16 June 2024
The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) is marking Refugee Week with a renewed call for a robust response to the global refugee crisis. Highlighting the theme of this year’s Refugee Week, the Refugee Council underscores the pivotal role of families in the lives of refugees and stresses the need for Australia to play an even greater role in constructively responding to the increasing displacement of people across the world.
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https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/statistics/
Around the globe, JRS works in 57 countries assisting refugees, people seeking asylum, and other forcibly displaced people in camps, detention centres, war zones, and urban settings. JRS’ programs focus on access to education, emergency assistance, healthcare, livelihood activities and social services. At the end of 2019, JRS served more than 811,884 people worldwide.
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https://aus.jrs.net/en/jesuit-refugee-service/
The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) was established by the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference on 1 July 1995. It took the place of two previous Conference bodies – The Federal Catholic Immigration Committee, and The Australian Catholic Refugee Office – and assumed many of their functions. The Office is responsible to the ACBC through Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry.
The work of the Office can best be described by the mandate which it has been given by the Bishops:
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CALL to ACTION: prepare for the 2024 World Day of Migrants & Refugees – September
“God walks with His people”, is the title chosen by Pope Francis for his Message for the upcoming World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR), which will be celebrated on Sunday, 29 September 2024.
In this message, the Holy Father reminds us that all of us, God’s people, are migrants on this earth, on our way to the “true homeland”, the Kingdom of Heaven. Migrants are a contemporary icon of this people on a journey, of the Church on a journey, and at the same time, it is in them and in all our vulnerable brothers and sisters that we can encounter the Lord who walks with us.
For this reason, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) is promoting a communication campaign in preparation for the WDMR2024 in which it invites all people of goodwill to organise initiatives with migrants, refugees, vulnerable people…
https://www.acmro.catholic.org.au/wdmr2024
Refugee Week Poster (pdf)
In the last month, our office has had the opportunity to speak to a number of people who have fled persecution and violence in their country. They are seeking safety and freedom in Australia. Some of them have been here for 12 years.
Some have no visa and others have a bridging visa. What many of them have in common is they do not have work rights. It makes life very difficult for them. One Iranian family went through the Fast Track process and their claims were rejected. They have sought ministerial intervention, but they have been told that could take up to five years. The mother used to have work rights, but now she cannot work. She said she is depressed. Her older son finished school a couple of years ago and was offered a university place, but he could not take it up. He stays at home and does nothing. He, also, is depressed. His younger brother often comes home from school crying because he does not know what the future holds for him.
There are many we have talked with who are in similar circumstances. They are in limbo and don’t have much hope. Life is a daily struggle for them, surviving on the charity of others.
World Refugee Week is coming up – June 16 – 22. It’s a time when we can commit ourselves to accompanying refugees who live in desperation. The Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce will host a World Refugee Day Prayer Service on Thursday June 20 at 7:30 PM AEST. Please register for this online service and join us in prayer for all those in need of hope: Register here
If you want to find out what else you can do during Refugee Week, please visit https://www.refugeeweek.org.au/
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World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.
Every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. There are several types of forcibly displaced persons:
A refugee is someone who fled his or her home and country owing to “a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”, according to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. Many refugees are in exile to escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters.
Asylum seekers say they are refugees and have fled their homes as refugees do, but their claim to refugee status is not yet definitively evaluated in the country to which they fled.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are people who have not crossed an international border but have moved to a different region than the one they call home within their own country.
Stateless persons do not have a recognized nationality and do not belong to any country.
Statelessness situations are usually caused by discrimination against certain groups. Their lack of identification — a citizenship certificate — can exclude them from access to important government services, including health care, education or employment.
Returnees are former refugees who return to their own countries or regions of origin after time in exile. Returnees need continuous support and reintegration assistance to ensure that they can rebuild their lives at home.
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