BY TIM E STEWART
BRISBANE — A crowd of 1500 people packed City Hall on August 28 to commemorate one year since the Tampa refugee crisis. The public meeting, convened by Australians for Just Refugee Programs, heard from a panel of speakers who implored people to take a stand against the Australian government's treatment of asylum seekers.
The meeting was opened by Brisbane Labor mayor Jim Soorley who said that the government policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers was bad for "Australia's business image" overseas. He received loud applause when he said "we need to get rid of the refugee policy" run by "two grubby individuals in Canberra".
Popular ABC radio presenter Philip Adams reminded people of John Howard's hostility to Asian immigration in the 1980s. He explained that over one year ago he'd initiated a sign-on list for people willing to house and shelter asylum seekers, which since the Tampa incident had grown to thousands of people around the country.
A speaker from the Romero Centre — a Catholic program housing refugees recently released from detention — recounted stories where immigration authorities confiscated asylum seekers' personal possessions. She described the utter helplessness of people on temporary protection visas, saying "they are homeless, jobless, family less, language-less and of often been on the margins of every society they've lived in".
In introducing former test cricketer Ian Chappel, Soorley noted that there were many other sporting patrons of Australians for Just Refugee Programs, ranging from individuals in the National Soccer League, the Australian Football League, and outspoken members of clubs in the National Rugby League.
Prominent refugee supporter Camilla Cowley told the meeting of how an Amnesty International video featuring "good news" stories was banned by the immigration department on the grounds that it was revealing the identity and putting temporary protection visa holders at risk. This equated to a form of political censorship where refugees' stories are being kept from being known by the general public.
ABC late night radio presenter Sandy McCutcheon rounded off the inspiring panel of speakers by describing a specific example of an escaped asylum seeker who had been successfully sheltered and cared for — including visits by doctors, dentists, and other professionals all willing to donate their resources in support of refugees. "It was an embarrassment of riches" exclaimed McCutcheon, who said many professionals had been moved to act independently in providing sanctuary to refugees who had escaped detention despite all the laws against doing so.
From Green Left Weekly, September 4, 2002.
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