Speech delivered by Tamil refugee Rathy Barthlote, Refugee Women Action for Visa Equality and Tamil Refugee Council, at a RAC forum on 3 March 2025
We are refugees—people created by imperialist wars and global power struggles. We are the remnants of your wars, left without a home, without dreams, struggling to survive. We fled persecution, ethnic and religious hatred, and arrived seeking safety, only to find ourselves trapped in limbo.
As Eelam Tamils, our journey has been marked by destruction, displacement, and the loss of our homeland. For generations, we have been forced to live as refugees, stripped of our rights, our dignity, and our place in the world. We were driven out of our ancestral land, subjected to unimaginable suffering, and denied the right to return.
For over 30 years, our people have endured immense pain. The bloodshed and trauma of war still linger in our homeland, leaving behind wounds that refuse to heal.
In 2009, the Sri Lankan state committed genocide against Tamils. As a result, thousands of Eelam Tamils sought refuge in countries like Australia. Even after the war ended, the Sri Lankan state continued its oppression—abducting Tamils under the guise of “investigations,” subjecting them to brutal torture and sexual violence. International human rights organisations, including the UN and the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), have documented these atrocities.
To this day, our missing loved ones remain unaccounted for. Tamil ancestral lands are being taken over and new Buddhist temples are being forcefully established in our homeland to erase our identity. Our way of life is being disrupted, our culture is under attack, and our future generations are being deliberately destroyed through the spread of drugs and systemic oppression.
The same racist government that rules Sri Lanka today is the one that endorsed the massacre of Tamils in 1983 and blocked peace negotiations. They called and supported Rajapaksa’s genocidal actions against Tamils, continue to enforce draconian anti-terror laws against Tamils, re-imprison former political prisoners, and have even created watchlists for Tamil refugees returning from abroad, leading to immediate arrests at the airport. Just last week they banned numerous Tamil rights groups in the diaspora.
Despite knowing all this, Australia—while presenting itself as a defender of refugee rights—has signed international agreements but refuses to grant us protection. For over 12 years, we have been left in limbo, denied permanent residency, and forced to live with uncertainty.
We are mentally and physically exhausted, suffering from extreme stress and trauma. Separated from our loved ones for years, many of us have developed severe mental health conditions. How many more lives must be lost before action is taken? Even today, we have lost another member of our community to this injustice.
What was our crime? Why must our children suffer like this?
With nothing left to lose, 22 refugee women took action in September 2023, marching on foot from Melbourne to Canberra to protest Australia’s anti-refugee policies. This was followed by a 100-day protest, from July to October, where we endured extreme weather conditions, demanding permanent visas. Our protest gained the support of people from different backgrounds, yet we still have not received a solution.
12 years is not just a number—it is a lifetime of living in fear, uncertainty, and oppression. And yet, our future remains a question mark.
We demanded justice and dignity, but all we have received is betrayal. In 2022, the Labour government promised change. They called the “Fast Track” visa system unfair and vowed to abolish it. Yet, today, 9500 refugees remain in limbo. Our lives have not changed—we are still prisoners in this open-air detention.
We have committed no crime. For 12 years, we have been part of this society, contributing to it. But the wounds on our bodies and minds remain deep.
Despite all this, we are not defeated. We are not giving up. We will continue to fight.
Until the government listens to our voices, we will not remain silent. Until they give us a permanent solution, our struggle will continue. We are waiting, but not in silence—not in submission! We will amplify our voices, intensify our resistance, and demand our rights.
This fight is not just ours—it is a struggle between the powerful and the oppressed, between the government and the people, between justice and injustice.
Until permanent visas are granted to all 9500 refugees, we will not stop!
To everyone standing with us today—you are our strength. Your dedication and support fuel our struggle. You understand that when injustice happens to any group of people, it is the responsibility of all to speak out.
We will win our rights. This is our promise, our oath!
Thank you.
