The vigil was held to mark five years of Australia’s off shore detention policy and the Australian Government’s decision to detain asylum seekers off shore on Manus Island and Nauru.

Rural Australians for Refugees is a grassroots movement that calls on the Australian Government to seek solutions to address the international asylum seeker crisis. It urges the government to seek solutions on a regional, national and global level. Last week, asylum seeker support groups across Australia held vigils to mark the time the policy has been in place, while protesting the damage done to hordes of innocent people and to remember those who have died while in offshore detention. 

Members of Daylesford and District’s RARG group spoke to passersby to explain why they were there.