News
Ballarat community supports refugee family
Refugee Neil Para was joined by dozens of community members as he walked around Lake Wendouree on Sunday, the first day of National Refugee Week, carrying 13.5 kilograms to represent the weight of uncertainty refugees and asylum seekers face on a daily basis.
Mr Para, his wife Sugaa and three children have been living in Australia for more than seven years, but had their visa and working rights revoked shortly after leaving detention.
Mr Para, his wife Sugaa and three children have been living in Australia for more than seven years, but had their visa and working rights revoked shortly after leaving detention.
Monthly morning coffee at Riverside Plaza resumes!
We're back!! RARQ and friends meet once a month for a chat and a cuppa at the Riverside Plaza. This has now resumed on the first Friday of each month. We gather at 10.30am at Michel's Patisserie. 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. Out next coffee catch-up will take place on 9 July.
Due to the COVID19 social distancing laws, our meetings were postponed in 2020. They will now be held every three months. We had our first general meeting since the AGM at The Hive in Queanbeyan on 5 June.
Our AGM, which was postponed and finally held on 6th March 2021 resulted in new positions being taken up on the committee. Please see the attached minutes from the meeting.
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Queanbeyan Multicultural Festival Sunday March 1st 2020 - another great festival!
RARQ received a lot of exposure at this year's wonderful Queanbeyan Multicultural Festival. Our marquee was situated just inside the oval fence near the main stage and we had plenty of passers-by to contribute to our raffle and to become engaged in the multicultural sports activities introduced to the festival this year. Spectators watched demonstrations of African Wrestling and Cane Ball, with some joining in to give it a try. We hope our involvement with the sports program will grow and become part of RARQ's focus. Any local teams playing a sport from their country of origin are encouraged to contact 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.
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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