From The Editor of Beside The Creek: Please note there is a march and rally in Ballarat on Saturday 28 November. Please go here for more information.
As representatives of many religious traditions and different faiths, we stand together in our moral obligation to care for sacred Earth, the most vulnerable people and all human life as a gift entrusted to our common care as we are confronted by the growing impacts of climate change in all corners of the world.
More extreme weather events disrupt food production and water security, exacerbate hunger, cause economic insecurity and forced displacement. We share a common concern for nature and for global social justice, and are deeply concerned that climate change is a threat to precious human life, and to the survival of humanity unless strong and urgent action is taken to address the causes.
We acknowledge the overwhelming scientific evidence that climate change is human induced, and that the failure to address its root causes will result in impacts escalating in intensity and frequency, especially amongst the world's poor and vulnerable who are already bearing the burden disproportionately.
We want world leaders to listen and act decisively for a just transition to clean energy. Australia has the technological and economic capacity to deliver this life-preserving transformation, and it is an opportunity to play our part in addressing the common environmental challenge humanity faces.
Across Victoria's faith communities, we share the call for Australia's and the world's leaders meeting in Paris in December for the United Nations climate summit to act with courage and compassion to address the fundamental drivers of climate change, to care for sacred Earth, and to protect the most vulnerable.
Faith Communities Council of Victoria is comprised of the following peak bodies: Baha'i Community of Victoria, Brahma Kumaris Australia, Buddhist Council of Victoria, Hindu Community Council of Victoria, Islamic Council of Victoria, Jewish Community Council of Victoria, Sikh Interfaith Council of Victoria and Victorian Council of Churches.
From Hayley, BRASSN Volunteer Database Co-ordinator...
Here are three pieces of information for you being passed on from BRASSN (Ballarat Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support Network). The first is a link to an ASRC Newsletter titled 'Are we doing enough'? The second is a Light the Dark vigil held in Ballarat this Monday at 6pm. The third is from BRASSN member David McPhail, who will be participating in the Run 4 Refugees with a Ballarat team.
The image of a Syrian child's lifeless body washed up on the shores of a Turkish beach this week brought the world to its knees. His name was Aylan Kurdi, and he was just three years old.
The sad reality is that Aylan was one among millions of desperate people forced to flee from war and persecution. The world is facing a global refugee crisis on a scale we've not seen since WWII, but Australia - our lucky country of a fair go for all - is not doing enough. We can do better to help these people. We need to do better.
That's why on Monday night, we will light a candle to remember Aylan Kurdi. We will stand together in solidarity with ...people across the world who are forced to ask for protection from countries like ours. We'll shine a light in the darkness, in protest of our country's abandonment of the world's most desperate people, who seek only safety and protection.
We will send a message to the world that our government's inaction does not represent us, and that Australia says welcome.
3. Ballarat Run 4 Refugees running the Melbourne Marathon. Sponsor David Mac Phail to raise funds for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
Would you like to support the ASRC by sponsoring our marathon and by circulating this email through your networks.
I am running Melbourne Marathon again this year with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre [ASRC]. We now have a Ballarat team which includes asylum seekers and refugees. Sophia, my daughter, is also running her first marathon with us. Ballarat Run 4 Refugees is raising much needed funds for Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
ASRC gets no government funding and is completely dependent on fundraising. Last year Run 4 Refugees raised about $250,000 which was about the amount spent on accommodation. In my role as volunteer Case Worker with ASRC I am able to say first hand how well this money is used for people who are otherwise homeless.
For 14 years the ASRC has been fighting for the human rights of asylum seekers. Over 10,000 people have been provided with sanctuary, support and hope by the ASRC in this time and thousands of people have won their freedom through this work. Your donationwill help provide services to support people seeking asylum: legal appointments, housing, health care, employment services, English language classes, food andadvocacy.
You can make a donation by clicking on the link below to go to my fundraising page. There is also links to the ASRC web page for more information about the organisation.
Who was the centre of attention in front of and near Victoria's Parliament House yesterday? Reclaim Australia and their associates wanted to provide a double focus of attention: themselves and Muslims living in Australia.
No Room for Racism and its sympathisers were equally determined on a dual focus: to counter the racism of Reclaim Australia and its cohort and to make the public aware of their organisation.
Did the events of the day go as planned for both sides? Possibly. Possibly not. However, it seems that there were elements on both sides who were prepared for trouble one way or another.
What Restore Australia did not take into account in the Ballarat situation is that community friendships had already been forged within the broader community by the time they blew into town. The local Islamic community had friends - a broad spectrum of friends. And the then Mayor was an early responder.
Meanwhile, amid all this swirling of clashing tensions and violent police intervention, what were Muslims doing? Yesterday was the beginning of Eid celebrations. Muslims were enjoying themselves. Behind them was a month of fasting. Now can come the feasting. Perhaps Reclaim Australia chose the day and date deliberately with an intent to insult Muslims - or perhaps they knew there would not be a Muslim in sight or hearing of their rampage!
The Faith Communities Council of Victoria has issued the following statement.
The Faith Communities Council of Victoria (FCCV) has issued the following statement in light of reports that over the weekend of the 18/19th July 2015, Reclaim Australia is planning nationwide rallies which we believe are divisive and not in the nation’s best interests.
The acceptance of our multicultural and multifaith society is one of Australia's greatest achievements and assets. The celebration of this rich diversity that exists in our society ensures we remain innovative, resilient and globally competitive - all of which enhances our society and increases our standard of living.
Like any asset, our multicultural and multifaith identity needs to be continuously nourished and threats to undermine it need be addressed. The current environment fueled by economic uncertainty and fear is encouraging the rise of extreme groups like Reclaim Australia and UPF (United Patriots Front), who are intent on disenfranchising minorities and disturbing the peace within our society.
