[Commpsych] Fw: IMPORTANT: Sign Urgent Open Letter about COVID-19 and Immigration Detention

Thu Apr 2 09:54:31 AWST 2020

This petition is primarily for academics to sign, but there's a separate link for anyone else who would like to add their voice. It's a google doc so rather clunky and you have to scroll right down to add your name - I'm no 544 I think - or maybe 455? But well worth the effort right now as pressure is ramping up on this urgent humanitarian and public health issue (which of course applies also to people detained in the criminal justice system and elsewhere, where advocacy is also happening here and around the world).

Thanks very much

Heather

Heather Gridley OAM FAPS

Honorary Fellow

College of Health and Biomedicine

Victoria University

Melbourne, Australia

E: heather.gridley at vu.edu.au<mailto:heather.gridley at vu.edu.au>

Ph: +61 419113731

________________________________
From: Academics for Refugees <academics4refugees at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, 2 April 2020 9:40 AM
To: Heather Gridley <Heather.Gridley at vu.edu.au>
Subject: IMPORTANT: Sign Urgent Open Letter about COVID-19 and Immigration Detention

The Australian govt must immediately act to stop the spread of COVID-19 amongst refugees, asylum seekers and other people in immigration detention
[X]
Sign the Academics for Refugees Open Letter<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=db5521e80b&e=140dfc8483>

Controlling COVID-19 in Immigration Detention and the Community

#NoMoreHarm
#COVID19au
#AcademicsForRefugees

Join us to call on the Australian government, as a matter of urgency, to take immediate measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 amongst vulnerable refugees, asylum seekers and other people in immigration detention.

Please sign this Open Letter<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=94b7a1e248&e=140dfc8483> urging the Australian Government to move people urgently out of closed immigration detention, and ensure the health and safety of all people currently held in such facilities, including in ‘alternative places of detention’.

COVID-19 creates complex challenges for people in immigration detention and for people seeking asylum living in the community on bridging visas with limited access to adequate medical support. In the last week, refugees in Australian immigration detention have powerfully highlighted the unsafe conditions that they are being forced to live in with inadequate hygiene measures and where social distancing is impossible (see here<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=832e3aaefc&e=140dfc8483>, here<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=662cceca6c&e=140dfc8483>, here<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=5441fd9f9a&e=140dfc8483> and here<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=e497d9bdcb&e=140dfc8483>).

As most of these individuals have varying contact with people outside of immigration detention, the risk for those in detention extends to the broader community.

COVID-19 does not discriminate, nor should our response to it.

Failure to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 among people detained in immigration detention facilities will not only expose these groups to unacceptable risk, it will inevitably have a detrimental impact on the Australian community at large.

We are keenly aware of the deep distress of people held in immigration detention, where the situation of risk is increasing daily. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government has released some refugees from detention<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=ea52d5aec9&e=140dfc8483>.

Sign our Open Letter to the Australian Government

Anyone working in a University or as an independent academic researcher, and anyone working as a health professional, and as a librarian, is invited to sign and circulate this letter.

  *   You can access the Open Letter to add you name here<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=63929c50b6&e=140dfc8483>.
  *   Please provide your name and affiliation (e.g. University or Place of Work) under the Signatories section of the Open Letter document. Please be patient if other people are also editing the document at the same time as you.
  *   You are invited to circulate this email widely to colleagues and through social media.
  *   You are strongly encouraged to also contact your local State and Federal MP and Senator by phone/mail/email (see here for contact details of Federal Parliamentarians<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=4127263743&e=140dfc8483>). Feel free to send them a copy of the Open Letter noting that you have signed it. It will be publicly released shortly once we reach a significant number of signatures.

Please use the hashtags #NoMoreHarm, #AcademicsforRefugees and #COVID19au. Our Twitter account is @unis4refugees.

In solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers.

Academics for Refugees
@unis4Refugees, https://twitter.com/unis4refugees<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=270fe612f6&e=140dfc8483>
Prof Linda Briskman, Western Sydney University
Dr Sara Dehm, University of Technology Sydney
Assoc Prof Caroline Fleay, Curtin University
Prof Philomena Murray, The University of Melbourne
Dr Anthea Vogl, University of Technology Sydney

Doctors for Refugees
@Drs4Refugees, https://twitter.com/Drs4Refugees<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=43b2aa3ed8&e=140dfc8483>
Dr Barri Phatarfod

Librarians for Refugees
@023forrefugees, https://twitter.com/023forrefugees<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=659461c1d6&e=140dfc8483>
Caroline Beatty

Please forward this email to colleagues to help build momentum for refugee rights campaigns at your university and encourage colleagues to sign up to the Academics for Refugees network via this link<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=d1e4506e99&e=140dfc8483>.
________________________________
Campaign Update
National Day of Action: #StudentsLikeUs
Due to the evolving chaos of C19, we have taken the hard decision to cancel the NDA for #StudentsLikeUs. We will aim for a soft launch in the meantime, and will be in touch when we have updated resources to share. We will resume our campaign once the new normal begins.

In solidarity, Academics for Refugees and the Refugee Education Special Interest Group
________________________________
Get Involved!
Academics for Refugees are seeking volunteers to assist with the following activities:

  *   Regular A4R Newsletter Distribution
  *   Website Maintenance
  *   Other Campaign Work (including around ethical universities, and refugee access to higher education)

We anticipate a time commitment of approx. 10 hours per month, with all work done remotely (although happy to discuss alternative arrangements). However if you are able to only work on one of these, for example for 5 hours a week, please let us know. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Sara Dehm directly at sara.dehm at uts.edu.au<mailto:sara.dehm at uts.edu.au>.

T: @unis4refugees #AcademicsForRefugees #NoMoreHarm #CloseTheCamps

F: https://www.facebook.com/academics4refugees/<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=f947926b19&e=140dfc8483>

W: https://academicsforrefugees.wordpress.com/<https://wordpress.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61c12fbb4a1d6507d0073aa73&id=4b667311e2&e=140dfc8483>

You are receiving this email as you have supported rights for refugees as a signatory to a campaign of Academic for Refugees (https://academicsforrefugees.wordpress.com).

Our mailing address is:
Academics for Refugees
c/o Professor Philomena Murray
The University of Melbourne
Melbourne, Vic 3010
Australia
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Academics for Refugees · c/o Professor Philomena Murray · The University of Melbourne · Melbourne, Vic 3010 · Australia

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