Adelaide Hunger Striker to Support Manus Island Detainees The State President of the Australian Democrats, Jeanie Walker, mother of 3, will tonight begin a hunger strike in sympathy with the Manus Island asylum seekers who are on the twelfth day of their hunger strike today. She is planning on continuing until Saturday the 31st January unless the government responds to calls for onshore processing of those currently on Manus. Manus Island Detention Centre needs to be shut down! Ms Walker has symbolically chosen Australian Day to begin her hunger strike to show her distress at the way the Australian government are treating genuine refugees in offshore processing facilities. Ms Walker is passionate about the plight of refugees and has been hosting asylum seekers (some on bridging visas and some who have not been successful in gaining one) in her own home for three years, and has worked with them to become part of the local community. Its wrong of our government to take such a hardline approach towards people fleeing war and torture in their country of origin. They deserve our attention and assistance, not the current policies of persecution and I want to highlight this. My feeling of utter hopelessness and frustration with our cruel offshore processing policies has led me to the point where I can no longer stand by and watch this tragic story unfolding. With reports of asylum seekers sewing their mouths together, swallowing razor blades and eating washing powder, it is time for Australians everywhere to stand up and be counted and let our politicians know loud and clear that we wont be responsible for this pain and suffering in our name. The Australian name is being tarnished on the world stage by a government acting in a manner that is totally devoid of compassion or moral responsibility. My hunger strike aims to draw attention to their plight, and will provide a more local experience of what it must be like for them. My intention of course is not to starve to death but to share the suffering of so many on Manus Island. I have the luxury of being able to end it if and when my health starts to decline - these asylum seekers cannot. Their actions are necessitated by our government’s intransigence. We need to be their voice! australian-democrats.org.au/adelaide-hunger-striker-to-support-manus-island-detainees.php#.VMegNGjLdcQ
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:30:08 +0000
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