Special Announcements
ATC's Appeal To Indonesian President re Death Penalty
Dear members,
Australian Tamil Congress (ATC) sent a request to President of Indonesia requesting is for clemency for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. As an Australian organisation and priding on upholding human rights, we have lobbied in Australia against death penalty for these two young men.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two men and we hope they are granted a second chance to life.
Please read our letter - Click here
kind regards.
ATC Executive Team
ATC Submission for Proposed Changes to Racial Discrimination Act
On behalf of Australian Tamils who appreciate the social cohesion of our society, ATC made a submission in relation to the exposure draft Bill on proposed changes to the racial hatred provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.
The Australian Tamil Congress believes it should be unlawful to offend, insult or humiliate based on race, and we unreservedly oppose the proposed changes, in the interest of all Australians to keep Australia free from any form of racism and bigotry.
Full Submission - Click here
ATC Urges Foreign Minister to Place Sri Lanka in CMAG Agenda
On behalf of concerned Tamil Australians, ATC wrote to Foreign Minister Hon Julie Bishop to bring to her attention the serious threat that the Commonwealth’s inaction on Sri Lanka and the consequent damage this could do to the Commonwealth’s reputation and good standing in the international community. Given that threat, we urged Foreign Minister to take steps to have the situation in Sri Lanka placed on the agenda of the meeting of Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) this week in New York.
Please click here for the full letter
*26 September 2013
Request to help save a life
Dear ATC member,
We do not routinely send out such emails. However, we received a request from a very hard working member of the ATC who has dedicated themself to the Tamil cause. Their request was to help publicise the below message in an attempt to help save the life of someone they knew. Given the opportunity to help save a life, we felt we could assist with the request.
Kind regards,
Australian Tamil Congress
Hi,
I received this email from a friend. I was wondering if you could help spread the word about it through informing your members. The volunteers of ATC work so hard to save and protect the lives of our Tamil brethren. Here is an opportunity to help save the life of another human, who is also from the same island. Humanity sees no colour or race. Thank you.
Shehan is a friend of our family who has been diagnosed with ALL-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Shehan is just 33 years and has a 3 month old baby. He is in urgent need of a peripheral blood stem cell transplant. He is Sri Lankan by nationality and due to his ethnicity finding a donor from the National Donor registry for Shehan has posed a problem. Both his brothers were tested and proved to be no match.
His family and friends are looking for young people, of Sri-Lankan background, between the ages of 18 and 40 who would be compassionate and kind enough to find the time to help Shehan by donating 20 ml of your blood to test for compatibility (similar to a routine blood test).
The blood would be collected:
Saturday the 4th of June from 3 pm to 5 pm Annes Parish Hall, Strathfield (Corner of Beresford Road and Homebush Road) Entrance is on Beresford Road, Strathfield.
Another collection would be on
Sunday the 5th of June from 2 to 5 p.m. Cherrybrooke Community Centre Shepherd's Lane Cherrybrooke
You will be informed if you are a suitable donor in 4-6 weeks. If you are identified as a suitable donor (the chances are 1 in 1000) all it will take is 3-4 hours of your time in having your blood circulated via a cell separator machine and returned back to you immediately. After the procedure you could leave. There is no risk to the donor.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING PERIPHERAL BLOOD STEM CELL TRANSPLANTS
If you have any concerns or questions contact:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or 0412 160 926.
Please forward to those you think may be able to help.
The Sound of Silence
The Australian Tamil Congress is proud to co-present The Sound of Silence, a Charity Photo Exhibition which will take you on a journey into the lives of the people of North Sri Lanka. It shares the stories of individuals who despite absolute hopelessness are striving to rebuild and highlights the opposition and struggle they are faced with to do this. The exhibition will be accompanied by a public art project, welcoming all patrons to leave their own impression on a mixed media wall mural hosted by the Mori Gallery.
In late 2010, Shelley Morris, a Melbourne based documentary photographer had the privilege of visiting the northern parts of Sri Lanka, an area that has seen decades of a brutal civil war. Shelley was able to attain unprecedented access to the region, to areas that are usually restricted to foreigners and the media. She was both deeply shocked and saddened by what she saw and the stories she heard. Upon returning, Shelley felt compelled to share her experiences documented via her photographs, raising awareness for the needs of these people amongst the Australian public and advocating dialogue. This body of work, which she exhibited in Melbourne last year is confronting yet thought provoking and evokes in the audience the hope for change.
Exhibition Dates: June 3rd to 5th (12pm to 6pm only) at Mori Gallery
Opening Night Function
6pm to 9pm, Thursday June 2nd 2011
Mori Gallery, 168 Day St, Sydney (6 minute walk from Sydney Town Hall)
Guestspeaker: Gordon Weiss - author, documentary maker and former UN Spokesperson to Sri Lanka
Entry by gold coin donation
Registration: Please register your attendance to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (limited space, so registration is important)
