Sarah Stephen
While Iraqis are dying from bombs and bullets as a result of Washington's continuing war against their country, the Australian government is refusing to issue visas and telling Iraqi refugees to return home.
There are 4325 Iraqi refugees living in Australia on temporary protection visas (TPVs). Ninety-eight per cent of them have lodged applications for permanent protection after the expiry of their TPVs. To date, only 290 have been processed and of these, 80% (231) have been refused permanent protection.
Anger and fear among Iraqi refugees spilled over into action in the first week of October. On October 1, Iraqi refugees in Melbourne protested outside a conference on human rights challenges in Iraq addressed by foreign minister Alexander Downer. They called for an end to their suffering and demanded permanent residence. Four days later, 100 Iraqis marched from Sydney Town Hall to the offices of the immigration department. In Brisbane, 20 Iraqis were among a crowd of protesters outside Liberal Senator George Brandis' office on October 4.
Many of the Iraqi refugees have not seen family members for four years. Their visas do not allow their families to join them in Australia and prevent the refugees from returning to Australia if they travel back to Iraq.
While they have already proved that they are "genuine" refugees, the federal government is demanding that they do so all over again, forcing them into a lengthy and expensive legal process of appeals. The onus is on them, not the government, to prove they are still in need of protection.
An October 1 media release announcing the nationwide protests stated: "The government's TPV policy has torn our families apart and left thousands of us in a state of uncertainty and anxiety... For many of us, life under temporary protection is meaningless, devoid of progress or hope. We are paralysed by the fear of being returned to a very dangerous and unstable Iraq...
"We are calling on both the Coalition and ALP to repeal the legislation establishing the TPV policy, and to grant permanent protection to those refugees who are currently on TPVs. Please allow us to rebuild our lives and be reunited with loved ones."
Green Left Weekly spoke to a number of Iraqis at the Sydney protest.
Ameen Alhelo, a 32-year-old computer engineer from Najaf, arrived in 2001 and spent six months in the Woomera detention centre. He left behind his mother, a sister and a brother in Iraq. He works in a factory as a machine operator.
"The government says Iraq is safe", said Alhelo. "Who can believe it? Even US troops say it's not safe. I hope this protest will show my feeling. I have been here three years. I love this country, these people. I want to be part of it. It's been a long time waiting, and we are losing our patience."
Amer Aldaraji, a 24-year-old from Baghdad, arrived in Australia in 2001. He was detained in Port Hedland for three months. His TPV has expired and he has been waiting eight months to find out whether or not he will be granted a permanent visa. He explained that when he went to an immigration department office, he was told nothing. "When we ask, they say you just have to wait, we will send you a letter. We go back the next month, and they say the same thing."
Aldaraji said he was full of hope and enthusiasm when he was first released from detention. He worked hard to learn English from people around him. But now, he says, he has lost all hope. When the US war on Iraq began in 2003, his entire family was killed on the second day of bombing. He asked the government if as the only living relative, he could go to Iraq for one month to be part of the mourning. The government refused. "I feel like my life is very cheap", Aldaraji said, adding that he didn't care if he died as well.
Aldaraji said sometimes he forgot that he was on a temporary visa, but everything around him reminds him that he is considered a second-class citizen. He described trying to take out a new mobile phone contract with Optus. He was asked to show some ID. He produced his driver's licence, but the consultant said she would also need to see his Medicare card. He showed this to her, and she said she couldn't provide him with a new contract, explaining that Optus had circulated instructions that it was not to issue contracts to TPV holders.
Aldaraji said was shocked by this, asking the consultant how she knew he was on a TPV. She said he had a different looking Medicare card which was only valid for one year. It was the first time Aldaraji realised his Medicare card was different from other people's.
From Green Left Weekly, October 13, 2004.
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