President Anthony McGrath opened the meeting at 6.30 pm on 2^nd November 2020 with a rousing singing of Advance Australia Fair, as led by John Thornton OAM.  Our efforts were considered to be reasonably well done and were rated a 7.5/10.

 

The meeting is still being streamed on Zoom so that you may engage in that manner.

 

Pres Anthony welcomed Betty McGeever who is our Guest Speaker tonight on the subject of Refugees.

 

We also welcome other guests, Marion Calif, who is no stranger, and

a visiting Rotarian from the Mandurah Club, Patti Walmsley. Welcome to you both.

 

Apologies and LOAs at 20, with 3 guests hence we are expecting around 46 people tonight.

 

Question: What is the area of focus for Rotary in November?

Answer:  Rotary Foundation Month.

 Correctly answered by John Mackinnon at the first attempt.

 

Any Rotarian who has news they would like to share regarding Family or Friends?

John Bolto advised that his daughter Alex would be moving into her new home this week, and just in time for the birth of baby No. 2 in a few weeks’ time.

 

Bob is an apology tonight but he has provided the following details

 

Member’s Birthdays results in a swag of octogenarian Birthday

 

Final numbers in attendance were 41 members and 3 guests for a total of 44 (2 less than predicted).

 

AGM to be held at 5 PM Monday 16th November in the Board Room Nedlands Golf Club. All members are welcome.

 

There is a Board Meeting next Monday.

 

No report.

 

The Bike Count is on Sunday 8^th November and we still need 2 more volunteers to fill our small quota of 12 people. If anyone can help please let me know ASAP so I can finalise our commitment.

Our new fundraising initiative of scented candles is available for members to pick up some wonderful Xmas presents for the family. Samples and order forms are located on your Tables.

The Club has received the first few initial funds from the Container deposit scheme payments as paid by Greenbatch. Whist only approximately $20 at this stage, is still only early days and we expect this to be a regular reasonable earner for the Club.

 

Nigel Johnson advised the club that things are progressing well with the planning for the Cans for Xmas collection. There are 6 clubs participating this year and there will be 3 locations for people to drop off their donations.

 

Steve Halbert advised that his company’s employees would be offering their assistance with the Cans for Xmas project.

Steve also advised that Jon Steward has been invited to join the Board of Rotary Residential College, congratulations to Jon.

 

No report.

 

The books for PNG have arrived in Brisbane via Sadliers Transport.

Some books were also provided to Bruce Dufty - Chair of the Aboriginal Reference Group. These books have already been distributed to several bodies in Leonora.  It is a great outcome from our book drive as 1 project has successfully been turned into 2 projects.

 

There will be a Xmas stall at Claremont Quarter to raise funds for Nokor Tep Hospital in Cambodia. Volunteers and donations will be greatly appreciated.

 

Upcoming John Curtin Gallery exhibition of the Carrolup paintings to be held on 15^th November. This will be a private tour for our Club from 14:00-16:00 and the gallery Director will be showing us the works.

 

No report.

 

 

Thank you to Nigel Johnson for organising the Cans for Xmas appeal this year. We have had very positive reports for the other Club’s involved regarding Nigel’s leadership and helpfulness. Not to mention work ethic! Thank you, Nigel.

 

 

The Sergeant served to extract the following fines from members, whilst ably assisted by Corporal Tony Chien.

 

The speaker was introduced by Bruce Jeanes. Betty McGeever spent most of her life in the WA Public Library as well as international libraries.. Betty has become a passionate advocate for refugees and without further ado please welcome Betty to the podium. “The following notes are the full text of Bettys’ speech, which she cut short due to available time constraints. Betty strongly asks that you view the various links provided to get a real personal understanding of the people affected by our Government’s policies”   Asylum2020, Dalkeith Rotary, 2 November  This is a sad and complex issue and I can only skip over the surface, so I will give some context, outline the current state of affairs, and end on a positive note In the past Australia has welcomed asylum seekers who came by boat – In 1976, the first Vietnamese refugees arrived in Darwin on fishing boats.  In the next few years, 56 boats arrived and were accepted on humanitarian grounds. Then Vietnam agreed to let refugees leave without persecution, so many came here to join their families who had fled earlier.

 

By 1985, 70,000 refugees from Southeast Asia, had settled in Australia. Many of us were unhappy but Malcolm Fraser led in persuading us to welcome these new Australians and take some responsibility for our part in their war.  SA gov.  Van Le was one of these.  Great contribution…

 

From 1999 to 2007 John Howard’s government issued over 11,000 temporary protection visas for refugees who mostly came from countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. 

