Zero Chance Playing Cards illegally distributed in Cisarua
We were horrified to hear of the distribution of Australian Government propaganda to children in Cisarua a week before The Australian Election and have released the following statement.
Cisarua Learning Ltd. Statement on Repugnant Acts of Targeting Refugee Children in Indonesia for Political Purposes Leading up to Australian Federal Election.
For release 23/05/2022
On 12 May 2022, three Indonesians, two men and a woman authorised by Australian Government’s Home Affairs Department, distributed playing cards to refugee school children aged 4 – 12 years old at Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre (CRLC), West Java, Indonesia. The perpetrators trespassed on the school premises during the break and lured children with “Zero Chance (www.australia.gov.au/zerochance)” playing cards. They then photographed them without their parents’ or the school management’s permission.
This action distressed CRLC’s management team. One of the mangers said, “When I heard about cards distribution and our students’ photos taken by suspicious people, I was panicked and ran barefoot to stop this happening. The three Indonesians immediately left the scene. I am shocked and disappointed to know that Australian politicians can go this low to target a refugee school, and refugee children.”
Echoing our team in Indonesia, Cisarua Learning Ltd. condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the repugnant act of targeting refugee children for election purposes. This act is a clear violation of the rights of children, particularly vulnerable refugee children with limited legal and education access rights.
Refugee children are living in a protracted limbo; many for a decade now. Many of the targeted refugee children were born in Indonesia and have no idea about Australia’s anti-refugee policies.
We believe that distribution of Australian Government’s propaganda playing cards is not a random act of some Indonesians; but a coordinated and unethical strategy to support political goals. The distribution of the playing cards to refugee children, with subsequent photography, also happened at soccer grounds and in the streets of Cisarua.
Cisarua Learning Ltd. did not make this statement public before election day so as to thwart any political use of this incident. However, we urge relevant Australian authorities to investigate these repugnant and unethical acts of targeting vulnerable children for political purposes.
Finally, we ask UNHCR to take a firm stance against these incidents and provide protection to refugees from future political exploitations.
About Cisarua Learning Ltd.
Cisarua Learning Ltd. (CLL) is an Australian registered charity and parent organisation for CRLC and the major funder of five other refugee-led learning centres in Cisarua, West Java, Indonesia. CLL believes that the refugee crisis is a non-political humanitarian situation, and we support refugee agency, gender equality and the right to education.
For comment please contact:
Muzafar Ali on +61 (0)404 554 462,
Jolyon Hoff on +61 (0)476 452 408 or
Dr Lucy Fiske on +61 (0)423 175 745