On June 10 last year the Human rights commission released a report titled ‘A last resort,’ it spanned over 1000 pages of evidence about the conditions inside these vile prisons in which we lock men, women and children for the crime of seeking help from our ‘decent and compassionate country.’ The report called for immediate release of all children from immigration detention for fears it could inflict irreversible mental and psychical harm. The government’s response was a one-page press release and a kick in the guts for morality in this country.
One year on and there are still children in detention. Some children have lived there their whole lives and never seen outside these cages. Yesterday, ChilOut with hundreds of concerned citizens gathered at Martin place to mark one year of the government doing nothing. John Howard claims that the election victory is founded on the policy of keeping children locked up for the purposes of deterring people from seeking Asylum, so Australia can chicken out of fulfilling its obligations as a respectable international citizen. Merlin Luck MC’d the protest and it was great to see Naomi and her mother there in support only out of detention for a few short weeks. The message was clear and with all the recent media push to overhaul a horrible system it seems that the efforts from concerned Australians is getting through
So one year one we say: Enough is enough!
