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Silhouettes mark the 231 kids forgotten in Australian detention

Announcement posted by GetUp! 03 Jun 2015

WHAT: The silhouettes of 231 children will be put out on Parliament House Lawns this Thursday morning to represent the number of children still held in detention.  

 

Former child detainee Bashir Yousufi and a coalition of NGOs will deliver a petition signed by more than 100,000 Australians demanding all children be released from detention centres.

 

WHERE: Parliament House Lawns, Parliament Drive, Canberra

 

WHEN: Thursday 4 June, 2015 at 9am

 

WHO/VISION: Former child detainee Bashir Yousufi will share his story of a childhood spent in detention on Christmas Island, as he stands amongst the silhouette cut outs of the 231 children in detention.

 

Bashir will be flanked by representatives from GetUp and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

 

Save the Children, Amnesty International Australia, ChilOut, Human Rights Law Centre, Welcome to Australia and Children’s Rights have also driven the petition campaign.

 

“A childhood in detention is a childhood that’s been robbed,” said Bashir.

 

“The 231 children still in detention don’t have the power to make their voices heard. It’s up to all of us to continue the fight for them and make sure they get to have a childhood.”