Solidarity with refugees

Solidarity with refugees

BY BIANCA AZAR

SYDNEY — Danger. Displacement. Despair. The experiences of refugees are undeniably grim, and the difficult, often demoralising process of seeking asylum in Australia makes their struggle even harder. But their plight is obscured by media stereotyping and government scapegoating.

On the evening of May 18, Sydney University's international solidarity collective and women's collective held a forum to shed some light on the situation of refugees in Australia. Chaired by radio Triple J's Jasmine Hall, the forum centred on the government's attempts to erect barriers against asylum seekers.

Graham Thom from Amnesty International gave a brief introduction to the status of refugees in Australia, which was added to by Heather Gillies from the Refugee Advice and Casework Service who catalogued the many ways that the government seeks to make it harder for asylum seekers to gain protection visas.

The Student Representative Council's refugee officer, Azadha, spoke about how women suffer most, both from the situations which cause refugee crises and from government restrictions on asylum seekers. Green Left Weekly journalist Sean Healy concluded the forum by putting the situation into a broader international context and emphasising the importance of collective awareness and action.

The highlights of the forum were the refugees' presentations. Cyrus Sarang, who fled Iran, gave an impassioned account of the injustices, prejudice and humiliations he and many others have faced in Australia's immigration detention centres. Maung Maung Than, a prominent Burmese pro-democracy activist, gave insights into the loss that accompanies any exile and the frustration of dealing with an unsympathetic Australian population.

One hundred people attended the forum and many expressed enthusiasm for future forums and campaigns in solidarity with refugees.

From GLW issue 406