back at the same 8.00 PM or so on Sunday 23rd. PLEASE NOTE: It appears that our departure point will change. Please stay tuned for further details or contact 0417904329 for up-to-date information.
Location: The Leonora detention camp, oops I mean Alternative Place of Detention, is an 830 km drive from Perth, via Kalgoorlie. The mean January maximum temperature, 37ºC while the mean minimum is 21.7ºC. The chance of rain is really low!
You provide:
- Personal sun protection
- Personal water bottle, preferably one you can wear or carry.
- Sleeping gear
- Personal cutlery and crockery
- Money for buying lunches over three days, or pack your own lunches.
- Personal hygiene items
We provide:
- Accommodation: Friday night, the Prospector Holiday Park in Kalgoorlie. Saturday night, Leonora Caravan Park. Most of us will be sleeping on a tent site. Decent under-cover cooking areas are available. Showers and toilets available. Chalets are available in the caravan parks, but you have to book your own. Hotels and motels abound in Kalgoorlie, book your own if you want to take the more luxurious option. Hotels and motels are more limited in Leonora but still available, book your own if you want to
- Transport: A comfortable air-conditioned coach. The coach has a toilet, but try and reserve this for real emergencies
- Food: Vegan breakfast on Saturday and Sunday morning. Vegan dinner on Friday and Saturday evening. Cooking facilities, pots, utensils. Please let us know about any food allergies
Health and Hygiene
Please let us know about allergies or other medical conditions so we can be prepared in case of an emergency.
Because we are eating communally the potential for poor hygiene to cause problems for others is higher than normal. So please wash you hands diligently before meals.
Other stuff: Communications: Mobile coverage is patchy on the way up, pretty good in Kalgoorlie, major carriers OK. Vodaphone, Optus, Telstra definitely OK. Telstra only in Leonora.
Bus etiquette: No greasy food, deep fried etc. on the bus The smell gets into the air conditioner and stinks up the bus. The driver is driving for nothing, the bus is being provided at cost, so please be grateful and show it by treating the bus and driver respectfully. Be prompt during travel stops. Slow stops make the journey longer. Don’t drink too many fluids, but don’t get dehydrated either. Extra toilet stops slow the trip down.
Personal Welfare: Personal safety is not a particular issue any more than it is under any normal circumstances. Please apply normal personal precautions. There is some chance of arguments with locals. While there are locals who are hostile to refugees, there are locals who are sympathetic also. Our advice is to not engage in arguments if they occur. This was not a problem the last time in Leonora, so there’s no reason to think that it will be this time. Please watch-out for each-other.
For people visiting detention for the first time, or in particular seeing children in detention for the first time, or even the second or more time, this can be distressing. Be prepared to be distressed and upset. This is a very common reaction and will be accepted and understood by all of us who’ve been there before. This reaction may be stronger if you actually get to visit refugees in person. Most people report being upset to some extent, but universally are glad to have had the opportunity to meet the refugees. The thing to do is to use the experience to motivate you to make change and not allow it to discourage you or make you feel powerless to help. Don’t be reluctant to talk about it. We have to be supportive of each-other.
What’s in it for the refugees? Be reassured that our visit will be appreciated by those who are in detention. Our visit will be one of the few things that are telling these people, ‘It’s not your fault, what’s happening to you is wrong’.
A feeling of guilt is common for detainees, especially parents. This can become internalised and can in fact be very damaging. It’s very important and valuable for us to do things that counter this.
Many detainees feel rejected and even believe at times that most Australians hate them. This is also very damaging for them, and does nothing to help them resettle when and if they get protection visas. Our visits and political actions challenge this perception and this is of direct benefit to people in detention.
What’s in it for us?: The chance to shine a light on what is happening in detention centres, to see this for ourselves and to raise awareness in the community about what is so wrong with the system. The chance to hang out with and draw inspiration from each other, to reaffirm our commitment to campaigning against these policies. The chance to learn from each other and to meet like-minded people.
Money: The nominal cost is $150 waged, or $100 un-waged. If this is difficult for you then talk to us about it. We are flexible some subsidies are possible. We don’t want money to be an obstacle to you coming. On previous trips of this sort, some people paid in installments, some just paid what they could.
The preferred method of payment is by direct deposit or transfer. Our account details are:
Account name – Refugee Rights Action Network (WA)
National Aust Bank
BSB no. 086-006
Account no. 53-142-9447
Please include an annotation that explains what the deposit if for, eg. Joe Blogs, Leonora trip.
We can make other arrangement to take payment, cash, cheque etc.
Flyer: CompassionCaravanFlyer
Contact:
http://rran.org/contact
rran@arach.net.au
0417904329
Share this article
