Refugee Rights Action Network WA
The protesters on Nauru need our support. Whether we agree with hunger striking or not, we must support their efforts to draw attention to their situation. We are extremely concerned for their welfare. 300 are reported to be on hunger strike, one person has been on hunger strike for 25 days as of Monday 5/11/2012. A very dangerous situation is emerging. Nevertheless we must respect their agency and right to protest. We must do all we can to create a situation where they don’t feel the need to take such drastic action. They have no-one else, it’s up to us, the right-thinking people of Australia, to take what action we can to resolve their situation.
It is intolerable that a supposedly democratic country, that supposedly respects human rights and the refugee convention, will lock people up, indefinitely, without charge or trial. Furthermore the people on Nauru are not even in process, they are not being assessed for refugee status, or for security checks, nothing. They are merely being held hostage, as a warning against others who might seek to exercise their lawful right to seek asylum in Australia.
How can it be that we punish the innocent to deter the innocent from doing something that they are entitled to do under national and international law?
The refugees on Nauru are only demanding what that they are entitled to, in their words ..
1) The most important appeal is that if Australian Government should have attention to our cases and take us back to Australia. [Commence processing refugee applications]
2) We request the Australia Government to visits us and see us in bad condition of our lives
3) Close the Nauru detention center
4) We accept Australia as a democratic country, where people are being treated equally and as a human being, we expect the same treatment.
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