Forum: Don’t let the racists divide us – Building the fight against One Nation

Wednesday 9 September, 6.30pm at Trades Hall, Lygon Street, Carlton

SPEAKERS

Rathy Barthlote, Tamil refugee and co-founder of Refugee Women Action for Visa Equality
Imam Alaa Elzokm, Imam of the Elsedeaq Mosque in Heidelberg Heights
Uncle James Williams, proud Wakka Wakka man and Greens candidate for Essendon
Lucy Honan, AEU councillor and Fight the Crisis activist

Organised by Unite Against Racism, a coalition of anti-racist, pro-refugee and pro-Palestine groups initiated by RAC

Check out the Facebook event

For more info: ring David on 0438 547 723.

Weekly organising meetings

Every Monday (except public holidays) at 6.30pm, Kathleen Syme library, Carlton

Also on Zoom.

The Refugee Action Collective Vic welcomes Iranian footballers Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, who have been granted Australian citizenship after seeking asylum during the women’s Asian Cup in March.

Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, was keen to be photographed with them at their citizenship ceremony on Wednesday. But he continues to ignore the case for giving protection to hundreds of Iranians who have fled to Australia from the same authoritarian regime.

The Refugee Council of Australia website indicates that almost 2000 Iranians applied for permanent protection between 7 September 2013 to 30 June 2025. Hundreds remain in limbo in the community on short-term bridging visas.

Another 183 Iranians are marooned in Indonesia, prevented by government policy from applying for asylum in Australia. Some 86 more are detained in Australia.

RAC Vic spokesperson David Glanz said, “Many of these people have fled for fear of their lives and risked everything on flimsy boats to try to reach safety in Australia.

“It’s great to see the two footballers welcomed by Tony Burke. But he continues to ignore the justified claims of other Iranian asylum-seekers, most of whom have endured horrific sacrifice to reach Australia or Indonesia.

“The minister is happy to pose for happy snaps with the footballers but his government has passed legislation designed to force Iran and other brutal regimes to take back refugees, and to make it easier to deport asylum-seekers.

“In March, it also imposed a six-month ban on Iranians arriving on temporary visas.

“Why do some asylum-seekers get red carpet treatment and others are left in hellish limbo? This double standard has to end.”

As Iranian asylum-seeker Fatemeh Lahmidi told the ABC, she has been in Australia for more than 13 years waiting for permanent protection.

“My family has been waiting for so many years, and it’s hard to understand why we are still living with so much uncertainty while others receive citizenship so quickly,” she said.

Glanz said RAC joined calls from other refugee organisations for the government to grant permanent protection for all asylum-seekers fleeing the Islamic Republic of Iran. “And our concern doesn’t stop there – we are for welcoming refugees fleeing the threat of torture and death, regardless of where they are from.”

For more information or interviews, call David Glanz on 0438 547 723.

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Unite Against Racism is a coalition of anti-racist, pro-refugee and pro-Palestine groups initiated by the Refugee Action Collective.

We are working together to build opposition to Hanson and One Nation in the run-up to the state election

FIVE REASONS TO SAY NO TO ONE NATION

1. One Nation blames migrants and refugees for problems caused by bosses and politicians. That’s racism.

2. One Nation supports Donald Trump, who has been a disaster for the world.

3. One Nation thinks workers are lazy and overpaid and wants to make it easier for your boss to sack you.

4. One Nation opposes paid parental leave and childcare.

5. One Nation wants to attack abortion rights and trans people.

And, of course, One Nation defends Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

HELP US PUT ONE NATION LAST

Funds raised will pay for leaflets, online campaigns, forums and rallies.

DONATE NOW

Authorised: Unite Against Racism, 5th Floor, 407 Swanston Street, Melbourne 3000.

Refugees and their supporters will rally in Melbourne tomorrow (Saturday) on World Refugee Day.

The rally starts at 2pm at the State Library and is organised by the Refugee Action Collective (RAC).

SPEAKERS

• Rathy Barthlote, Tamil refugee and activist with Refugee Women Action for Visa Equality
• Mai Saif, Palestinian community organiser
• Sanmati Verma, Human Rights Law Centre
• Ahmed Abdelrehim, Eritrean refugee
• Greg Kiernan, Asylum Art project
• Music by Lachlan Denton, The Ocean Party

RAC spokesperson David Glanz said, “Labor has passed multiple draconian laws to make it easier to deport asylum-seekers or to prevent visitors from war zones like Iran.

“This simply makes it easier for Pauline Hanson and Angus Taylor to roll out their hardline anti-refugee and anti-migrant agendas.

“Meanwhile, refugees trapped in Australia’s system of mandatory and offshore detention are rotting on Nauru and in PNG and Indonesia.

“There are still too many refugees who live among us but are barred from permanent visas, the right to work or university study or sometimes even Medicare.

“So this rally is calling for justice, for permanent visas for all those asylum-seekers caught up in Australia’s barbaric border controls, and the scrapping of Labor’s deportation and visa ban laws.”

For more information, call David Glanz on 0438 547 723.