News
Our next general meeting will be held on Saturday 7th December, 2pm
at the Uniting Church, Rutledge St Queanbeyan.
Monthly morning coffee at Riverside Plaza (look for us at Michel's Patisserie)
RARQ and friends usually meet once a month for a chat and a cuppa at the Riverside Plaza. This occurs on the first Friday after our regular meetings, which are usually held on the first Saturday of the month. It's our way of keeping in touch and letting people know that we're here. It's also an opportunity for those who are new to Queanbeyan, or who may just want to converse in English, to join us.
The RAR National Annual General Meeting was held in Queanbeyan on
27th July 2019. The meeting was followed by guest speakers and our annual RARQ fundraising dinner.
Above left: Our keynote speaker, David Manne, of Refugee Legal, gave an inspiring talk, giving an overview of Australia's treatment of those seeking asylum in recent years.
Top right: Kim Houghton, of the Regional Australia Institute, spoke of the positive effects for both new arrivals and regional communities when they move from cities to country areas. Above right: Emmanuel Musoni, the patron of RAR, chair of the Great lakes Agency for Peace and Development. Right: RARQ volunteers preparing food for the fundraiser dinner. Thanks to all who contributed time, food and money to the event. |
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Palm Sunday Rally, Canberra 14th April 2019
This year the numbers at the Palm Sunday rally were much bigger as the sense of frustration at government policy increases. RARQ had a good representation at the rally. The speakers were passionate and inspiring and included a speech via video from Berouze Boochani on Manus.
Queanbeyan Multicultural Festival
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RARQ attended the Carnival this year with more interesting art activities for children and a raffle. The event was held in the Queanbeyan Park on Sunday 3rd March.
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Canberra rally for children in detention
A large and vocal crowd attended the rally on the lawns of Parliament House, Canberra on October 16th, urging the government to release people held in detention - particularly children suffering on Nauru - into the community for immediate assistance and health care. Rural Australians for Refugees was well represented and organiser, RAR president, Marie Sellstrom, introduced the crowd to several impressive speakers. These included representatives of the local Ngunnuwal people, a doctor from Medicins Sans Frontiers who has just returned from Nauru, and others who had first-hand experience of the trauma experienced by those in detention. Shortis and Simpson sang a touching song written about children on Nauru and the crowd joined them in a rendition of We Shall Overcome. The urgency of the situation was the main focus of the rally which was attended by RSAR groups and other refugee support groups from far and wide.
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