Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR)
RAR is a network of groups around Australia. They developed as a response to an increasing anti-refugee attitude.
Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) is a network of groups around Australia.
They developed as a response to an increasing anti-refugee attitude following the Tampa incident and false “children overboard” claim.
The Phillip Island group commenced in 2001.
The energy and activity of RAR is entirely powered by volunteers. RAR exists to provide social, financial and practical support to people seeking asylum in Australia.
Food and toiletries donations, and other material aid is regularly collected at St Philip's and St John's churches and taken to Friends of Refugees in Springvale.
In 2023 a full-house dinner in the Rhyll Hall raised over $4000 for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
The guests dined on delicious food made from recipes contributed by refugees, with a very Middle Eastern flavour.
A garage sale over Easter raised $1200 to support a family which escaped from Afghanistan and were living very precariously in Pakistan. This family, a mother and four children, are waiting for a Humanitarian Visa from the Australian Immigration Department.
Life is tough, dangerous and hungry for so many who are displaced from their home countries or hunted down by authorities in their own country. The support to this family is in conjunction with South Gippsland RAR (SGRAR) in Wonthaggi.
The Phillip Island group marched with SGRAR in the March for Freedom.
Another of the group’s activities is emailing Federal government MPs reminding them Australians are a generous people and so should the government be that represents them.
Our immigration system for refugees is one of confusion, and bureaucratic and financial hindrance for refugees to navigate.
Every Friday morning (10am), rain or shine, members gather in front of the growing Cultural Centre and ring bells for five minutes. Banner and placards remind passers-by that refugees and asylum seekers still need our support. New members and bell-ringers are welcome.
Enquiries: Lesley 0432 163 694.
