Jim McIlroy, Brisbane
"We sailors who go to sea are all 'boat people'", the captain of the Eureka, one of two yachts making up the Flotillas of Hope, told a crowd of around 250 people on May 23.
The send-off was held on the banks of the Brisbane River, as the eight crew members headed off to Nauru on a voyage of support for the 260 asylum seekers still in detention on the island as part of the Howard government's "Pacific Solution".
The Flotilla of Hope, which left Sydney on May 15 despite a refusal by Nauru to grant entry visas, aims to reach Nauru by June 20 for World Refugee Day. The yachts were loaded up with toys and other gifts for the children in detention.
The captain said the crew hoped that international publicity would pressure the government of Nauru, which has threatened to arrest them if they enter the island's waters, to allow them to land for a day to present the gifts. "It's time to stand up and be counted. It's time to change the inhumane policies of the Australian government."
Hassam Ghulam, of the Hazara Ethnic Society of Australia, said that while the announcement that 92 Afghan asylum seekers on Nauru had been granted refugee status was a partial victory, much more still needed to be done. "We are not going to stop our struggle until we have reached a comprehensive solution to the problem of the refugees."
Frederika Steen, of the Romero Justice Centre, condemned the government's policy of granting only temporary protection visas. Those on TPVs "are not able to plan their future. It is a living hell, with the ever-present fear of forced deportation, on top of the nightmares from their previous life of persecution", she told the audience.
Other members of the flotilla crew also spoke, along with Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett, Greens representative Drew Hutton, and Tony Robertson from the Queensland Peace Network. "We must put the refugee issue at the top of the agenda in the coming federal election", Hutton concluded.
From Green Left Weekly, June 2, 2004.
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