On Sunday 21st October 2012, approximately 300 people attended a community protest action to show their concern about the return to off-shore processing on Nauru and Manus Island. The refugee community and refugee advocates have been shocked and disappointed that the Government has moved to re-introduce some of the worst aspects of Howards’ ‘Pacific Solution’. The intention is for refugees to be abandoned for years on Nauru and Manus Island. Under the ‘No Advantage’ principle refugees arriving in Australia by boat will be forced to languish indefinitely in offshore camps.
As was the case under Howard’s Pacific Solution, asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island will be consigned to hopelessness and despair, and are also at risk of malaria and dengue fever. This policy violates human rights, is cruel and expensive. Thousands of asylum seekers face being warehoused in limbo in Australian funded off-shore detention centres.
Offshore processing has been marketed as a means to “save lives at sea” but refugees fleeing persecution will continue to seek safety in Australia. People have a right to seek asylum in Australia, and to arrive here by whatever means. Sending refugees to out of sight camps punishes people who have committed no crime.
The Protest Action showed there is substantial opposition to these policies across the community with endorsements from refugee advocacy groups, church leaders, Unions and many other community groups. See list below.
Speakers at the State Library included Theo Mackaay, General Secretary of the Victorian Council of Churches; Michelle O’Neill representing the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia; Adam Bandt, Greens senator; and Aran Mylvaganam of the Tamil Congress. All of the speakers highlighted the importance of human rights, and that the return to offshore processing will again be damaging for the people sent to Nauru and Manaus Island, and is in contravention to our obligations under the Refugee Convention.
Theo Mackaay highlighted the need to show compassion to people seeking refugee and safety. Michelle O’Neill talked about the harm which these policies have done in the past, and that Australia needs to welcome refugees. Adam Bandt suggested that instead of returning to the polices of the Howard government, the government should have adopted the approach of the Fraser government which successfully resettled over 90.000 Vietnamese refugees. Aran Mylvaganam, who arrived as an unaccompanied minor over 10 yeast ago after his Tamil school was bombed by the Sri Lankan government, spoke about the difficulties of the Tamil community, and the reasons why Tamils are seeking asylum here in Australia.
Abe, who arrived in Australia as a refugee from Sudan over 14 years ago gave a moving rap performance calling for compassion and for us to recognise our shared humanity.
At the conclusion of the speeches the crowd marched along Swanston Street to Princes Bridge, where a community education display had been set up to challenge those passing by to think about the circumstances of asylum seekers, and the impact of Australia’s polices of detention and offshore processing.
See The Age article on the Action: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/asylum-protesters-march-in-city-20121021-27zle.html
Groups endorsing the Action:
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Australian Democrats (Victoria)
Australian Greens Victoria
Ballarat ARA Circle of Friends
Brigidine Asylum Seeker Project
Humanitarian Crisis Hub
Jews For Refugees
KommonGround
Labor for Refugees
Maritime Union of Australia
National Tertiary Education Union (Victorian Branch)
Refugee Action Collective Victoria
Rural Australians for Refugees
Tamil Refugee Council
Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia
Uniting Church in Australia – Synod of Victoria and Tasmania
Victorian Council of Churches
Victorian Trades Hall Council
