Journey is the official monthly newspaper of the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod. This page picks up key articles only, which can also be viewed on the Journey website.

SEEKING ASYLUM - Journey [Thu, 2 Sep 2010 15:18:04 +1000] FORTY-FIVE nautical miles north-east of Scott Reef is the middle of nowhere. It’s not the place to be one of 92 people adrift in a leaky boat. The passengers experience crowding, seasickness and fear, and the constant self-doubt about the decision to deal with people traffickers and run from violence and war. On the mainland we see a few seconds of telephoto news video and an official media release from the Minister for Home Affairs: “HMAS Bundaberg, operating under the control of Border Protection Command, boarded a suspected irregular entry vessel north-east of Scott Reef this afternoon. Initial indications suggest there are 20 passengers and one crew member on board.” (22 August 2010 - Border Protection Command intercepts vessel) Reality is adrift somewhere between cold factual information, hyped-up media coverage and political grandstanding. In 2009 the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialised Countries said arrivals to Australia were very low by world standards. Last year 377,200 asylum claims were recorded in 44 countries with Australia receiving 6170 – less than 2 per cent of the total asylum applications. Australia had a 29 per cent increase in asylum seeker applications. By comparison, Denmark experienced a 59 per cent increase, Hungary a 50 per cent increase, Finland a 47 per cent increase, and New Zealand a 36 per cent increase. But behind the numbers are stories of individuals – men, women and children who have fled persecution and possible death to claim their legal right of asylum in another country. If there’s such a thing as a typical experience for the small number of asylum seekers who come by boat to Australia, a Journey source said it would be something like the following. The price to smuggle a small family out of Afghanistan is around USD $15,000; the value of a family home. One well travelled route is via Pakistan and Malaysia to Indonesia. Many people are simply dumped in Jakarta, often without their belongings, the local language and any kind of map. The family then goes to the United Nations office to discover it will take months to even schedule an interview during which they can apply for asylum. If a local charity cannot find a place for this family in Jakarta they may end up in one of 15 detention centres throughout Indonesia. They may find a place aboard one of the boats and risk their lives on a week-long voyage to Ashmore or Scott Reef. Like every other nation, Indonesia is under no obligation to offer permanent homes to refugees in transit. In 2008 the UNHCR helped 88,000 people resettle and worked with 10.5 million recognised refugees worldwide. In Sudan there are more than 60,000 Eritreans whose families arrived at those refugee camps in the 1960s. The unhelpful rhetoric that asylum seekers coming by boat have jumped a queue is often bandied around. Research into finding a “queue” in Afghanistan found the Australian Embassy in Kabul operates from a number of undisclosed locations, but Australians could call the Consular Emergency Centre in Canberra. After eight minutes on the phone to Canberra none of the Consular staff were able to explain how or where to go to join a queue. © Journey

Mental Health Week raises awareness - Journey [Thu, 9 Sep 2010 16:47:50 +1000] THE YEAR’S Mental Health Week is 10-16 October and the theme is Be active, Get connected, Stay involved. Mental Health Week begins with World Mental Health Day on 10 October and includes Stress ... Uniting in Christ - Journey [Thu, 9 Sep 2010 16:00:38 +1000] THE 28TH SYNOD affirmed a five line Call for the Uniting Church in Queensland in discerning the future of the Church. This is the first of a series of discussion starters that will explore what each ... Foundation building for Timor children - Journey [Thu, 9 Sep 2010 15:26:40 +1000] IN MAY Rev John Ruhle and Rev Tanya Richards led a team to visit projects in East Timor supported by Uniting Church congregations. This included the work of the Timor Children’s Foundation ... Music community strikes a chord online - Journey [Thu, 9 Sep 2010 15:20:57 +1000] IN A FIRST for the Uniting Church a new online Christian community has been launched, with a focus on music and worship. The site, www.ncycmusic.com.au, allows composers and songwriters to ... Leaving Toa's legacy - Journey [Thu, 9 Sep 2010 14:43:32 +1000] IT WAS A deeply emotional time for Judith Finau when on 18 June she stood in the John and Charles Wesley hall at the Sia’atoutai Theological College in Tonga to donate the library of her ... Uniting schools in Tonga - Journey [Thu, 9 Sep 2010 14:45:19 +1000] “Malo e lelei”, Unity College’s Tongan Travellers called out, flaunting their new language skills as they emerged from the airport in July. This was the second trip that students ... UnitingWorld launches 2011 experiences - Journey [Thu, 9 Sep 2010 14:35:34 +1000] UNITINGWORLD'S 2011 Experience opportunities are now on the UnitingWorld website. More than 100 placements are available in a range of exciting locations for participants to experience a diverse ... Pinpointing property prospects - Journey [Thu, 9 Sep 2010 14:28:40 +1000] THE UNITING Church in Queensland is embarking on a process to gain a fresh understanding of how it can use property resources for mission, beginning with an online Property Assessment Tool. All ... Explaining big issues to little people - Journey [Thu, 2 Sep 2010 15:42:40 +1000] Author Morris Gleitzman remembers the point when he decided to write children’s books that dealt with big issues. His 2002 book Boy Overboard told the story of a young Afghani boy seeking ... Plans, pains and promise - Journey [Thu, 2 Sep 2010 15:32:29 +1000] It is often easy to dismiss refugees and a group rather than individual people. Media reports rarely tell individual’s stories. Amnesty International Australia Community Campaigner Tracey Foley ... Treasuring freedom - Journey [Thu, 2 Sep 2010 15:27:20 +1000] BEYOND OUR traditions of hospitality or even Christ’s command to be generous, there’s something that stirs compassion and controversy within the church when the matter of asylum ... Why stopping the boats won't help - Journey [Thu, 2 Sep 2010 15:23:38 +1000] THE POLITICAL orthodoxy that any of the policy solutions offered by the two major parties will “stop the boats” demonstrates some clear misunderstandings of international law. It is not ... Blokes gawkin and talkin - Journey [Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:42:58 +1000] Father’s Day seems to bring a certain licence for Dads to relax and admit they like cars and a chat; not necessarily in that order. On Mother’s Day most Uniting Churches present ... Refugees- Australia's Dividend - Journey [Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:58:14 +1000] THIS REFUGEE Week (20-26 June) the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) is thanking refugees for the huge contribution they make to Australia. “Refugees ... Five years after Katrina, US mourns dead, survivors remember - Journey [Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:00:45 +1000] FAITH GROUPS are joining survivors in marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, considered the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. The hurricane, which ... Aid Workers in Pakistan Urge Australians -Time is Running Out! - Journey [Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:28:44 +1000] ACT FOR Peace’s partners responding to the floods in Pakistan welcome the Australian Government’s $25 million increase to the response effort though insist the need is much greater and ... Both major parties fall short on social policy commitments - Journey [Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:09:00 +1000] NATIONAL DIRECTOR of UnitingCare Australia Susan Helyar said today social policies announced by both the ALP and the Coalition during this election campaign amount largely to punitive, ... Coalition's Job Commitment Bonus not the answer - Journey [Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:10:51 +1000] UnitingCare Australia’s National Director, Susan Helyar, has responded to the Coalition’s Job Commitment Bonus election announcement, saying that “today’s announcement by the ... Vote carefully and prayerfully this Saturday - Journey [Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:30:04 +1000] REV ALISTAIR Macrae, President of the National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia, has today called on Uniting Church people to consider their vote carefully and prayerfully this ... © Journey