Also on Friday, a film night: A Jail in Colombia, “A look inside the La Modelo prison in Bogota, Colombia”, 6:30pm, LASNET Office, basement of Trades Hall (corner Victoria & Lygon Sts, Carlton). “Join LASNET for an evening of film and discussion. Entry is free, but donations to maintain the space are appreciated. BYO food or drink.”
See also : Villawood : Cui bono? (September 20, 2010).
I know I’ll be there. This rally is far too important to miss. It’s becoming acutely clear that the suffering of the refugees is increasing, getting far worse for them all. Also, the mainstream media feels confident enough to actually broadcast clear shots of these people, making their banner readable — this is strange, as their job throughout this year has been to dehumanise and demonise those very same people.
The Australian public, I believe, will be forced into shifting away from aggressive antagonism (ie the refugees are scum that we need to get rid of) to a much more balanced sympathy (I understand that they are suffering, but what can I do about it).
Once we have the Australian population sympathising with the refugees, we should be able to win them over with arguments that locking them up in detention is disgusting and immoral and must be stopped.