Some thoughts on refugee solidarity from an old E Timor activist
BY STEPHEN LANGFORD
OT (Order of Timor)
The outlook for the hostages on Manus and Nauru is not good. Thank goodness for the activists here who keep in touch with them.
We have a racist, Peter Dutton, in charge of something called the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, an Orwellian concept because Australia does not need ‘protection’ against refugees.
We need protection against the wielding of arbitrary power over people who come here for protection. The Australian Border Force is the latest manifestation of the abuse of public trust. That organisation needs to be disarmed and disbanded. I think we could do better. Here are some ideas from an old activist of how you can respond to Australia’s unconscionable refugee crisis:
· Communicate with the mainstream media.
This is what ‘pro-Israel’ groups do. I am not part of any such group. But no one can deny their effectiveness in getting Israel favourable coverage. When East Timor was under occupation by the Indonesian military, it would often be referred to as ‘part of Indonesia’ or an ‘Indonesian province’. It was neither. I would ring up the ABC and point out that this was factually wrong, that it was under illegal occupation.
Major human rights abuses are ignored or misrepresented as long as both the major parties agree with them. It can be the work of ordinary members of solidarity groups to counter this by hassling the mainstream media.
· Other solidarity groups are your friends, not a threat.
In our Australia-East Timor Association (NSW) we invite other groups to come and address us to tell us what they were doing. In this way we became friends with similar groups.
· Letter-writing is still relevant.
Letter-writing to politicians is something that does not take a lot of time. The basic democratic courtesy of replying to letters from the public does not seem to hold anymore. Many say it is a useless exercise. I believe it is one of the many things we have to do. It is one form of pressure, and can help you get focus and get angry. And as famous musician John Lydon said, anger is an energy. And that is what we need: energy.
· International pressure.
We have to increase the pressure from outside Australia on the wretched policy of ill-treating the brave people who are asylum seekers. I have had letters in the New Internationalist and the weekly international Guardian. This is just a start.
· The bigger picture… a Human Rights Act?
To get an idea of what our policies look like from Canada that has some human rights protection, read ‘Playing us for suckers: benevolent Canada seen as an ‘easy mark’ to take Australia’s refugees’, by Joseph Brean in the (Canadian) National Post of June 3rd 2016. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/playing-us-for-suckers-benevolent-canada-seen-as-easy-mark-to-take-australias-refugees
· Have fun.
Unless we make our meetings somewhat enjoyable, we will end up with a diminishing group of masochists round a small table. I would suggest that having major meetings once a week is too frequent. I would recommend weekly information meetings, but decision meetings monthly. Also, don’t be afraid of having sub-committees.
And remember, rallies and vigils are not the be-all and end-all, but they are important. Make sure you have music as well as speakers, and messages of support.
