This is a fundraising event for the Fleurieu Refugee Support Group (FRSG)
Spend your Easter weekend on the Fleurieu enjoying some art and good food.
Dates: 10am – 4pm Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April and 10am -1pm Monday 18 April.
Location: Yankalilla Showgrounds, 1 Jervois Road, Yankalilla
As well as the artwork their will be food and drinks available at the venue
20% of each piece of art work sold in the Adults section will go towards supporting the work of the Fleurieu Refugee Support Group.
For details on how to submit your art you can download the application form here. Interested exhibitors can also collect an entry and exhibitor information form form the Fleurieu Coast Visitor Centre and Little Birdy Told Me.
Fundraising Concert: Adelaide West Men’s Choir
Join us for a afternoon of music with the Adelaide West Men’s Choir
Date: 2pm Sunday 3 March 2024
Location: Adelaide West Uniting Church Auditorium (312 Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Brooklyn Drive)
Cost: Adults $15/ Concession $12 (Pay at the door)
Afternoon tea included.
Hosted by Circle 127 with all money raised going towards paying for a visa application for Aziza, a young Afghan woman who is sheltering in another country. Aziza’s father recently received his Permanent Protection Visa from the Australian Government after 10 years of waiting and working on a temporary protection visa. Unfortunately, Aziza’s father has had a severe work injury and can no longer work. He is trying desperately to bring his family to safety.
Art Exhibition and Sale: Linocuts and Paintings by Pip Comport
Join Us for a Heartwarming Art Event Benefiting Refugees and Asylum Seekers
A remarkable opportunity awaits art enthusiasts and supporters of a worthy cause! The Mansrea Circle (117) has received a generous donation of over 200 paintings and 100 lino prints, along with sketches, by the late Pip Comport. This renowned artist, whose works can even be found in the Art Gallery of SA, dedicated his later years to creating vibrant pieces reflecting Australia’s landscapes and people, from the vast outback to the sparkling sea.
Opening Night 7 pm Friday 23 February 2024
Featuring Guest speaker: Mr Jeremy Moore
Exhibition continues 10am-7pm Saturday 24 February & 9am-2pm Sunday 25 February
Location: St Ignatius Church Hall, 137 William Street, Norwood
More than just an art exhibition, this event offers a chance to:
- Discover unique and captivating artwork: Witness the humorous brilliance of Comport’s lino prints and the evocative beauty of his paintings, each one a testament to his artistic journey.
- Support a meaningful cause: Proceeds from the sale of these artworks will directly benefit refugees and asylum seekers, making a positive impact on their lives.
- Connect with your community: Immerse yourself in a welcoming atmosphere, mingle with fellow art lovers, and celebrate the power of artistic expression.
Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of Pip Comport’s legacy and contribute to a meaningful cause. We encourage you to join us for the opening night or visit anytime throughout the weekend. Remember, these artworks are priced to sell quickly, so don’t wait!
Together, let’s appreciate art, support refugees, and celebrate the generosity of Pip Comport.
Circle of Friends helps bring Afghani teacher and her daughters to safety
We are pleased to share some good news with the arrival of Afghani teacher Laila and her daughters in Adelaide last month. Their immigration to Australia was sponsored by Circle of Friends through the Community Support Program Visa where individuals within the community cover the relocation costs for refugees trying to establish themselves in Australia. The application was spearheaded by Mij Tanith and supported by other local Circle of Friends members. After many fundraising efforts they were able to raise the necessary funds of over $60 000 and submit paperwork to the Australia Government. What followed was many months of delays and hurdles before Laila and family were finally able to gain the Visa and make the journey to Australia.
You can read more of this story on ABC News ‘Afghan teacher migrates to Adelaide with five daughters after ‘huge’ community crowdfunding effort‘.
Well done to the Adelaide Circle of Friends group and all their supporters that made this possible and we all wish Laila and her children all the best as they adjust and settle into their new home.
Photo courtesy of IqbalStock on Pixabay
A Cry Went Up in the Desert: Documenting Woomera Detention Centre
The book ‘A Cry Went Up in the Desert’ provides a unique eye-witness account of the impact of the Australian Government’s policies towards asylum seekers and those who advocate for them over the period of late 1999 – 2000. These policies and actions sadly continue to reverberate and impact asylum seekers in Australia over twenty years later.
In this important book documenting the early stages of Woomera Detention Centre, editor Margaret Gunn has reproduced, with permission, a series of letters she received from Rev Dr Tom Atherton of his attempts to advocate for people detained at Woomera.
The books editor Margaret Gunn has provided the following summary of the book:
In late 1999 the United Protestant Minister Rev Tom Atherton was living at Woomera and so saw first-hand the building of this centre and was at the receiving end of backlash against people who advocated for the people detained in the centre. At this time 800 or so American service-people were completing a rotation at the Woomera space research base when the detention centre began to be constructed in the area. Surprised by this new development, both the Rev Atherton and the local Catholic priest’s first response was to publicly ask the Minister for Immigration for air-conditioning in the 1950s brick huts on the Woomera town construction site which were to be used to house the initial 400 or so men, women and children from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“The picture I have is of a prison-like enclave in the desert in which the 1,500 residents have rights which no one tells them about (right to legal advice, for example). They are involved in a process of evaluation of their refugee status but no one tells them about the process… and they have no idea when a decision will be made…” – Rev Dr Tom Atherton, 13th June 2000
In response the Minister himself led the onslaught which enveloped Tom with the Minister of Immigration seeing the request for habitable accommodation being an unwelcome interference. This personal attack of exacerbated by Sydney shock-jock John Laws.
When Margaret wrote a letter of encouragement to Tom he responded and this began a 6-month exchange of emails where Tom documented confidentially his first-hand experience of doing what he could to help the detainees and guards at the detention centre. Later Rev Atherton would say that Margaret’s letter of encouragement was the only positive letter he received amidst a torrent of hate-mail.
“I feel the need to tell this stuff confidentially to someone and you have been elected unopposed.” – Rev Dr Tom Atherton to Margaret Gunn, 25th May 2000
The 36 emails that Tom sent to Margaret were saved on her computer and recently she sought and received permission from Tom and his wife Judith to share them publicly.
As journalist Peter Mares writes of the resulting book:
“These important documents [are] a reference point for others, including future generations, to better understand, at a personal and visceral level, the pain and anguish inflicted by Australia’s immigration detention regime.”
‘A Cry Went Up in the Desert’ was published in 2023 and is available for purchase from the publisher MediaCom Education.