Since August 20, the Refugee Council of Australia has worked tirelessly with a number of others to bring the issue of children detained on Nauru into the public debate. Since then we have seen the number of children on Nauru drop from 119 to less than 30. While this is a huge win, it is far from over and we need to continue our important work in the space.
There are still 22 refugee children who remain on Nauru with their families, along with over 1000 other refugees and people seeking asylum between Nauru and Manus Island. Many transferred to Australia have been placed in detention centres or in hospitals, or are living under guard in a hotel. Some families have been separated as a result of the transfer process, with members left on Nauru or placed in different detention centres or geographic locations once brought to Australia. There is no current resettlement options on the table for these traumatised children and their families, and the government has even said it would send them back to Nauru. These families need security and stability to truly recover and rebuild their lives.
There is still more work to do. As we countdown the days, we will get in touch with how you can get involved in a large public action to deliver the #KidsOffNauru petition in Canberra on November 27th and send a message to our politicians.
Illawarra Interagency 