Palestinian-Iraqi Refugees & settlement in Australia: aspiring for a better life

PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPIAGN

PUBLIC FORUM

Palestinian-Iraqi Refugees & settlement in Australia:  aspiring for a better life

In 1948, more than 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their home land forced to flee by Zionist forces to neighbouring countries, becoming the world’s largest refugee population. Since day one of the American invasion of Iraq in April 2003 the Palestinian refugee community in Iraq (numbering 30,000) was once again forced to experience many brutal assaults, torture, murder and theft, this time at  the hands of US forces and several of the newly formed post invasion armed militias. This has resulted in the mass exodus of a large number of Palestinian refugee families from their homes in Baghdad. Unlike Iraqi refugees, Palestinian-Iraqis were denied access Jordan and Syria and hundreds of them have ended up in desert encampments on the border between Iraq and Syria. For up to 5 years, these children, women, and men have been enduring some of the harshest living environments on earth.

The Australian Society for Palestinian Iraqi Refugees Emergency (ASPIRE) is an initiative started by Melbourne University lecturer and radio presenter Yousef Alreemawi in September 2007. Its aim is to try and give as many of this group of refugees the opportunity to settle legally in Australia. The society encompasses an amazing group of Australian and Arab volunteers including academics, lawyers, and musicians.

In February 2009, by the united efforts of the ASPIRE volunteers and Amnesty International-Australia, the first set of applications for humanitarian refuge into Australia were submitted on behalf of 16 families made up of 68 people from El Hol Palestinian- Iraqi refugee camp. In December 2009, Australia approved the families for humanitarian refugee status. They arrived to Melbourne and Perth and finally found the welcome and dignity they’ve been denied for years

Speakers include:

*Yousef al Reemawi - founder of ASPIRE

*Former refugees from El-Hol Palestine-Iraqi refugee camp.

*Robin Laycock, Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Yousef will speak about the founding of the project, as well as Phase II of ASPIRE's ongoing effort to resettle in Australia more  Palestinian refugee families mired in El Hol Camp. 

Speakers from the refugee families will also speak about the impact the project has had on their lives and the lives of their families, while Robin will discuss the broader issue of the Palestinian refugee issue world-wide.

Thurs, September 9 @ 7pm

New International Bookshop

Victoria Trades Hall,

Cnr of Lygon & Victoria St, Carlton

Entry $6 workers /$4 conc

(with entrance fee donated to the ASPIRE project)

Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Supported by the Refugee Action Collective

Tel: 0439 454 375 or 0431 738 271

www.palestinesolidaritycampaign.net