A Refugee Action Collective (RAC) forum on August 10 discussed how to push back against politicians and the media’s scapegoating of refugees in amid the cost-of-living and housing crises.
Rathy Barthlote, a Tamil refugee from Sri Lanka, said that governments make a political choice to portray refugees as a threat or a problem.
She said Labor and the Liberal-National Coalition have competed over who could be tougher on refugees. They have “normalised fear and cruelty”. For example, the Julia Gillard’s Labor government released refugees into the community, but without allowing them the right to work and to apply for family reunion visa.
Barthlote said that by portraying refugees as a threat, Labor and the Coalition have created the conditions for One Nation to grow.
Those in power want workers to blame migrants and refugees for their problems, she said, but they did not create the problems workers face, including low wages. The problem, she said, is the concentration of wealth in the hands of the mega-rich.
She said that there is a need for progressives to unite workers, whether born in Australia or overseas.
Jasmine Fischer, speaking for RAC, addressed the need to build a broad anti-racist movement. Participants in discussion spoke about how cuts to public housing have contributed to the housing crisis, which politicians then use as an excuse to attack refugees.
[Chris Slee is a member of Refugee Action Collective Victoria.]