These groups demonstrate they possess anti-Muslim, anti-Asian, anti-Indigenous, anti-Semitic and anti-Refugee sentiments.
We, the Faith Communities Council of Victoria, actively discourage any kind of involvement with these groups and see them as a threat to peace and social cohesion within our society.
We believe there has to be a continuous dialogue promoting multiculturalism and multifaith.
We also encourage all to discourage others from supporting these groups in any way.
The harmony and diversity in our society is the basis of the beauty of Australia, and we request your support in maintaining this.
Faith Communities Council of Victoria is comprised of the following peak bodies: Baha'i Community of Victoria, Brahma Kumaris Australia, Buddhist Council of Victoria, Hindu Community Council of Victoria, Islamic Council of Victoria, Jewish Community Council of Victoria, Sikh Interfaith Council of Victoria and Victorian Council of Churches.
The material posted below concerning yesterday's rallies is posted for information and for the record. However, the Social Media Project Officer, a Christian, cannot resist a comment. The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is, in many Christian traditions, a sobering and quiet day. It is a day for remembering Jesus lying in the borrowed tomb after his death on Friday and before his rising to life on Sunday. This year, the Christian holy days overlapped with the conclusion of the Jewish Passover which marks the remembrance of the escape of the Jews from tyrannical power, a tyrannical nation.
This leaves a question. Who were the noisy anti-Islamic people who were the initiators of all this noise in the public squares of Australian cities yesterday? I think it might be possible to rule out the participation of Muslims. Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath - so I think Jews could be ruled out. Some of the participants would have called themselves Christian. I would challenge these people. I would say that they are Christian in name only - and not in spirit. The true spirit of the day would not have seen public outcry and uproar. It would not have seen expressed hatred to another Abrahamic faith - because, in the Abrahamic tradition, we are taught to love and respect others as ourselves. The true spirit of the day, instead, would have been private and reflective.
Something horrible happened in Australia yesterday. It enlivened latent bigotry and xenophobia in the Australian psyche which many of us had hoped we, as a nation, would have overcome. If yesterday did nothing else, it held a mirror up to ourselves. It showed us that all Australians are not sweetness and light and good mates - but dwell in caves of unredeemed nastiness and bitterness which engenders disrespect of others.
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The post below has been cross-posted with permission from The Network
The video above and the text immediately below are from the Melbourne rally. Violent clashes at anti-Islam protests in Melbourne Thousands of anti-Muslim and anti-racism protesters have clashed in cities and towns across the country after Reclaim Australia group organised rallies Violent clashes have marred anti-Islam demonstrations in Australia.
Thousands of anti-Islam and anti-racism protesters clashed today after the Reclaim Australia group organised rallies in 16 cities and towns across the country.
The group claims to oppose Islamic extremism, the "Islamisation" of Australian society, Sharia law and the Halal-certification of most meats sold in Australia.
But counter-rallies were organised by other groups, who claim Reclaim Australia is anti-Muslim. The most violent clashes were in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, where police struggled to hold back opposing demonstrators.
Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Bentley said the Victoria state ambulance service treated four people, three for minor injuries, due to assaults in Melbourne.
The fourth was treated for chest pains.
Police arrested three people after groups clashed in the city's Federation Square. A man at the Reclaim Australia rally in Hobart was arrested and charged with assault after his group clashed with the counter-rally supporting multiculturalism.
A large rally was held in Sydney, where police were forced to remove opposition protesters who stormed the Reclaim Australia stage.
Clare Fester, who organised a counter-rally in Sydney, said Reclaim Australia was racist and divisive.
"It's quite clearly an attack on Muslims and Muslim communities in this country," she told ABC News. "It's all about halal food, sharia law, banning the burka."
But Reclaim Australia's John Oliver said it was wrong to label the group racist.
"We're not against any particular race or any particular religion," he said. "We're against the extremists of one particular religion."
One Nation's Pauline Hanson addressed supporters in Brisbane telling them she was a "proud Australian" who wanted to fight for "our democracy, culture and way of life".
Other rallies were held in Adelaide, Hobart and Perth.
On April 4th an organisation named Reclaim Australia has called racist anti-Muslim rallies across the country. Their core demands include banning the burqa, opposition to halal food and stopping sharia law. It has attracted support from far right organisations such as the Australian Defence League.
Unlike previous far right events this rally has attracted a large number of attendees on Facebook. Reclaim Australia is trying to win credibility by claiming it is not racist to be anti-Muslim. Our counter-protest aims to challenge this and make clear the racist nature of their event. We hope this will stop the hard core racists behind this event from building any greater support.
Islamophobia is already being peddled in the political mainstream. Tony Abbott and the mainstream media have labelled the entire Muslim community as responsible for terrorism.
Abbott has effectively accused Muslim leaders of sympathising with violence and terrorism, saying, “I've often heard Western leaders describe Islam as a 'religion of peace'. I wish more Muslim leaders would say that more often, and mean it.”
Abbott launched a scare campaign about terrorism following police raids in the western suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, despite there being no evidence of any terror attack planned. Just one person was charged on terror-related crimes as a result.
The raids served to whip up fear and division in the community and allow the government to pass a raft of new and invasive anti-terror laws that curb civil liberties. The result has been a spate of violent attacks on Muslims around the country, especially visibly Muslim women who wear the hijab.
It is not a coincidence that Abbott has ramped up the Islamophobia while he keeps sinking in the polls. Across the world governments are using fear of Muslims, refugees and migrants to get away with budget cuts and austerity.
This is a desperate government trying to sow fear and xenophobia in the community as a distraction.
WHY WE ARE RALLYING
We are holding a rally on April 4th in solidarity with Muslim communities all over the country who are currently under attack.
