Chop the locks

This year for my birthday I’m chopping off my hair to raise money for the 50 men recently released into the community after 8 long years of detention.

\$1190 + \$1000 raised (updated 18-05-21)

Those who know me well will tell you how much I enjoy my long hair and how much it is part of my identity. This time around I’ve been growing it for 2.5 years! During that time my long hair and I have enjoyed activities together such as

• long walks on the beach,
• head banging at concerts (and in the bathroom), and
• extending out behind me like a majestic mane as I cycle through Brisbane.

Please donate directly to the main fundraiser: https://chuffed.org/project/support-for-the-kp120 (so I can’t get my grubby hands on the money and buy myself a wig when I regret this… but mainly for tax purposes). Then send me a screenshot (fb, twitter, joshuajbon at gmail) so I can keep track of the donations related to the hair chopping. Any amount of support will be welcomed!

50 released from Kangaroo Point Prison

The men we’re supporting fled violence and persecution in their home countries, only to be detained and persecuted by our Government - for the basic human right of seeking asylum.

It’s great that 50 of the KP120 have finally been released, but with no Government support they face a precarious situation now. It’s up to us, their community, to act.

• If we manage to raise \$500, I’ll match donations from my mates with \$500 of my own cash.
• If we manage to raise \$1000, I’ll match donations from my mates with \$1000 of my own cash (in total).

The KP120

The KP120 are a group of men moved to the Kangaroo Point Central “Hotel” from offshore detention in early 2020. Here they were confined to their rooms and balconies (if they had one) for over a year. Some of these men, 15 years old when they arrived in Australia, are now 23. Being locked-up indefinitely with no due process is one of the great injustices in modern day Australia. You can read more about the KP120 here. It’s heart breaking that there are still so many locked up in indefinite detention, including those in offshore detention, BITA, and “hotel” detention in Melbourne. I want to acknowledge that their struggle continues, not from the community where they belong, but from behind bars.

The locks

My locks are currently this long. The hair will be donated to make wigs for those that have lost their hair through medical treatment or disease.

The locks will be cutoff when we reach our target!

I acknowledge that I live on the stolen land of the Yuggera, Jagera and Turrbal peoples, and their sovereignty over those lands has never been ceded. The injustices we see in Australia are intrinsically linked. We will never truly address one injustice without addressing the others.