Palm Sunday Rally for refugees

A number of refugees transferred from Manus and Nauru for medical treatment have recently been released from hotel prisons across the country, many of whom have been in inhumane detention conditions for up to 8 years. This is shameful. Refugees should never have been in detention. Even more shameful is the fact that the Australian government only released these refugees to save face – ahead of court action for their release.

The fight is far from over. Around 150 Medevac refugees remain in hotel prisons and detention centres. There are still over 250 refugees stuck on Nauru and PNG with little prospect of resettlement. The Biloela Muragappan family and their two children remain detained on Christmas Island, having spent two and a half years in detention.

And once released, refugees are only provided three weeks of accommodation. Whilst they have work rights, refugees are ineligible for income support. This means that refugees are in the absurd situation of having only three weeks to secure accommodation and employment. This will force many to head straight from the trauma of detention into poverty.

Australia refuses to provide permanent visas to refugees who arrived by boat. They are forced to reapply for protection every three to five years. The onus is placed on refugees to prove that they still deserve protection. Refugees in Australia are thus kept in a permanent state of limbo, constantly living with the fear of being deported.

On top of being ineligible for income support, the tens of thousands of refugees existing on temporary protection visas are also denied the right to family reunion and study. Many have not seen their family members for years, sometimes decades.

Refugees need the right to work, but they also need permanent visas, accommodation and income support, access to training and classes to allow them to find their feet in the Australian community. The Australian government’s continued policies of detention and torture of refugees must end.

Refugees are human beings driven to flee their homelands because of persecution, war, and economic and environmental collapse, especially the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, but also in Africa. Australian governments have fueled these wars but refuse to help the refugees that followed. Now the Australian government is throwing punches at China, on behalf of the United States government. Any war with China will be a nuclear war, which no one will win. Instead, Australia can and must play a leading role in talking down the war with China, ending the war in Afghanistan and addressing global warming and economic collapse around the world.

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THIS WILL BE A COVID SAFE RALLY

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS
– You must register on the day by approaching one of our marshalls who will have QR codes
– Please do not attend if you feel unwell or have any cold or flu symptoms, or have visited a location or venue in the last 14 days for which the NSW government has issued a self-isolation alert (see the list at https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/…/case-locations-and…)
– Please wear a mask and bring hand your own sanitiser to use at the event
– Participants must spread out and separate into groups and maintain physical distancing of 1.5 metres between groups
– Please bring your own water bottle and snacks and avoid shared food and drink
– Marshalls will be present at the event in fluorecent vests with extra masks and hand sanitiser for anyone who needs them
– Please avoid crowding on public transport by arriving early or using private transport to get to the event where possible.