Leading the World Refugee Day March and Rally on Sunday 17 June will be Team Africa, a group of young African footballers from refugee backgrounds, who are linked to the North Melbourne Football Club.
The World Refugee Day Rally begins at 12 noon at Parliament House and will march at 1pm to Fitzroy Town Hall to link up with the Emerge multicultural festival. Speakers will be at Parliament House and also at the Emerge Festival.
When the march leaves Parliament House, Team Africa and the protesters will run through an AFL-style run-through banner which has been designed as the fence of a detention Centre. Team Africa and the marchers will run through, as if to break down the fences of Australia’s detention centres to free the refugees.
Refugee Advocacy Network spokesperson, Brigid Arthur said that the rally marks the 20th anniversary of the cruel policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers.
“The crisis in Australia’s detention centres continues to escalate. The 2012 World Refugee Rally is calling for an end to the policy of mandatory detention. This policy victimises people who have committed no crime. People have a right to seek asylum,” said Arthur.
Another RAN spokesperson, Sue Bolton, welcomed the involvement of Team Africa, especially as politicians who demonise refugees often pit African refugees who have been resettled from refugee camps against refugees who have arrived by boat.
“It shouldn’t matter how you arrive in Australia. All refugees are forced to flee their countries by whatever means necessary.
“Australia should simply process the claims of asylum seekers while they are living in the community, as happened prior to 1992. Detention centres are unnecessary.
“Australia also needs to increase the number of refugees that it resettles from Indonesia and Malaysia, then asylum seekers wouldn’t need to use the services of people smugglers.”
Speakers at the rally are:
Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens Senator
Godrey Yoganathan, Tamil refugee
Jessie Taylor, human rights lawyer
Yustin Papuana Motte, Act for Peace Refugee Ambassador & West Papuan refugee
John Gulzari, Act for Peace Refugee Ambassador & Hazara refugee
Louise Connor, state secretary Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance
Some speakers are available for media interviews.
Media enquiries:
Sue Bolton 0413 377 978
Brigid Arthur 0408 101 134