Suprovat Sydney Report:  REFUGEES RALLY IN CANBERRA FOR PERMANENT VISAS, MONDAY 6 MARCH, ‘No-One Left Behind’ Rally; Canberra Parliamentary Lawns, Monday 6 March.

More than 1000 refugees and people seeking asylum will come from around Australia to rally in Canberra on the first sitting day of the March session of Parliament.

The Labor government announcement on 13 February that temporary protection visas holders will be granted permanent visas was tremendous news for 19,000 refugees who had been denied permanent protection under the previous Coalition governments.

But Labor’s announcement has left around 12,000 other refugees and asylum seekers in limbo. Ten thousand who were rejected under the Coalition’s fast track process are still on bridging or expired visas, even though Labor promised to abolish fast track.

More than 1000 refugees who have been transferred from Nauru and PNG are also still in limbo, in community detention of bridging visas. They are still being told they will not be resettled in Australia, although many of them have been in Australia for up to eight years.

Refugees in Nauru and PNG also need permanent visas – their physical and mental health and their future are still at risk. One refugee was urgently Medevacced from Nauru late on Friday 3 March after a suicide attempt.

Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Action Coalition says:

“The 1000 refugees from Nauru and PNG are being seriously discriminated against. They arrived in Australia after 13 July 2013 and were arbitrarily selected, sometimes separated from families on the same boat, to be sent offshore. Meanwhile, the group, not selected for offshore, are now eligible for permanent visas. There’s no justice in that. It’s another group Labor is leaving behind.

“Afghan refugees were denied protection because they were told it was safe to return to Kabul. Tamils were told they faced persecution in Sri Lanka but could nevertheless go to Colombo. Labor is leaving people behind because of faulty country information and a failed process,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

“After ten years, Labor needs to act to fix all the problems created by unjust and inhuman refugee policy. There must be a fair process and permanent visas for all refugees.”

Many refugee communities, Iraqi, Bangladesh, Pakistani, Iranian, and others most affected by the fast track process will be maintaining a protest for the four days of the first week’s sitting of Parliament.

“So many refugees transferred from Nauru and PNG are still in limbo. Many single women, and families, now with children born in Australia. When I came to Australia I wanted to be a journalist or a social worker, but I was not allowed to study on my visa. If I was allowed to study, perhaps I could start a new life. But, they would not let me.

“Now nine years later, without a degree, without anything, the government says to me to start again in another country – without my husband, without my kids? My life is here.

“The cleaning business I have with my husband was on the front line during the pandemic. We are still on the front line. We support people who are in the NDIS, and people with disabilities. We are really, really needed. It is rewarding to work; I can see the difference we make.

“I just want an opportunity to be part of the community, and make a good contribution to the community; I have been doing that. With both my pregnancies, I worked til the day before I gave birth. The government says there is a shortage of workers, but they are telling people who have jobs, and families here that they have to leave. That does not make sense”.

Hassan Jaber, Iraqi SHEV holder:

“We welcome the news that refugees who have been living 10 years on TPVs and SHEVs will now be able to have permanent protection visas. However, thousands of people seeking protection are still on Bridging Visas, still waiting after 10 years for a decision about their refugee status. As well as uncertainty about their future, they are living with uncertainty about whether they can pay rent and for basic living expenses – they all need the right to work and basic income support so they can live in the community with dignity”.

Renuga Inpakumar spokesperson for Tamil Refugee Council:

“The recent announcement has resulted in refugees feeling a sense of separation from their many friends that are left behind. Many still face possibly being denied study at university or TAFE; others are even facing possible deportation. Every single refugee should be provided permanent protection. There should not be a ‘pick and choose’ which refugees are granted protection, but rather all.”

Zaki Haidari, Hazara SHEV holder:

“Around 5,000 people from Afghanistan who are currently on TPVs and SHEVs will now get permanent visas. More than for myself, I am happy for friends who haven’t seen their families, or their children in the last 10 years. But, some Afghans, who can’t go back to Afghanistan, hold Bridging Visas for whom the government is yet to announce any plans. They also need a fair process and be able to apply for permanent visas, so our advocacy will now turn to them.”

 in front of the Federal Parliament in Canberra, in front of the Federal Parliament of Canberra, with the aim of realizing the rights of refugees and establishing basic rights, thousands of refugees from all over Australia from different languages, races and tribes, community leaders, Australia’s first-line media SBS, Channel Nine-Seven, Fairfax, Sky Channel And in the presence of various print media, Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Qudratullah Liton gave a special speech

.

Please see the link for the Video: http://shorturl.at/yMQT3

Bangladesh Nationalist Party Australia (BNP) founder and chief advisor of Bangladesh Refugees of Australia, Md Abdullah Yousuf Shamim, led a mass rally in front of the Canberra Federal Parliament with about 350 refugee applicants from Bangladesh. Members of Bangladeshi refugees joined the protest in front of Parliament from Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Canberra as well.

Please watch the video:https://rb.gy/bv351z

Those Bangladeshi brothers and sisters started joining in groups in the morning by riding a 57 seater bus and about 50 cars and various means. The Bangladeshi Refugee Group this time armed with huge eye-catching banners and colorful t-shirts and various posters, placards took part in the refugee protest at approximately 11 am

Most Bangladeshi refugees do not have immigration cases, so they do not have Medicare, work permits, center links, or any valid documents.

The chief adviser of the organization has already highlighted their current situation with the chief minister, immigration minister, and various senators for the victims of Bangladesh.

The president of the organization, Nasir Ahmed, said, “We came to Australia on the same boat at the same time, but many of them got permanent residency. “

I came to Australia at the same time, and many of us are still being interviewed, and the immigration officer said, “We are not satisfied.”