{"id":74962,"date":"2021-03-26T04:56:11","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T17:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/?p=74962"},"modified":"2021-03-25T18:28:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T07:28:45","slug":"rural-australians-refugees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/","title":{"rendered":"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable"},"content":{"rendered":"

RURAL Australians for Refugees Bendigo are working to be a voice for the voiceless.<\/p>\n

Assistant secretary Christine Cummins said the group was established in the early-2000s in response to the Federal Government\u2019s stance on immigration.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople gathered to see what on earth they could do in regard to the immigration policies, and the impact those policies were having on people seeking asylum, and settlement processes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

RAR took a hiatus for some years, before becoming more proactive about a decade ago, when offshore detention facilities on Manus Island and Nauru reopened.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this came the horrible implications of enduring long-term, indefinite detention, and what that meant for whole families was separation and children locked up; horrible consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cRural Australians for Refugees groups across the country were reborn from that, speaking for these vulnerable people,\u201d Ms Cummins said.<\/p>\n

In 2015 RAR Bendigo hosted a national conference, with the founders of the original Australian RAR group attending. The Bendigo branch has continued to strengthen since that event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a group of volunteers from all walks of life and all ages, all about advocacy through campaigning, petitioning, letter-writing to politicians, and trying to keep the issues alive and heard, so the community are aware of what\u2019s going on in the refugee space.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the third Friday of every month from 5pm, we have a little rally with placards for an hour in the centre of Bendigo, opposite the fountain in front of Rosalind Park,\u201d Ms Cummins said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask people to \u2018toot if you give a hoot,\u2019 to acknowledge the rally. We get a great response and people cheer us on, which keeps these issues in focus so that refugees and asylum seekers are not forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporters of the Refugee Council of Australia, Refugee Legal, and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, RAR Bendigo have coordinated food drives, and have seen successful legislation changes because of their \u201cvital\u201d campaigning.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our work is behind the scenes stuff, but it does make an impact. We\u2019re an enthusiastic group of skilled people,\u201d Ms Cummins said.<\/p>\n

As part of Operation Not Forgotten, the group are fundraising to free a refugee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re raising $18,500 to cover legal fees to get one person off Manus or Nauru, and settle them in Canada, where they\u2019re then given the chance of a life, permanent residency, and a future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people are in their eighth year in limbo, with no ability to get education, a career or family reunification, and there\u2019s no long-term settlement plans. They\u2019re rotting in limbo,\u201d Ms Cummins said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough the generosity of people, our campaign is only $2000 short of meeting our target to get one other person, hopefully, on the pathway to being settled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact rarbendigo@gmail.com<\/strong><\/a> if you\u2019re interested in volunteering with the group in any small or larger capacity, helping a refugee family in the community, or are keen to contribute to the Operation Not Forgotten fundraiser.<\/p>\n

A Palm Sunday Vigil will be held on Sunday, 28 march at 7pm at St Andrews Church on Myers Street. Anyone is welcome and can bring a candle in a jar to hold if they wish.<\/p>\n

Visit for more information bit.ly\/3cKLW8R<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RURAL Australians for Refugees Bendigo are working to be a voice for the voiceless. Assistant secretary Christine Cummins said the group was established in the early-2000s in response to the Federal Government\u2019s stance on immigration. \u201cPeople gathered to see what on earth they could do in regard to the immigration policies, and the impact those […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":74963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-74962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRefugee advocates speak for the vulnerable - Bendigo Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable - Bendigo Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"RURAL Australians for Refugees Bendigo are working to be a voice for the voiceless. Assistant secretary Christine Cummins said the group was established in the early-2000s in response to the Federal Government\u2019s stance on immigration. \u201cPeople gathered to see what on earth they could do in regard to the immigration policies, and the impact those [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bendigo Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-25T17:56:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/03\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edwina Williams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Edwina Williams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Edwina Williams\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1679afe19d0c5817f387b660e66f07e9\"},\"headline\":\"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-25T17:56:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":542,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/\",\"name\":\"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable - Bendigo Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-25T17:56:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"Ready and rallying: Rural Australians for Refugees Bendigo protested in front of Rosalind Park, opposite the fountain, on Friday evening. Photo: SUPPLIED\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/news\\\/rural-australians-refugees\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bendigo Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Bendigo Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/BDT-logo-masthead-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/BDT-logo-masthead-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":491,\"caption\":\"Bendigo Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1679afe19d0c5817f387b660e66f07e9\",\"name\":\"Edwina Williams\",\"description\":\"Edwina Williams is the Times News Group's Northern Victoria editor covering the Ballarat Times News Group, Golden Plains Times, Moorabool News, Bendigo Times, and McIvor Times.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/emwilliamsjourno\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/author\\\/edwina\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable - Bendigo Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable - Bendigo Times","og_description":"RURAL Australians for Refugees Bendigo are working to be a voice for the voiceless. Assistant secretary Christine Cummins said the group was established in the early-2000s in response to the Federal Government\u2019s stance on immigration. \u201cPeople gathered to see what on earth they could do in regard to the immigration policies, and the impact those [...]Read More...","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/","og_site_name":"Bendigo Times","article_published_time":"2021-03-25T17:56:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/03\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Edwina Williams","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Edwina Williams","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/"},"author":{"name":"Edwina Williams","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#\/schema\/person\/1679afe19d0c5817f387b660e66f07e9"},"headline":"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable","datePublished":"2021-03-25T17:56:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/"},"wordCount":542,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/03\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/","name":"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable - Bendigo Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/03\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-03-25T17:56:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/03\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/03\/RAR-Bendigo-rally-19.3.21-scaled.jpg","width":1920,"height":2560,"caption":"Ready and rallying: Rural Australians for Refugees Bendigo protested in front of Rosalind Park, opposite the fountain, on Friday evening. Photo: SUPPLIED"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/rural-australians-refugees\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Refugee advocates speak for the vulnerable"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/","name":"Bendigo Times","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#organization","name":"Bendigo Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/02\/BDT-logo-masthead-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2021\/02\/BDT-logo-masthead-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":491,"caption":"Bendigo Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/#\/schema\/person\/1679afe19d0c5817f387b660e66f07e9","name":"Edwina Williams","description":"Edwina Williams is the Times News Group's Northern Victoria editor covering the Ballarat Times News Group, Golden Plains Times, Moorabool News, Bendigo Times, and McIvor Times.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/emwilliamsjourno\/"],"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/author\/edwina\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74962"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=74962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}