The plight of West Papua is ignored by the Australian Government just as it ignored East Timor for decades.

Free West Papua Campaign

3 hours ago

The people of West Papua are among the poorest in the world. Many rural people have no cash income with few material possessions. Though it is the largest and most resource rich region of Indonesia, the people are by far the poorest. West Papua has the highest HIV/AIDS rate outside of Africa and hospitals and healthcare are few and far between. 

Just this year, over 95 Papuans starved to death in one district 

due to systematic neglect and starvation by the Indonesian state. 

Indonesian transmigrants are the ones with all the money, education and healthcare. In the towns they are regularly seen with 3 cars and running big businesses whereas Papuans are forced onto roadsides to sell local produce. 

Many Papuans have lost much of their family and friends due to Indonesian military attacks, disease and starvation.

Yet despite these horrors, Papuan children such as these still manage to have a smile on their faces. They have hope for a better future in freedom. 

The Free West Papua Campaign is a non-profit organisation, we provide healthcare and support to suffering West Papuan families. We help Papuans fleeing violence by providing them with funding and clothing. We help refugees cross the border into Papua New Guinea and ensure they can live safely and have their citizenship recognised.

To find out how you too can help the suffering people of West Papua, please visit our website and this link:http://freewestpapua.org/actions/donate/

All money raised through your donations will go directly to helping to support those suffering in West Papua and helping to campaign for freedom. 
Office and staff costs are fundraised for separately, by individual grants.

Please help to ensure this new generation of Papuans grows up in freedom, safety and happiness.

Thank you very much

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The above material is from the Free West Papua Campaign.  

If you are interested in standing up for West Papua 

and letting the Gillard Government know of your support, 

please go here. 

If you want to know what is happening in Melbourne 

to work towards a free West Papua, please go here.

Read what Natalie Pa'apa'a of Blue King Brown has to say

Miss Eagle's Note:

From Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia 

to West Papua 

is a distance of 719 nautical miles.   

From Sydney to Melbourne, the drive is 881 km.  

Genocide and ethnic cleansing is this close to us - 

and it appears that the Australian Government 

completely ignores what is happening.  

National Day of Protest Against the NT Intervention and the compromised Racial Discrimination Act

Melbourne: Jobs with Justice: 5.30pm 29 October

State Library

Sydney: Jobs with Justice: 12 noon 29 October

Sydney Town Hall

Alice Springs: Jobs with Justice: 12.30pm (CST) 29 October

Court House Lawns, Mparntwe - Alice Springs

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This comes to The Network from Georgina Gartland of 'concerned Australians'.
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The Racial Discrimination Act was reinstated on June 21 June 2010 to be effective from Dec 31st 2010.  However, this version of the RDA is heavily compromised, due to other legislation passed at the  very same moment!. (See attachments below).   The United Nations said there must be changes to this new package of legislation, see RDA flyer attached, blurb below, and Committee for Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) 'concluding observations' (particularly look at no. 10 &16) , available at www.concernedaustralians.com.au More than half the recommendation pertains to Australia's treatment of Australia's Indigneous peoples.

On Friday 22nd Oct, I was amongst a FULL HOUSE  at the Capitol theatre in Swanston street, and attended a new movie, 'Our Generation' ;a fantastic and very powerful movie around  Aboriginal rights which looked at the impacts of  NT Intervention on Aboriginal peoples. It also showed how mining rights have increased dramatically whilst Aboriginal peoples'  'land rights' and their 'say' are increasingly being eroded.  Policies to move Aboriginal people away from their homelands were discussed in length in th movie. Attachment 3  adds to issues around this, the winding back of the Aboriginal land Right's Act of 1976 , in the lead up to the Intervention from 2004.  Damien Short explains and defines what is happening under the NT Intervention in terms of cultural genocide! Though the essay is a  bit heavy to start, I found it worth persisting.  All Ausralians should read it. If you missed 'our generation' do watch the 'trailor athttp://www.ourgeneration.org.au/  The DVD can be piurchased through the same site.  The Mercy's have placed a direct link to this with an excellent article at http://www.mercy.org.au/index.cfm . It woud be great if all oganisations could to do similar and spread the word about the DVD and this RDA action Please note: The Network first published the trailer a month ago and it can be found here.

Dr. Rev. Dyiyinni Gondarra OAM who featured in the film was also present on Friday night.  He asked us all present to become actively involved.

'concerned Australian's need help in immediate action.

We are asking people to help with the Racial Discrimination Act action and spread  as widely as possible through family, peers and wider networks. 

Jane Korman and her Dad : Dancing Auschwitz

Last November, I was on GreenFaith Australia's magic trip, Walking Humbling: a journey to the Murray.  One of the Walking Humblies (as we now call ourselves) was a marvellous, smiling person - Jane Korman.  I read in The Age to-day that Jane is still 'stirring up' the populace with her delightful video,

Dancing Auschwitz

We Walking Humblies were fortunate to have seen the video as we travelled central and northern Victoria learning of the water situation in that part of the Murray Darling Basin.  Jane told of us of the controversy about this joyous survival story and we were inspired by it.  If one can survive through such trials and tribulations to dance in your latter years, this is truly life sustaining.  Glad to see you in the news, Jane.