FFFAD Occupy Immigration for Refugees

“We will not cooperate!” 
Parents, kids, and friends occupy The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Melbourne.Pro refugee supporters, including parents, babies, kids, pregnant mothers, and friends will stage a 'play in' within the Department of Immigration and Citizenship today in an act of civil disobedience around the treatment of asylum seekers. The group calling themselves Families, Friends and Feminists Against Detention (FFFAD) will stage their first 'Gathering', the first of many, in solidarity with asylum seekers currently protesting on Nauru.
FFFAD organiser Nadia Mizner, parent to a 9 month old baby, stated; “The Australian government knew abuse was happening 17 months before the Moss review came out. If there was a known perpetrator in one of our schools, would we allow our kids to remain under their care? No we wouldn't. Nauru is a tiny island with perpetrators living alongside survivors even after their release. This is an issue for all parents and feminists to be concerned about. We need to close this Nauru hellhole and bring these people to the safety they were seeking in the first place, here within the Australian community. We unequivocally support the asylum seekers campaign of non cooperation in Nauru, and will now be starting our own here.” FFFAD was formed with a specific concern for the effects of mandatory detention and offshore processing on families, women and children. FFFAD expects around 50 people and kids to attend today. Leilani Turner, another organiser for FFFAD, has stated; “Mandatory detention and offshore processing dehumanizes and degrades everyone. However this system specifically ignores the health imperatives of women, both antenatal and otherwise, the seriousness of sexual violence on children and women, and the effects of family separation particularly in the context of long-term detention. FFFAD calls for an end to mandatory detention and offshore processing and justice for asylum seekers. We urge all other parents, friends, and feminists to join us as we continue our own campaign of  non cooperation and civil disobedience on this issue.”  

Media please call Occupy Sydney 0419722000 for contacts.