A 鈥減eople's assembly for refugees鈥 met in front of Parliament House on September 28 to call on the government to introduce humane policies and stop using refugees as political footballs.
More than 160 people from Victoria, the ACT and NSW were joined by Greens parliamentarians Sarah Hanson-Young and Adam Bandt, and independent MP Andrew Wilkie.
The rally was called by the Refugee Advocacy Network, a Melbourne-based coalition of refugee activist, advocacy and support groups. It was endorsed by 48 groups from across Australia.
immigrant rights
A Short Border Handbook
By Gazmend Kapllani
Portobello Books 2009
159 pages
Review by Alex Miller
This book, which the author describes as 鈥減art autobiography, part fiction鈥, is hard to assess. Each chapter is divided into two parts. The first part tells the story of a man (presumably Kapllani himself) who crosses into Greece from Albania when the border between those two countries opened in 1991. The second part consists of 鈥減hilosophical鈥 ruminations on issues raised by the story of the first part.
A new Sydney group, Fairness and Justice for Overseas Students, held protests on May 1 and June 12 against changes to the skilled migration program. The changes will affect thousands of Asian vocational students studying in Australia.
Immigration minister Chris Evans announced the changes on February 8. Among the changes was a new list of skills and occupations that would qualify overseas workers for the program.
The hip-hop community in Arizona came together in a 鈥淣ot In My Backyard鈥 approach to protest the state鈥檚 new immigration law by remaking Public Enemy鈥檚 song, 鈥淏y the Time I Get to Arizona.鈥 A music video is soon to follow.
Hip-hop artists Queen YoNasDa, DJ John Blaze, Tajji Sharp, Yung Face, Mr Miranda, Ocean, Da'aron Anthony, AtlLas, Chino D, Nyhtee, Pennywise, Rich Rico, and Da Beast express multicultural perspectives on a law they collectively consider to be racial profiling.
Hip-hop artist Chuck D, best known as a rapper with progressive band Public Enemy, has released a new track in response to the extreme racist, anti-immigrant law passed on April 23 in Arizona entitled 鈥淭ear Down That Wall鈥. The song can be downloaded at . Chuck D and his wife, Dr Gaye Theresa Johnson (director of Black and Chicano studies at UC Santa Barbara), also released the following statement against the racist law.
* * *
This will be the last column I write about the major league baseball team Arizona Diamondbacks in the foreseeable future. For me, they do not exist.
They will continue to not exist in my mind as long as the horribly named anti-immigrant 鈥淪upport Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act鈥, signed into law on April 23, remains on the books in Arizona.
This law has brought echoes of apartheid to the state.
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