Let them stay!
This is not a RAC event.
It is organised by the Ecumenical Social Justice Group in association with St John's Anglican Cathedral.
RAC (along with many other organisations listed below), supports the event.
267 people – including 37 babies and more than 50 children – could be deported from Australia to the abusive detention camps on Manus Island and Nauru within days.
It's a reprehensible new low for our nation.
In a show of compassion and solidarity, this week churches around the country opened their doors as sanctuaries to protect these vulnerable people on the planet – people whom the government would send back to hell on earth.
This coming Monday night, with the support of GetUp and many other organisations, thousands of Australians will rally in all capital cities nationally to stand for sanctuary, and demonstrate that Australia says welcome to refugees. We will do everything we can to keep these babies, children, men and women safe. Together, we'll demand that the government let them stay.
Sanctuary is a sacred tradition to create a space to protect and support vulnerable people.
Invite your friends to this Vigil. Let us show that Brisbane Stands for Sanctuary. Let them stay!
WHEN:
Monday, 8th February
5:30pm to 6:30pm
WHERE:
St John's Anglican Cathedral, 373 Ann St, Brisbane CBD QLD 4000
MC:
Very Rev'd Dr Peter Catt, Dean of St John's Cathedral
NB: We are seeking the participation of school aged children & young people who are able to arrive by 5pm and who are happy to hold a laminated A3 photo of one of the babies or children facing the threat of removal to Nauru.
Churches' stand on sanctuary for refugees & asylum seekers
* “We offer this refuge because there is irrefutable evidence from health and legal experts, that the circumstances asylum seekers, especially children, would face if sent back to Nauru are tantamount to state-sanctioned abuse.”
"We are prepared to be charged with an offence for obstruction by trying to prevent federal authorities from entering the cathedral grounds."
* Anglican Dean of Brisbane, Very Reverend Dr Peter Catt
These 8th Feb Sanctuary events are supported by:-
Amnesty International Australia - National
Armidale Rural Australians for Refugees, NSW
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Melbourne, VIC
Australian Women Supporting Women on Nauru - National
Australian Progressives, NSW
ChilOut - National
Christchurch Anglican Cathedral, Darwin, NT
Common Grace - National
Council for Civil Liberties, NSW
Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network, NT
Ecumenical Social Justice Group Inc, Brisbane, QLD
Edmund Rice Centre for Justice & Community Education, Sydney, NSW (& Brisbane, QLD)
GetUp! - National
Gosford Anglican Church, Gosford, NSW
Grandmothers Against the Detention of Children - National
Lebanese Muslim Association, Sydney, NSW
Love Makes a Way - National
Mums 4 Refugees - National
Pilgrim Uniting Church, Adelaide, SA
Pitt Street Uniting Church, Sydney, NSW
Refugee Action Coalition, Sydney, NSW
Refugee Action Collective - QLD
Refugee Action Collective - VIC
Refugee Action Committee, Canberra, ACT
Refugee Council of Australia - National
St Cuthbert's Anglican Church, Perth, WA
St David's Anglican Cathedral, Hobart, Tas.
St George's Anglican Cathedral, Perth, WA
St John's Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane, QLD
Wayside Chapel, Sydney, NSW
Wesley Uniting Church, Perth, WA
Welcome to Australia, WA
To include your organisation as a supporter:
Email standforsanctuary@getup.org.au
Further info about Brisbane's event:
St John's Cathedral office, ph. 3835 2239 or pcatt@stjohnscathedral.com.au