Racism in Australia and the fight for justice
at Resistance 2010: the world can't wait!
Thirroul Community Centre (Wollongong NSW)
April 24-26, 2010
Featuring guest speakers:
Richard Downs: is a respected Aboriginal leader from the Ampilatwatja community in the Northern Territory, which is a “prescribed area” under the Intervention legislation. Richard is the spokesperson for the Alyawarr people, who have walked off their community and set up a camp outside the “prescribed area” in protest at the racist Rudd government's takeover of their land and the Intervention's failure to provide housing or services for Aboriginal communities.
Saradha Nathan: is from the Australia Tamil Congress and campaigner for the rights of Tamil refugees fleeing a brutally repressive government in Sri Lanka. In January, Sara was arrested in Indonesia when she and two other refugee advocates visited Tamil refugees moored on a boat in Merak. All three were held by police and questioned by immigration for 17 hours without charge. They had their passports withheld for three days before finally being deported.
Seran Sribalan: is a Tamil youth activist. In August 2009, Seran and another young Tamil activist walked 300km from Sydney to Canberra as part of the Free300k campaign. Called "300km for 300,000 lives", the campaign aimed to create awareness about the plight of Tamil civilians being forcibly held in Sri Lankan military run concentration camps. On April 11, Seran organised a fundraiser where he and other Tamils performed, raising $39,000 for Patchwork — a charity organisation looking after people with disabilities affected by war in Sri Lanka.
Isaac Shuisha: is an Israel citizen and Palestine solidarity activist living in Sydney. Isaac has taken part in organising protests in Australia in support of the Palestinians fight against Israel's brutal occupation of their land — motivated by a racist ideology for an exclusively jewish state of Israel. During mass rallies in January 2009 against the Israeli military's brutal assault on Gaza, he told Green Left Weekly: "Israel is a colonial-settler state, and its existence is dependent on oppressing the indigenous people of Palestine – the Palestinians. The United States and Australia are no different in that respect, as both nations were created on the blood of their indigenous peoples."
and many more...
In recent months we have seen politcians, media and many people show nothing but cruelty to asylum seekers — refugees are locked up and treated worse than criminals. Labour and Liberal leaders both vilify refugees not as people fleeing war, hunger and genocide but as “potential terrorists”. From the Cronulla riots in 2005 to the more recent spate of violent attacks on Indian students, racist fearmongering in Australia continues.
Theft of Aboriginal land continues and is justified with racism. Since 2007, in the name of “protecting children”, Northern Territory communities have been invaded again, had their meagre land rights stripped and had their means of survival curtailed through welfare quarantining. Both the Liberals and Labour agreed to dismiss the Racial Discrimination Act to undermine the rights of Aboriginal people.
Sessions include:
Aboriginal resistance today — supporting the fight for justice: Richard Downs and Dominic Hale
Aboriginal rights campaigning: Richard Downs and Peter Robson, Green Left Weekly's Aboriginal rights reporter
Refugee rights campaigning: Sara Nathan and Aaron Roden
National self-determination struggles: Palestine & Tamil Eelam: Seran Sribalan and Isaac Shuisha
The role of racism in Australian politics: Chris Peterson
Fist in the air in the land of hypocrisy — fighting Rudd and Abbott's Australia: Tim Dobson, Jay Fletcher and Simon Cunich
For full agenda click here: http://www.resistance.org.au/node/214.
Resistance 2010: the world can't wait!
Resistance National Conference
For more information visit www.resistance.org.au or call (02) 4226 2010