Asylum seekers are ordinary human beings with the same emotions and reactions that most of us would have in similar circumstances.

• They are traumatised by what is happening to them in this country and lack of freedom and security play havoc with their mental condition
• They keep hoping the Australian people can get to know their real stories so that they will not be seen as criminals or terrorists
• They have families – mothers and fathers, wives and husbands and children and they both grieve for them and worry about them
• In their own countries, they have suffered in ways that we find hard to imagine from the security of this country
• Contrary to the images sometimes projected by the government and the media, most asylum seekers arrive in Australia by air as authorized travellers
• Many are deprived of work rights and social security benefits during the lengthy processing of their applications for asylum seeker status and rely entirely on community support for shelter and food
• Some asylum seekers are in immigration detention for a long time, even for several years
  

Asylum seekers are immensely grateful to all those who support them in any way at all.