Let’s offer safety to Syrian families like Aylan Kurdi’s amnesty international

View this email online

A few hours ago, Tony Abbott announced that Immigration Minister Peter Dutton will fly to Geneva tonight to ask the UN how Australia can best help Syrian refugees.

This is a promising and unprecedented move that shows just how much the refugee debate in Australia has shifted over the last week.

With politicians from all sides now calling for Australia to welcome more Syrian refugees, it’s time for Tony Abbott to commit to a decent, compassionate response to this human crisis.

Call on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to offer asylum to 20,000 Syrian refugees considered most in need by the UNHCR.

Heartbreaking images of the body of little Aylan Kurdi, washed ashore on a beach in Turkey this week, put a face and a name to the brutal, ongoing conflict in Syria that has already forced more than 4 million people to flee.

Australians have a long and proud history of offering asylum to vulnerable people during times of crisis. We did it after WW2. We did it in response to the Vietnam War and genocide in Cambodia.

We can do it again for the people of Syria.

Show Tony Abbott that Australians want to step up and welcome our fair share of families like Aylan Kurdi’s fleeing war in Syria.

In hope,

Hannah Harborow
Campaigns Manager
Amnesty International Australia

PS. 95% of Syria’s refugees currently live in just five countries — Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. These countries can’t be left to do the job alone.Support the call for Tony Abbott to welcome 20,000 Syrian refugees to Australia.