After three years they had to reapply, their claims were reassessed, and 95% of them were granted permanent protection.  And the rest were given permanent protection when TPVs were abolished in 2008, by the Rudd government. 

 

So we have welcomed boat people in the past…

And we do still welcome a lot of people to our shores –

We have a migration program  - we welcome 150 to 200 thousand migrants per annum. They have skills and money, necessary to maintain our growing economy.

Our humanitarian program welcomes refugees to settle here, typically selected from long term refugee camps in Africa and elsewhere.  The numbers wobble around between c.12 and 20 thousand.  13,750 in the new budget.

 

Hugely we welcome temporary visa holders – student, tourist, workers, business…

About 8 million per annum. A huge part of our economy.  In normal times, there are about 700,000 international students in Oz.  After coal and iron, they are the third biggest export earner. 

Of that 8 million, over 20,000 will claim asylum..  arrive with a valid visa, then claim asylum. 

In the last five years, 92,000 plane arrivals have claimed asylum. A huge job for DHA, over 90% rejected. 

 

So then we come to asylum seekers who arrive by boat, seeking our protection. 

There are three main cohorts.

 

First, there are about 30,000 living in the community they are the lucky ones. They arrived before 19 July 2013, briefly in detention Christmas Island for health and security checks, deemed unlikely to be any threat and released into the community on bridging visas, i.e. asylum seekers.

Until 2015 not permitted to work, on benefit 89% of Newstart.

Now, most are working and paying tax.   Construction, aged care, mining. 

In 2016 ordered to apply for refugee status, a long and difficult process ending in an interview with DIBP officer, over 70% were successful and now on 3 or 5-year temporary protection visas. But no plan for progression to permanent. Only in Oz!

Work, freedom, but…No certainty, in permanent limbo, no family reunion.

And in the last few years a crackdown on those still on benefits to test if “work ready”.   Some taken off benefits, destitute in our community.  CARAD...ASRC …

 

The second cohort   Those offshore

From 19 July 2013, all asylum seekers arriving by boat were sent offshore to Nauru or Manus Island. [1350 to Nauru]

Months later Abbott came to power and set up his “ring of steel” – an armada of border patrol boats to turn back smugglers.  Within months the boats had stopped but c.3000 asylum seekers had already been forced offshore.    Scott Morrison, then immigration minister, advised them “You will never settle in Australia”. 

 

Manus. terrible overcrowding, petty and gratuitous cruelty (not allowed pen and paper, nor telephones), lack of medical care, pulling own teeth, phone roster/dying father …. Deaths; Reza Barati murdered by locals and guards, Hamid Khazaei died thru medical neglect and bureaucratic delays, refusal of medical transfers…

[strongly recommend Behrouz Boochani book re Manus experience]   

After several years of mental health issues escalated, there were suicides….

Now only 130 remaining and all moved to Port Moresby. The mood is total despair.

On Nauru men, women and kids suffered appalling conditions – mouldy tents, Nauru files.  Gays bashed, lip stitching, attempted suicides incl.10-year-old boy, then wave of children with Traumatic Withdrawal Syndrome. 

They would have seen deaths - Karimi son suicided, Omid Masoumali set himself on fire, Somali Hodan Yasin, 21, self-immolation (6 months in Brisbane hospital).

In late 2018 still over 100 families on Nauru, but now all women and children now off.

The costs of this offshore cruelty are mind-boggling.  

In 2018 security company Paladin made a profit of $1.3 million per week from the Manus untendered contract.   And was fined over 1000 times for “performance failures”. The Auditor-General notes this is not “value for money”.  This is our money. 

The third group is those in detention in Oz  - many cohorts.

 

Three main ones - detention centres, APODs …, and community detention. 

It’s costly; in the seven years to Dec. 2021, the value of the Serco contract is $2.5 billion.

   Detention Centres - MITA, Villawood…489 boat people…  Please remember these are not criminals. Locked up for administrative purposes, for years; there is barbed wire, handcuffs are used, eg to go to medical appointments.  Family separation, random relocation… 

In WA Yongah Hill…locked up with serious criminals, refugees fearful.

    APODs e.g Mantra hotel in Preston Melbourne, Kangaroo Point in Brisbane.

Over 200… most were transfers under medevac law and before, so have been detained in hotel rooms for a year now.  Many without treatment.

