In recognition of the immediate and urgent crisis confronting Afghan asylum-seekers and refugees and their families – in Afghanistan, in Australia and elsewhere in the world (in particular in Indonesia), RAC Vic calls on the Australian government to:

(i) immediately grant permanent visas to all Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers on temporary protection and bridging visas;

(ii) to release, and grant visas to Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers in detention and similarly bring to Australia and grant visas to any Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru and in PNG;

(iii) to immediately begin the processing, and organise the urgent transport necessary to bring the families of all Afghan refugees to Australia;

(iv) to end Australia’s ban on accepting Afghan refugees from Indonesia;

(v) to immediately create a special category intake of at least 20,000 Afghan refugees, over and above the annual humanitarian intake, to include all those currently in Indonesia.

(These demands were adopted unanimously by an online forum of 220 people organised by RAC Sydney and supported by RAC Vic on 16 August 2021.)

Escape from Manus by Jaivet Ealom is an extraordinary document of growing up under military oppression in Burma as a Rohingya, managing to get an education, having to flee including two perilous boat journeys, then the iron-clad embrace of Christmas Island, a few wretched years closely observing the Manus “Regional Processing Centre” depredations, and a nail-biting escape.  

Reading it gives better comprehension of the regional depredation and corruption inherent in Australia’s offshore “detention” system, and engenders further respect for those brave refugees relegated to it.  

Through Jaivet’s eyes we see a rotten system created by Australia’s government held together by greed, abuse of power, secrecy and propaganda.  

Jaivet has written a wonderful, important, powerful book that will live for years and hopefully help dismantle this blight on our nation.

Jane Touzeau

Hear Jaivet speak at our online forum on 26 September.

Find the book here.

RAC has launched a petition in solidarity with the Medevac refugees on hunger strike, all refugees indefinitely detained, and those still held offshore indefinitely by Australia.

The petition calls on Karen Andrews, Minister for Home Affairs, and Alex Hawke, Minister for Immigration, to immediately free all indefinitely detained refugees.

Sign the petition here.