What can you do?

STARTING UP OR JOINING A RAR GROUP

Joining a RAR group

When you first become aware of the enormity of what has been done in our name to asylum seekers and refugees attempting to seek refuge in our country, it's not unusual to feel a sense of powerlessness and frustration. Joining a RAR group can be a great way to give you support, inspiration and hope - suddenly you realise you're not alone, that there are many others who are working together to support those who have been victimised and bring about a change in current government policy.

Since its beginning in 2001, the national RAR network has continued to grow rapidly, with well over 10,000 direct supporters and innumerable others in affiliated advocacy groups. There are now around seventy active local RAR groups, in all states and territories. A list of these groups, with contact details, is available in the 'Contacts' section of our website.

To become part of a group, simply get in touch with the contact person listed and ask to join. The contact person should be able to give you details about the group's meeting times and venues - all you have to do to become 'active' is to turn up. There's no formal membership requirement or fee. Once you join, you should also receive regular copies of RAR national communications with news, information and action ideas from other RAR groups around the nation.

Starting a RAR Group

If there's not a RAR group in your local area, you might like to consider setting one up yourself. This is relatively simple, as RAR operates as a loose affiliation of independent local groups who have united around a common cause. RAR's broad
"charter" is the 10 Point Plan, adopted at the network's first national meeting two years ago.

Beyond that, groups vary widely in character - some have a "political lobbying" background, some are church-based, but most are a mixture of what the politicians love to call "ordinary Australians". As far as organisation goes, matters such as incorporation, management strategy, etc are entirely up to local members [see our frequently asked questions].

Most groups start from a public meeting or forum of some kind, which leads to regular meetings that work on whatever project the group wants to pursue. Some groups focus on fundraising (which can be sent directly to "front-line" RAR groups servicing the centres, groups assisting bridging visa holders in the community, or wherever else you decide it will be effective). Others focus on supporting detainees through letterwriting and donations, or political lobbying or public education. Often groups do a bit of everything, sometimes "adopting" a centre as a focus for their efforts. The RAR website includes a number of short summaries of what different RAR groups have done or are planning to do, which can be very helpful in generating ideas.

RAR Admin acts as an information conduit for the network, keeping RAR groups, supporters and advocates in contact with each other and external developments through regular e-mail bulletins and the RAR website. If you decide to go ahead with forming a RAR group, let us know the details and we'll post your contact information on the site.

One thing we do need is an e-mail contact for a specific person who will act as the contact for your group. The way our communication process works (from this end) is that we send information from RAR Admin through to this person, who then distributes the information to their local members. This keeps our communication system at the "grassroots" level, and avoids overloading our already rather stretched central mailing list. This role is a vital one, and it's important that the local contact person you select has ready e-mail access and checks their e-mail regularly (preferably daily). If this person is away for any reason, it's a good idea to let us know an alternative address we can send information to in their absence.

I hope this is of some help - see our frequently asked questions for more information on starting up a group or RAR Admin e-mail: , or by phone (02) 6655 5502.

Good luck with the group - please keep us in touch with progress, and with any activities you've done or are planning that might be of interest to other RAR groups and supporters.

© Rural Australians for Refugees, 2002

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