What's Merlin been doing?
Since
making his silent statement "FREE TH REFUGEES" on
Big Brother, Merlin Luck has been spending a lot of his time talking
with people
about the treatment of people in our detention centres.
Visit the Debasa web site - Merlin's band
Skip straight to Merlin's diary below...
Bonne, one of our ChilOut Ambassadors, who goes to school with Baxter and housing project kids, is really proud of what Merlin did for her friends. Bonne writes:
-
I was one the phone yesterday with a friend. We were having a big gossip. It went something like:
"Yes, that Merlin was protesting for you."
"Me? Oh, really? I thought he meant the other people in the house! Let them out!"
(Laughing)"I think I can a pass a message on to him through Alanna, my friend who helps people in detention."
"Can you please tell him thank you?! Thank you, thank you, from a girl in Housing!"
Cartoon with kind permission of Bill Leak, The Australian.
Merlin at the BB final show, 26 July 2004
All
through the BB final show, Merlin wore a beanie, concealing and
then revealing another very important message he want's to share with us all.
Merlin spoke on Thursday 29th with Sen. Aden
Ridgeway,
as part of a forum on refugee and indigenous human rights.
Free the Refugees - the Merlin mini-movie, 26 July 2004
Merlin Luck of Big Brother fame has teamed up with Bob Brown to record a 30 second movie "Free the Refugees".
"The Greens have been speaking out for the rights of asylum seekers for many years. Bob Brown has been one of the strongest voices on this vital issue. Now Bob has teamed up with Merlin Luck of Big Brother fame to record a 30-second mini-movie "Free the Refugees". Since making his famous 'Free the Refugees' protest when exiting the Big Brother house, Merlin has become a strong campaigner for compassionate and humanitarian politics."
Merlin meets Tigers 11 in Brisbane, Sunday 25 July 2004
Jawid, Ahmed Zia, Latif, Merlin and Zia, some of the Tigers 11.
Luck was at a Brisbane suburban sports club with Democrat senators Andrew Bartlett and John Cherry for the presentation of a community sports award to Tigers 11, a soccer team comprised of teenage Afghan refugees. [...] "They've been through hardship that most people that have grown up in Australia can't even fathom or comprehend and they've come out the other side as really strong and beautiful people, so courageous and determined," Luck said.
Read full story on news.ninemsn.com.au...
More visiting in South Australia, Tuesday 20 July 2004
While over in Port Augusta, Merlin met up with Bonne, ChilOut Ambassador who goes to school with Baxter and Housing Project kids.
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The cool T-shirt pictured right is the one Bonne wore to meet Minister Vanstone in Canberra in March. It has messages from her detainee friends at school on it.
Visit to Baxter Detention Centre, Monday 19 July 2004
With Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Merlin visited
Baxter Detention centre today. Read the news
coverage...
"The spirit of these people just shines through. "It's hard seeing this compound, seeing just how barbaric it is, but that's not impressioned on your mind nearly as strongly as the spirit of these people - they are not broken men, they are not broken women." Luck said he was struck by the isolation of the detention centre, on the outskirts of Port Augusta. "It's in the middle of nowhere and what is worse is the detainees, they can't look at a horizon without seeing barbed wire," he said. "A lot of the detainees, they can't see any landscape outside. They can't even have a free view of the countryside around them.
Meeting young refugees in Adelaide, Sunday 18 July 2004
"Bringing smiles to young peoples faces is something that comes with the territory for Merlin Luck. For Shahin who said days earlier that he would like to meet Merlin most in the world if ever he had the chance was very surprised when told he was going to have lunch with him on Sunday 18th of July." Read about Merlin's day on www.hopecaravan.com...
Zia, Yasdan, Merlin, Reza and Shahin in Victoria Square, Adelaide.
Big Brother Uncut Awards, Friday 16 July 2004
Lunch with Bob Brown, Thursday 15 July 2004
Merlin had lunch with Bob Brown, leader of the Australian
Greens on Thursday, following which the Senator kindly repaired
the 'E' that so famously fell off Merlin's protest banner.
"Though this issue transcends party politics, I have
enormous respect for the work that the Greens have undertaken on
behalf of refugees and asylum seekers.
"Bob Brown is such an inspiration. It was great to meet him
and heartening to have his full support.
"Some of the people I've had the honour of meeting since my eviction... it's quite overwhelming. It puts a smile on my face every time I get an invite from the likes of Bob Brown, Malcolm Fraser or Julian Burnside... just knowing that I'm respected as someone who spoke out for what they believe in, rather than as a reality TV personality."
Circus Oz in Melbourne, Saturday 10 July 2004
Merlin
attended Circus Oz in Melbourne on Saturday, with several young
refugees whom he has become friends with in the past few weeks.
Joining the group was Aladdin, famous since his solitary detention
on Manus Island, as well as renowned human rights QC, Julian
Burnside.
Merlin was invited to attend the circus when he met several of its performers who appeared at Rove on the same night as him. One such performer, Sosi, is a refugee from Ethiopia. "They were hugely supportive of my protest and invited me to come down to the show any time" Merlin said.
Circus Oz are strong supporters of the refugee campaign, and as
well as several political references woven through their show,
have collected over $80,000 in audience donations to contribute to
the cause.
Merlin was even called on stage for a brief chat and participation in one of the evening acts. "Who would have thought that B grade reality TV celebrity status would lead to the fulfillment of a childhood dream - being a circus performer?", he asked.
Merlin in Adelaide, 2 July 2004
On Friday 2nd July, Matt Hamon of HopeCaravan showed Merlin around Adelaide, meeting with members of refugee support networks and with young refugees. Read Matt's full story...
