Category News

“Terry” (not his real name), an Iranian refugee on Nauru, sewed his lips together and began a hunger strike last Friday in protest against his deportation and the conditions on Nauru that threaten his life.

Terry was deported to Nauru on 6 May after losing his appeal in the TCXM High Court hearing. He has been hospitalised twice since because of his severe asthma condition.

Astonishingly, the High Court found that the law allowed the Australian government to remove Terry to Nauru, “despite the evidence that the medical services in Nauru are inadequate to manage his severe asthma on an ongoing basis”.

The court also found, “It can immediately be accepted that the harshness of the consequences of removal for TCXM (Terry) is increased by the real risk of premature death faced by TCXM due to the inadequacy of treatment in Nauru for his severe asthma.”

Labor’s deportation laws are in this case effectively a death sentence.

This is why all refugee supporters should join the World Refugee Day rally called by RAC on Saturday 20 June at 2pm at the State Library in Melbourne.

Complete contempt

As if to demonstrate the government’s complete contempt for the human rights of those they are deporting to Nauru, and particularly the rights of the disabled, on 27 May Labor sent a Libyan man, confined to a wheelchair, to the island prison camp.

There are no facilities for a wheelchair in the camp. The man cannot get out of his room without assistance from other detainees. He is unable to cook for himself; he has difficulty accessing the toilet; and he cannot clean his room or access the kitchen area used by the other detainees. He cannot go to the shops.

“Terry and all the non-citizens deported to Nauru must be returned to Australia. The deportation law is a fundamentally racist piece of legislation that allows extra-judicial punishment just because people are non-citizens,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition in Sydney.

“Currently there are 12 people of the NZYQ cohort (where the High Court found that indefinite detention could not be justified) that the government has deported to Nauru.

“Yet the government is spending $63 million for just the first year of the deal with Nauru to warehouse those deported there. It is a horrendous waste of money and lives. Nauru should be closed.”

The Refugee Action Collective-Victoria is auctioning four framed photographs of historic posters from the Palestinian struggle.

The funds raised will be used to support RAC’s ongoing campaign for refugee rights and the call for Permanent Visas Now.

The auction is live now and ends on 3 March at 8pm Melbourne time.

Bid now for these special items, kindly donated by Steven Katsineris.

In November 2023, RAC (Vic) held an action outside the State Library to protest the long-standing ban on refugees from Indonesia.

In 2014 the Australian government implemented a ban on the resettlement of refugees from Indonesia.

This meant that people who had signed up with the UNHCR in Indonesia for resettlement in Australia and who had been found to be refugees by that organisation were forbidden to do so. The Albanese government maintains the ban today.

Indonesia is a major regional gateway for people to come to Australia from countries such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran and Sudan.

As Indonesia is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention this ban has left 14,000 men, women and children in limbo. They are living in poverty with no work rights and no future.

Most Australians would have no idea about this ban and so the situation goes largely unchallenged and unscrutinised.

RAC (Vic) is determined to highlight this appalling situation and stand in solidarity with those currently in limbo in Indonesia.

Although the protest drew a relatively small crowd it had a big impact on those most affected by the ban. We received dozens of messages during and after the livestream from refugees in limbo in Indonesia who were glad to see people standing in solidarity with them.

Here are just a few quotes from refugees who either participated in the action via phone or who watched the livestream. The quotes show that our actions matter.

They also show that those affected by Australia’s policies are people – not numbers or cases but people. These people have hopes and dreams and Australia’s brutal policies stand in the way.

We must continue to shine a light on this injustice and build the protest against it. “From little things, big things grow.”

We will be planning more actions in 2024. Please join us.

To the Australian people who demonstrated for us yesterday, I am writing to you today to express my sincere gratitude for your support … You have shown us that we are not forgotten and that there are people who care about our plight … it gave us hope that one day we will be able to rebuild our lives in a safe and welcoming country. We will never forget it. (Alireza)

Thank you for the rally and support. It came at a crucial time. People were losing hope. I hope to see more of this support. Your support is touching hearts and saving lives. (Hussain)

Thank you for standing in solidarity with the forgotten refugees in Indonesia. (Noor)

Sending love from Indonesia to you dear Australian kind heart people. Thanks for raise up our poor voice. We are here in Indonesia living about 11 years without any basic human rights. (Mahdi)

We all appreciate your kindness and caring about refugees in Indonesia. Thank you so much. (Assadullah)

By Barbara Forehan