Locking up children is never the answer!
The victory of this campaign belongs to everyday people and any Australian organisation that believe we should put children first. World Vision Australia initiated this coalition campaign in partnership with the Refugee Council of Australia, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Getup!
When we launched #KidsOffNauru on 20 August 2018 most Australians didn’t know there were still children detained on Nauru. Our leaders were denying Australians the truth about there being children trapped, not allowed to leave this tiny island the size of Melbourne Airport.
The politicians in Canberra didn't want Australians to know the names or see the faces of children on Nauru. But we believed Australians had a right to know the conditions the refugees, including children, were forced to endure. The truth is, until they were free to leave Nauru, they were still being detained.
Our call was for the children to be:
- Evacuated to Australia for urgent medical attention
- Resettled ASAP in Australia or in another suitable country which welcomes them.
You kept up the pressure on the streets, online and in the media. It worked! By November 2018 we started seeing reports that kids were going to be evacuated off Nauru by the end of the year.