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The moving new way Australians are showing their support for refugees.

Look down Australia. You may notice something beneath your feet. In honour of Refugee Week, people across the country are showing their support for refugees and asylum seekers by chalking up touching messages of solidarity.

The Chalk Your Support campaign encourages people to get their hands dusty in an attempt to put immigration policy back on the pre-election agenda.

Thousands packed into Sydney Town Hall to kick off the project over the weekend, scrawling messages of compassion and concern on chalkboards, while others scribbled theirs on footpaths and pavements across the country.

Among them, calls for closure of Australian detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru, while others simply urged empathy for the plight of the 65 million people currently displaced around the world.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore launched the campaign, and said it was a “fun” way of showing political leaders that “we want a society that values diversity and acceptance.”

“We can’t stop making these public statements until our federal representatives recognise we want to welcome refugees instead of slamming the door on people who dare to seek a life free from terror, poverty, famine or persecution,” she said via Facebook.

Video by Mamamia
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The federal government argues that its hard-line stance on immigration is necessary to stop the people smuggling trade, but it’s an approach that has attracted widespread criticism from both local and global human rights organisations.

Of particular concern is the mandatory detention of asylum seekers in offshore processing centres, dubbed “illegal” by Amnesty International.

#chalkyoursupport #refugeeswelcome #bringthemhere

A photo posted by Refugees Welcome (@refugeeswelcomeaustralia) on Jun 18, 2016 at 8:05pm PDT

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#bringthemhere #chalkyoursupport #refugeeswelcome A photo posted by Refugees Welcome (@refugeeswelcomeaustralia) on Jun 18, 2016 at 8:05pm PDT

#bringthemhere #chalkyoursupport #refugeeswelcome

A photo posted by Refugees Welcome (@refugeeswelcomeaustralia) on Jun 18, 2016 at 8:00pm PDT

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Thanks so much for Beni and Maya for showing their support!!! #ChalkYourSupport #Refugeeswelcome A photo posted by Refugees Welcome (@refugeeswelcomeaustralia) on Jun 18, 2016 at 7:55pm PDT

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#bringthemhere #chalkyoursupport #refugeeswelcome

A photo posted by Refugees Welcome (@refugeeswelcomeaustralia) on Jun 18, 2016 at 6:57pm PDT

Refugee Week is a nation-wide annual activity designed to inform the public about refugees and celebrate positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. This year, it runs from June 19-25.