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Author: Carolina Gottardo

  • FAITH DOING JUSTICE

    COVID-19 doesn't discriminate, nor should we

    • Carolina Gottardo
    • 06 April 2020
    6 Comments

    The ability to work from home or social distance is a class issue. How do you practice social distancing in the slums of Lagos, the favelas of Rio or the shanty towns of Bogota, the city where I was born? Here in Australia, it’s not much different for refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants in vulnerable situations.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Allies keeping faith despite Medevac blow

    • Carolina Gottardo and Nishadh Rego
    • 12 December 2019
    6 Comments

    Outside, a Martian-red haze kisses the windows. An ode to the future perhaps. Most of the people present are already aware of the Medevac repeal decision. The room is heavy with silence, the mood is sombre, but far from resigned. We want change, and are willing to have a crack at demanding it.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    A visit among the men of Manus

    • Carolina Gottardo
    • 18 November 2019
    7 Comments

    I recently visited Port Moresby as part of a delegation of Catholic leaders. I have worked with refugees and migrants for more than 20 years in different countries. I have been part of many serious and confronting human rights struggles. Nonetheless, I was not expecting what I saw and heard in PNG, and it deeply touched me.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Separating refugee policy from politics

    • Carolina Gottardo and Nishadh Rego
    • 06 June 2019
    17 Comments

    The recent federal election showed us that refugees and people seeking asylum do not need to be instrumentalised for votes. Perhaps refugee policymaking could be separated from politics. Perhaps it could be evidence-based and humane. Alas, the prevailing frames and politics of border protection quickly came to the fore post-election.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Indonesian perspective on Medevac

    • Carolina Gottardo, Nishadh Rego, Lars Stenger
    • 21 February 2019
    8 Comments

    On 7 February in Manado, Sulawesi, Sajjad, a 24 year old man who had just finished a degree in IT, doused himself with petrol and set himself on fire. He died six days later. On the day of his death, Australians woke to the government's claim the passage of the Medevac Bill would restart boats from Indonesia and weaken Australia's borders.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Australia misses GCM boat, but it's not too late

    • Carolina Gottardo
    • 19 December 2018
    4 Comments

    To abandon the GCM is a loss for all migrant women, men and children affected by human mobility, and creates a strong signal that Australia no longer deems multilateralism as an appropriate approach to global challenges.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    A Migrant and Refugee Week stocktake

    • Carolina Gottardo and Nishadh Rego
    • 20 August 2018
    13 Comments

    This remarkable policy of what Dr Eve Lester calls 'planned destitution' combines the most extreme instincts of neoliberal, nationalist and authoritarian thinking. Fundamentally, it derives from the Minister for Home Affairs' far reaching powers to determine the rights and entitlements of non-citizens such as people seeking asylum.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Migration compact will benefit Australia

    • Carolina Gottardo
    • 06 August 2018
    14 Comments

    The adoption of the GCM should not be politicised as it is a non-binding framework that benefits our country, the international community and migrants. Migration is a global phenomenon, not a situation that single countries can deal with in isolation. Australia has nothing to lose and much to gain from adopting the Compact.

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