
Media Release 18.10.23
Cricket star Thienushan Chandrasekaram, (aka Thienushan Chand) has pedalled to Canberra to raise awareness of the plight of his refugee cohort with the federal government. His group or legacy caseload is around 12,000 strong.
The ace cricketer cannot represent Australia overseas because he is lacking a permanent resident visa, despite arriving over 11 years ago. In state representative cricket, Thienushan represented Logan city in the 2023 finals. Although recognised as being among the top all-rounders in the world in specialist cricket, LMS, “Last Man Standing” and chosen to represent Australia; his temporary visa status prevents him from travelling to international cricket tournaments.
He has an impressive swag of trophies.
Averaging 90km per day, 34-year-old Thienushan completed his bike ride from Brisbane to Canberra early. He arrived on Tuesday 17.10.23 at 11am, a day ahead of schedule.
He will also support the arrival of 22 refugee women walking from Melbourne to Canberra on 18.10.23.
His family of 8 (mother, brother, his brother’s family, himself) arrived from Sri Lanka via India on 13 April 2013. Thienushan arrived when he was 22 years old, so he is now 34.
Thienushan has worked at Ikea for 8 years. His employers have expressed written support for his ride and quest for permanent resident visas for his family and others in the legacy caseload.
“While Minister Giles is pushing faster visa processing for new applications, Thienushan pedalled for justice for the 12,000 that have been waiting for the last eleven years, but are still left behind by the Minister and unhelpful assessment processes,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition,
“Thienushan is a fine example of the contribution and talent of the victims of fast-track assessments that the Minister is ignoring.”
You can catch up with Thienushan on the lawns outside the national Parliament on Wednesday. Or please give him a call while he and his family are in Canberra. His epic effort should not be ignored.
Contact:
Thienushan Chandrasekaram: +61 422 035 589, thinushan1115@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551566266956&mibextid=ZbWKwL
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