The day started with collecting Merlin from the airport, moments after walking out of the terminal the first of many people recognised Merlin. A man and his wife and small child yelled out, “WooHoo! Merlin, Free the refugees”. The day started on this positive note and only got better as the day wore on.
Merlin with Afghan and Iraqi refugees at the Australian Refugee Association (ARA).
At ARA, Merlin met up with Afghan refugees and learnt about the wonderful support services provided by the refugee association and Circle of Friends. Circle of Friends provides friendship and support for families living in the community and those still in immigration detention and there are new groups popping up all over the place.
Zia, Habbas, Merlin and Yasdan at the Otherway centre in Adelaide.
After lunch Merlin, the crew and Matt headed to the Otherway Centre (Aboriginal Catholic Ministry) a network that welcomes and supports refugees into our community continuing the tradition of the Aboriginal people and their abundant hospitality. The people at the Otherway centre are so warm and friendly and we all enjoyed their spirit and the good work they do very much. Merlin was very interested in the cultural differences speaking with the young Afghanis and a very intelligent discussion started about multiculturalism and how the word should not imply that other cultures different from our own be forced to conform to ours, that it should be about celebrating our differences and the diversity that it brings to our community. Read Matt's full story...
Listen to Merlin's interview on Radio Adelaide:
http://www.thewire.org.au/audio/merlin.ram
Reality bites back
Readers of Miranda Devine's column ("Let's face reality in our refugee
dilemma", Herald, June 17) might have been left with the impression that I claim to be a refugee and don't know the difference between a refugee and an illegal immigrant.
Let me put the record straight.
I never claimed to be a refugee and publicly refuted the statement as soon as I heard it had been made by others.
My concern about the conditions that refugees and asylum seekers are living in does not arise from my personal experience, but because it is wrong that desperate people who have risked their lives should be treated so badly and further traumatised.
While I am well aware of the difference between refugees and illegal immigrants, the difference appears to have eluded Amanda Vanstone.
On June 14, the minister said I was misinformed and that there were no refugees in detention centres.
Less than two weeks later a family of five were released from Villawood as genuine refugees after three years detention. What changed? Nothing but definition.
It seems to me that the people trying to create confusion about terminology are the defenders of the system, not those criticising it.
Merlin Luck, Bellingen, June 30.
Published in Letters, SMH, 1 July 2004.
Merlin with Malcolm in Melbourne, 30 June 2004
Merlin Luck speaks up, again, The Age, July 1, 2004.
He spoke at a breakfast function for the AM Club, a regular speakers' forum organised by businesses including the Hilton Hotel and 3AW held at Hilton on the Park in East Melbourne. "Who would have thought that I would be speaking alongside Malcolm Fraser?" he marvelled later about the transformation of his life since his much publicised eviction.
Merlin at the breakfast discussion with Malcolm Fraser.
[...] Mr Fraser told the breakfast discussion on "Refugees in Australia - Is There a Better Way?" that Labor had introduced the detention system but the present Liberal Government had made it "harsher and more intrusive".
He
said race had come to play a considerable part in the debate and
"the children overboard affair played a racist card for a
particular purpose". The number of refugees coming to Australia
had never justified the argument that accepting them could place
Australia under threat, he said.
Sarina Greco from the Brotherhood of St Laurence said that 92 per cent of refugees had provided correct identities on arrival.
A pilot project in Melbourne that allowed newly arrived asylum seekers to live in the community found that half were later given refugee visas and of those rejected, 85 per cent cent departed voluntarily. "We know our system can work," she said. "We think detention should only be used as a last resort."
Visit to Marist College North Sydney, 28 June 2004
Merlin Luck met with students from Marist College North Sydney on 28 June 2004. ChilOut spokesperson Alanna Sherry spoke to the boys about ChilOut's work then Merlin conducted a question and answer session for an hour - all about refugees and detention. There was not one question about reality TV!!!
Free th refugees: Merlin interviewed
Green Left
Weekly, June 23, 2004.
[...] One of those touched by the silent protest was Iranian actor, playwright and asylum seeker Shahin Shafaei who lives in Newtown on a temporary protection visa, and was watching Big Brother on the now famous night.
Shafaei, who spent 22 months in Curtin Detention centre, including 10 months in an isolation compound, knows more than most the cruelty of Australia’s immigration “policies”.
“When I saw what [Luck] was doing I was amazed and very, very happy”, said Shafaei, “that he would have the courage to be so brave and make this protest.”
“What he did means so much for those of us on temporary protection visas and for others still in detention centres. It will help us a lot in our battle for understanding.”
World Refugee Day, 20 June 2004
Along
side young refugees from Holroyd High, Merlin
spoke at the World Refugee Day rally in Sydney, on Sunday June 20,
2004.
On the right are Riz Wakil and Merlin. On top of the van is the countdown clock, counting the weeks since the June 10 deadline set by the Human Rights Commisioner to release all children from immigration detention. Read Riz's speech...
We're here, get used to it: students give refugees younger voice.
SMH, June 21, 2004.
Merlin Luck, the contestant on television's Big Brother program, took his protest yesterday to the World Refugee Day rally in Hyde Park - where many people thought he could not compete with schoolchildren from Holroyd High.
Merlin finds his voice at rally
news.com.au, June 20, 2004.
Big Brother's now infamous evictee Merlin Luck addressed the crowd and said a more realistic TV program would allow the media into Australia's detention centres.
"Or maybe that's just a little bit too real," he told the rally.