What can you do?

You can do something similar in your community, too. The groundswell has started and is growing daily. Now is the time to lobby politicians across the spectrum. For up-to-date contact details for Senators and Members of Parliament visit the Parliament of Australia's web site.

Nicholson of "The Australian" newspaper: www.nicholsoncartoons.com.au

Feel free to use our materials and adapt them to your community. These include:

• Our TPV Campaign Materials
• Our fact sheet, which we culled from several other sources.
• The text of our Open Letter, which can be used as a petition.
• Other sources of information.
• Our ten point plan
• Letters to refugees
• Join a visitor program
• Meeting with your Member of Parliament.

If you have a complaint in regard to Group 4 Falck Global Solutions or DIMIA you can post a complaint on line to the Commonwealth Ombudsman

SPECIFIC ACTIONS:

• Join a RAR Group or form one in your area.
• Arrange a public meeting.
• Start a Welcome Towns group. Begin looking for accommodation for asylum seeking families and organising community support networks.
• Distribute our Fact Sheet and other materials in you area. Set up a street stall on Saturday mornings.
• Inform yourself of the issues and talk to other people - Our Essays & Articles section is a good place to start.
• Visit/write to people in detention camps - particularly if possible those outside the cities.
• Lobby politicians/write letters on a once-a-week basis.
• Interest the local media - write articles and letters and go on the radio
• Take a look at our Initiatives & Campaigns section and take on something that will best suit your community

We ask you to use RURAL AUSTRALIANS FOR REFUGEES on all posters, leaflets etc, it will give the sense of unity and growing numbers which is very important in making the powers-that-be take notice. You can download RAR logos from the resource section. We also have placards and banners with the RAR slogans.

We are also using two slogans that appear to have been effective:

PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES
and
WHEN YOU KNOW THE FACTS YOU WILL OPEN YOUR HEART

Good luck to all of you, and we will keep each other informed of all our activities and strategies.

© Rural Australians for Refugees, 2002

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