In Melbourne, there have been rolling protests by refugees outside the electoral offices of the Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles for the past fortnight.
More rallies are planned.
The 500 or so protesters who have attended are people from multiple ethnicities who are still awaiting permanent visas. They aim to submit their contact details to the Ministers.
They represent another 10000 refugees in similar situations. This caseload of folk living in uncertainty is the aftermath of the LNP’s harsh Sovereign Borders deterrence policy. A cursory fast track assessment process sometimes trivialised the issues behind asylum claims.
Occasionally, such protest looks repellantly bleak. Some days have been a mixture of accented speakers emotively describing grim experiences of detention or depression into megaphones, the usual black and white signs, blocked traffic, dark clothing, angry chants in various languages. A man on hunger strike collapsed on 21 September 2023. Another protester has been sidelined by a thyroid cancer diagnosis.
Why should we care?
We should care because each protester represents an essential worker or a family that has run out of positive options. Almost every person protesting has been battling an unresponsive bureaucracy and heartless legislative system for 11 years. They are visaless or stuck trying to renew temporary visas every few months. They miss their ageing relatives.
Indebted to immigration lawyers, carrying court costs, they must still pay tax. Their children are charged international fees to study at tertiary level. It is not a happy situation.
However, there is also brightness in sharing common experiences, warm chats, the mix of women attending, smiling children play lego or ball games together. Upbeat western and traditional songs have protesters holding colourful blue and red heart signs swaying. There is hope that the vigils will bring new awareness and change.
We can all help. How about popping down there to show support and to experience this atmosphere for yourselves?
The brutality of Australia’s Immigration Policies must be redressed.
A “Fair Go” means Permanent Visas for those who are contributing to our nation while still stuck through over a decade of uncertainty.
A rolling protest is also planned for Albanese’s electoral office in Sydney this Tuesday to Thursday October 3 to 6. This grassroots refugee-run caravan then moves to Canberra. No organisations are pulling their strings.
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