Last Thursday the Human Rights Commission called on the Government to reconsider offshore processing, labelling the 'no advantage' policy as unclear and a potential violation of international law.
These concerns are shared by GetUp members, who over the past few weeks have sent in thousands of messages calling for our government to take immediate steps to shut down the Manus Island detention centre, currently home to twenty-two vulnerable children.
Messages like this one, from Mary in Victoria:
"Two words really: ashamed and saddened, about how we treat desperate people fleeing their countries seeking haven elsewhere. There is nothing to be gained by treating them so inhumanely. It will never deter them, compassion is needed here."
We have turned these messages into postcards featuring real drawings from the children detained on Manus, depicting their life in detention.
Can you help us get these postcards into the hands of every MP? It will remind them, visibly, that Manus is no place for children: www.getup.org.au/manus-postcard
If you saw Dateline last week, you would've heard a detention centre guard describe incidents of asylum seekers cutting themselves and trying to hang themselves at least once or twice a week. It's clear to see why this happens when it emerges that in the nine months Manus has been in operation, not a single asylum seeker has been interviewed about their case.
There is something especially powerful about a drawing from a child that MPs will hold in their hand.
Chip in to help deliver GetUp members' messages into our MPs' hands: www.getup.org.au/manus-postcard
- A donation of $8 will cover the cost of printing and delivering 10 individual postcards to 10 MPs, each one with a unique message from a GetUp member in their own electorate.
- $32 will pay for 40 individual postcards targeted to 40 MPs calling for the closure of Manus Island.
- Donating $150 will ensure every single MP in Parliament receives at least one postcard with a personal message from a GetUp member in their own electorate. The more MPs' offices we inundate with postcards, the larger the impact our message will make.
These postcards will deliver the children's stories and the passion of GetUp members directly into the hands of our politicians. Chip in here to help send our Manus message.
Thank you for helping the children tell their story,
the GetUp team
PS. Australia is now in the spotlight for failing to protect and uphold human rights. The UNHCR has hit out at the Government's recent decision to excise Australia's mainland from the migration zone, an unprecedented move for a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention.1 They've slammed Australia's offshore processing centres on Manus Island and Nauru as a "very serious violation of international law".2 Let's finally put an end to Australia's shame and shut down Manus for good.
[1] UNHCR takes Australia to task over migration zone changes, ABC News, 23 May 2013
[2] Manus Island conditions violate law: UNHCR, ABC News, 4 Feb 2013
GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group using new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you'd like to contribute to help fund GetUp's work, please donate now! 
