Tag Archives: asylum seekers

Dear Prime Minister, I recently saw the film Philomena and began to wonder whether we, in future years, will be making atonement for our current treatment of refugees. Will people be shocked when they find out what really went on? Will their hearts ache when they find out that these were desperate human beings and not potentially dangerous “illegals”? The ...

Like a voice crying in the wilderness, Frederika Steen AM won’t be silent about Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. Dianne Jensen reports. “I have looked into their faces, I know their names and I have heard their stories of suffering. What else could I do but speak out?” Refugee advocate Frederika (Freddie) Steen doesn’t mince her words when ...

The Uniting Church has received information that children without parents being detained on Christmas Island have been scheduled for imminent deportation to offshore facilities on Nauru. In response, the Uniting Church in Australia has taken the bold step of writing to the Australian Government to offer sanctuary for all children without parents currently held on Christmas Island. “We are well placed ...

By opening her home to asylum seekers, Margaret Landbeck has stretched and grown her faith. Hospitality has always been a largely subconscious expression of my faith—it is my instinct to offer hospitality when and where I can. As the writer of Hebrews says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality ...

Good science fiction doesn’t just tell us where we are going, it explores where we are now. Although set in Los Angeles and directed by a South African, Elysium actually feels like it could have been made for an Australian audience. Writer-Director Neill Blomkamp’s first feature District 9, as well as some of his short films, has given him a ...