  Community detention.  quite benign, like a hostel situation, free housing, a small stipend and can go out curfew. The children who came as a result of Kids off Nauru campaign are in community detention with at least one other family member.

A few months ago there were 846 in community detention.

Now there are plans to evict over 500 of them.

They are expelled with three weeks’ notice, their stipend is cut off, and they are on the street. They have not been permitted to work for 6 or 7 years, suddenly they have to find a job in the middle of COVID times!

Refugee support groups are desperately looking for accommodation, food and jobs for them. 

 

There are thousands in our community working and paying tax…

Fewer than 400 offshore and some 1500 in various sorts of detention in Australia.

Over 800 have gone to the USA, Obama/Turnbull deal, and c.200 are in process to go.

The boats never started again.

New Zealand has offered for seven years to take 150 per annum, never accepted.

But - there is a good news story.  It started with some wonderful young Aussies working in the USA, who set out to help new arrivals from PNG and Nauru. They call themselves Ads-up.   …  When they learned of the terrible situation of those left behind on Manus and Nauru, they committed to rescuing them, partnering with a community based Canadian resettlement scheme.  Running for over 40 years, the Canadian citizens have resettled 320,000 asylum seekers; this is on top of their government’s humanitarian intake.

 

The citizen sponsors are usually a group of five. They commit to provide emotional, practical and financial support for a refugee for one year and must have A$20,000 for that purpose.  Basically, it is a buddy system – with money.

 

So I would like to tell you of a local example.

About a year ago I got together a small informal group, with the common purpose of raising awareness of the situation of refugees.  We have spent a lot of time lobbying for a better deal for them, writing to politicians and press.  Lots of sympathy but realistically had probably helped no-one. 

So we were very pleased to discover the Canadian resettlement scheme

In February we decided we would give it a crack, gave ourselves the self-mocking name of Western Suburb Do-Gooders, and contacted Ads-Up.  We are so impressed with them – they are compassionate, practical and efficient, and strategic, working in a very sensitive and complex environment.

They choose the refugee, then set up the fund-raising page.  We were persuaded to raise money for a couple – so needed $30,000.  Within a month we had exceeded our target and their application could go forward.  A group of five in Calgary had agreed to sponsor this couple. The young couple were over the moon!

Meanwhile, one of our donors had met with us and offered to do an art sale.  She got such approval for what we were doing, 130 paintings donated … had to hire Camelot hall.. buying frenzy, over $17,000 sales, over $3000 donated. 

Long story short, we are able to send two couples to Canada. After 7 wasted years without hope, they can move forward to a new life of dignity and freedom, with a year’s support from good people, then get a certificate, and seven years from the date of that cert they can apply for citizenship.  

I still find it bizarre that we kindly Aussies were raising money to send to kindly Canadians so that they can welcome refugees who came to us for protection.

For all of the cohorts above I could illustrate with a personal story, here are three to put a human face to those trying to regain their lives under difficult circumstances. 

SAHIL in Baltimore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONWVL26AgnU

ANWAR in Chicago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-g4Y37KcPo

CANADA PROMO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SHHZvMSYaE&feature=youtu.be

Here is a tragic example from Manus:

In October 2019 32-year-old Afghan refugee and doctor, Sayed Rohani, jumped to his death from the 22nd floor of a Brisbane hotel, after suffering from acute mental distress. On Manus for 4 years, he offered to help in the local clinic and was refused.  Why?   Then his mental health took a dive.  He was brought to Australia from Manus in 2017 for medical treatment.  His parents in the UK applied for him to join them; DHA refused – why? This young man had a medical degree recognised by Australia, completed in English, and spoke six languages. Such a waste. Treated like a criminal for 4 years on Manus and for 2 onshore, he was a broken man and finally driven to suicide.

 

My motivation this evening is to inform (always aware that some are already informed, thank you for patience), not to raise funds, BUT I do feel that Rotary’s humanitarian ethos may lead you to help in some way.

So I would like to mention a few of Ads-Up current projects.  And you can consider later – or maybe put in some online newsletter for your members

Ads-up in the USA is supporting those who have lost jobs due to COVID: they are raising money to get them truck licences.  Here is a link to some truck driving licence stories: www.ads-up.org/cdl-donation-page

And of course, there is the Canada scheme, and here in Perth CARAD is overwhelmed with requests for help www.carad.org.au

Here is an excellent 6-minute video of the work of Ads-Up:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfL0oWdZ7kQ&feature=youtu.be

 

An action-packed month!