While the Australian community comes together to celebrate Refugee Week from October 9-16, there are many families and children whose lives will be forever tainted by the word ‘refugee'.

Research fellow with the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research, Dr Susan Rees, will be guest speaker at a Mackay community breakfast forum on Thursday, October 14, during Refugee Week.

The QCDFVR is based at CQU Mackay.

“A commitment to addressing social injustice has led me to working and researching in areas where social justice is most neglected and where human rights are often not protected or upheld,” said Dr Rees. “I am particularly concerned with family welfare and asylum seekers and refugee policy.".

Dr Rees, a member of the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA), and a founding member of the Cairns Refugee Action Collective and Mackay Rural Australians for Refugees, hopes her presentation will highlight the humanity of all refugees who seek asylum in Australia.

She will emphasise the importance of understanding prior experiences of trauma and abuse in the home country, the detention experiences on arrival in Australia, and the impact these experiences have on the ability to settle in this country.

“Past traumas, the fear of being forced to return to their home country and the lack of stability in their lives has a dramatic impact on refugee well being, affecting both psychological and physical health,” said Dr Rees.

Dr Rees, who has been active in refugee research for the past five years, is not satisfied with the current level of government commitment to dealing with this issue and proposes that all Australians can take action to change policies, including the appalling abuse going on in detention centres.

During her presentation Dr Rees will discuss Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR), an organisation that aims to get to the heart of the refugee crisis that is happening in Australia at this moment.

According to its web site: “RAR is an informal group of concerned citizens who are prepared to work hard to turn this country away from an inhumane and bizarre policy [which sees refugees, including children, detained for up to six years].".

Dr Rees continues to research, publish and develop policy responses in this area.

During the course of her research, Dr Rees has uncovered the need for supportive re-settlement policies for refugee families.

“Policies that don’t involve the removal of children from the care of one or both of their parents, and policies that dramatically reduce the amount of time spent in detention environments and allow refugees to live in local communities with government support, are consistent with a more humane and sensible approach,” she said.

“While claiming to recognise the need for improved child protection laws in our country, the government has forgotten to adequately address the appalling abuse of children currently housed in our detention centres.".

“Asylum seekers are locked away from sight by the Howard Government, so that we cannot see that they are just like us," said RAR spokesperson Mira Wroblewski. "Their beautiful children are just like our children. They have the same hopes and dreams. They are just as fragile.".

"Over 90% of children who have come to Australia as part of families seeking protection from persecution have been found to be genuine refugees. However, they are locked up for years in conditions that the United Nations and many other human rights bodies have condemned as inhumane. Sweden has a policy of not detaining any child for more than six days.".

To find out what you can do, go to the RAR website at www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org or attend the community breakfast forum in Mackay from 7am on Thursday, October 14. To book telephone Mia Sammut-Landt on 4968 4596.

Photo: Research fellow with the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research, Dr Susan Rees.