3500 rally for refugees and against war

BY TAMARA PEARSON

SYDNEY — Around
3500 people stood for a minute's silence on October 26 to remember the
353 refugees who drowned needlessly one year ago to the day. The victims
of the October 13 Bali bombings were also remembered.

Beyond that, the demonstration was anything but silent. Many speakers
addressed the crowd, drawing attention to the links between the refugees'
rights and anti-war campaigns. They also condemned the federal government's
treatment of refugees and its support for a US-led war on Iraq. The message
was then taken to the streets.

Ali Mehdi Sobie, an Iraqi who lost his wife and three children on the
SIEV-X, the boat that sank, asked: “Why should I lose my family, is the
government's policy worthwhile?”

Kate Gaultier, from Children Out of Detention (ChilOut), declared she
would rather go to jail than pay a war tax. She called on everyone else
to do the same.

On October 27, 300 people braved heavy rain to rally in Perth against
the war.

From Green Left Weekly, October 30, 2002.

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From GLW issue 514