Accent of Women Jiselle Hanna

On this week’s show, we return take a closer look at a number of campaigns that have emerged in Australia in the wake of the genocide in Gaza. Specifically, anti-weapons manufacturing campaigns and demilitarisation campaigns.My guests today are Palestinian/Syrian woman Nathalie Farrah from Disrupt Wars and the Get Elbit Industries out of Australia campaign. And Palestinian activist, Dana Alshaer from Melbourne University Students for Palestine Action Group. 

A recent military escalation in West Papua is the latest episode in a long history of repression and dispossession since the island came under Indonesian control. But the authorities in Jakarta still haven’t been able to stabilize their rule over West Papua.On today’s show, Accent of Women looks at the Resistance of the West Papuan people. 3CR’s Priya Kunjan spoke with leading Human Rights Activist in Indonesia, Vanessa Koman. 

On this week’s show, we’re gonna chat about an exciting new book that’s being released in a couple of weeks’ time, called, “An Unexpected Life”, it documents the stories of 11 Canberra based women who are migrants to Australia, their journeys to this country, their successes and failures and loves and regrets. And interwoven across these 11 women’s stories, is that of the author herself,Vesna Cvjeticanin. I had the privilege and pleasure of chatting with Vesna about her book.

The Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill proposes amendments to the Migration Act to deal with situations where non-citizens subject to removal are not cooperating with government authorities, or where their own government refuses to take them back. It is widely understood to be a response to the High Court’s ruling in November 2023 that found indefinite immigration detention to be unlawful.It’s also considered an attempt to pre-empt further litigation scheduled in the High Court. The case of an Iranian man refusing to cooperate in his deportation is due before the court next month. However, the amendments introduced in the bill go far beyond addressing this issue. They have wide-ranging impacts for how non-citizens are treated in Australia, and indeed for Australia’s relationship with governments around the world.My guest today is refugee, and refugee activist, Lavanya Thavaraja.

On this week’s show, we return our gaze to Gaza and the genocide of the Palestinian people there. It’s been almost 6 months since Israel launched its genocidal campaign of bombardment against the people of Gaza, ostensibly in response to Hamas’ attack on Nir Oz Kibbutz on the 7 October. The war has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, with some 1.2 million people now displaced in Rafah, with no where to go. All negotiations for a ceasefire have failed.First up, Rasha Abbas, the founder of Palestine Australia Relief and Action – this newly formed charity is supporting Palestinian refugees arriving in Australia. Then later in the show, Dana Alshaer, from UniMelb students for Palestine who are campaigning against the interests of weapons manufacturing companies in Australia’s higher education system. Companies such as Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and Boeing – are amongst the 5 largest weapons manufacturing companies in the world, and they fund research and PhDs at a range of universities including Melbourne University.  Donate to PARA if you're able to: https://para.org.au/

23,000 Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander children in out of home care.Grandmothers Against Removals is an organisation – actually started by Lidia Thorpe – that aims to end the removal of Aboriginal children, or at the very least, place them with family members.GMAR Victoria was established in recognition of the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home-care. They’re all volunteers. They’re all Aboriginal grandmothers. GMAR’s volunteers understand first hand the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal families and seeks to mitigate these in order to keep families together.I had the opportunity to speak with one of the lead volunteers, Aunty Rieo Ellis. https://www.mycause.com.au/charity/62924/GrandmothersAgainstRemovalsGMARVICTORIA