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NGO urges Australians to take action with ‘refugees are scum’ social experiment

Non-governmental agency Act for Peace has challenged Australians to turn words into actions by conducting a social experiment in which a man wears a placard and hands out leaflets declaring “refugees are scum”.

A 60-second video, produced by creative agency Digital Storytellers and shot in Sydney’s CBD, films the shock reaction to the message. One passerby – who initially walks past – returns to rip the placard off the man.

Another brands him a “fucking disgrace”.

The final 15-seconds of the video shows the same individual wearing a placard saying “help the refugees” and attempting to hand out leaflets as passersby ignore him.

The video ends with the statement: ‘You care about refugees, but do care enough to act?’, before inviting viewers to ‘Take the Act for Peace Ration Challenge’.

The challenge requires people to eat the same rations as a refugee from Burma for a week and raise money through sponsorship in the process.

Act for Peace said the social campaign, that will continue with short follow up videos over the next two weeks, highlights how Australians will stand up to blatant discrimination but will rarely do anything tangible to support refugees.

The NGO’s executive director Alistair Gee said: “Australians are angry about how our country treats refugees. People care about these issues but to make a real difference they need to act. The Act for Peace Ration Challenge gives them a way to act and make a measurable difference to the lives of refugees around the world.

“By sharing this video and by taking action, Australians can bring the refugee struggle closer to home in a way that’s impossible to ignore. We can make a difference for refugees and create a more compassionate society.”

Act for Peace said the release of the campaign comes as the government made its single biggest cut to Australia’s international aid budget, that it said will impact millions of refugees around the world.

“We understand that some Australians may be offended or shocked by this footage. We are more offended however, that the government refuses to adequately support the world’s most vulnerable people,” Gee said.

The Act for Peace Ration Challenge aims to raise $200,000 this year, enough to feed 925 refugees for a year.

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