Winchelsea branch of RAR revived

THE Winchelsea branch of Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) is back up and running after an 18-month hiatus.

Carla Cram moved to Winchelsea about a year ago and found the previously-active arm of the national refugee advocacy network was inactive, so she decided two months ago to revive it herself.

“There were quite a few members in the original group, going back a few years,” she said.

“I’m not sure what happened – I know Winchelsea’s obviously undergoing a lot of changes demographically, there’s a lot of younger families moving in. I think a lot of community groups have had older people in them, so as new families come in, it’s going to change a little bit in terms of their interests.”

Ms Cram said she had a long-standing interest in refugees, asylum seekers and human rights but could not find a relevant local group in Winchelsea, so she started one.

“I just found myself in a position to give it some attention and thought this is the perfect time.

“I’ve always admired the vast network of RAR; it’s pretty amazing.”

The local group will contribute to the national goals of RAR to raise public awareness of the issues involving people seeking refuge and asylum, correspond with the media, politicians and members of parliament, and reach out to refugees in their local community.

The Winchelsea RAR held its first meeting at the Mud Hut on Saturday.

“It was not as well attended as I would like, but there’s some promising interest in the area,” Ms Cram said.

“The time of the year was far from ideal, but I felt it was better to get the ball rolling and get it out there.

“It’s obviously difficult with other competing issues in current affairs, coronavirus being one.”

She said the group has already developed relationships with Aireys Inlet RAR and Mansfield RAR.

“They’re really keen to share resources.

“The lady from Mansfield RAR told me they started their group five years ago with three members and now they have 120 members, which I thought was amazing. I’d be happy if we had 10.

“There’s a bit of a narrative that needs to be overcome. People may have certain ideas about refugees and asylum seekers that are filtered through mainstream media, and then people talk about it on social media, and it becomes ‘this is the way we frame the debate’ as opposed to what the realities are.

“Hopefully in the future, there are some families who are resettled in this area and we can include them in the community – that would be great – but at the very least, it’s about raising awareness at this point about what the daily life is for a refugee and the issues asylum seekers are facing.”

Winchelsea RAR will be holding meetings monthly.

For more information, email [email protected].