Make a submission -  Human Rights Commission Inquiry, children in immigration detention.

Were you held in one of Australia's immigration detnetion facilities? Do you visit detention facilities? Do you work alongside families and children who have experienced detention? Are you a health professional dealing with the impacts of immigration detention on children and families? The Human Rights Commission wants to hear from you. You don't need to be an expert, an advocate or have the answers, it's about your observations and understanding of the imapct of detention on chidlren. Submissions are due 31 May 2014 and can be made in writing, on line, by video, in any language. Please get invovled. This thorough investigation needs first hand information and will present to the public, the governemnt and all MPs a list of recommendations and a true picture of what indefinite does to children. 

Tweet your MP

most are on twitter and it's a very public way for them to respond or notably ignore you. If they start getting many messages on same topic, it will be noticed. Keep messages polite and follow @chiloutrevived for latest stats, issues in the media etc

A few questions for your MP, Senator or Immigration Minister, Scott Morrison...

I'm no refugee expert, I couldn't discuss these things with a politician. Yes you can. With the very rare exception none of them have expertise in this area. Speak to your MP as a citizen, a parent, an uncle, someone who cares. The more meetings they have on this issue the better, Simply letting them know that these matter to you is a BIG and important step. You could ask...

• Do you support locking up children and pregnant women?
• Do you think PNG or Nauru can really support refugees for ever? 
• Do you think spending billions of dollars on a few thousand people is wise for the country as a whole? 
• How do you plan to protect the rights of children who arrive with no parent or adult family members? How can it be in the best interests of any child to be sent away from Australia and into remote, indefinite detention with no certainty around resettlement even if the child is a refugee?
• If it's a Govt MP, why are you cost cutting via Medicare, pensions, youth allowance, NDIS etc and then spending $72million/yr locking up 180 kids on Nauru? (Commission of Audit 2014 figures)
• If it's a Labor MP and they say, "it's not my fault" ask what they are doing about it. Why are they not moving legislation that would protect children. And note, they are the ones who reintroduced offshore 'processing' for refugees and asylum seekers. 

If you get told 'it's about saving lives at sea'

• Should one child be punished in the hope of helping another? 
• What about the suicides and mental harm caused by indefinite, remote detention? 
• If we don't increase the number of refugees we take from Indonesia and Malaysia we're not saving any lives, they're just not dying in our ocean near our media. They remain home and die or are completely unsafe stuck in limbo between their homes and Australia. 
• If we deny refugees family reunion we are actually going to attract whole families on boats not just fathers / husbands. 

Schools taking action: Detention for detention

This pack has all you need to run an informative, interactive action at your school, community group etc.. Be sure to share the pics #d4d or share them with us; [email protected]

Here's just one school who stood in solidarity with their peers who are locked up.

Sign a petition to stop the closure of Inverbrackie

Sign the global petition Not in my name 

Want some quick, easy facts, they're here