BY MARCO HEWITT
PERTH — Dozens of Perth activists travelled to the Port Hedland detention centre in northern WA from July 17-20, to protest in solidarity with the asylum seekers imprisoned inside. The trip was organised in coordination with the July 19 protest outside immigration minister Philip Ruddock's home in Sydney.
The Perth-based Refugee Rights Action Network (RRAN) has hailed the Port Hedland action as a step forward for the campaign to end mandatory detention and free the refugees.
Among the 58 people boarding the double-decker bus for the 20-hour trip to the centre were students, trade unionists, retirees, teachers, engineers, nurses, musicians, writers and government officials, including Nicky McKimmie from Labor for Refugees.
They were joined in Port Hedland by a further six refugee-rights supporters, including state Greens (WA) parliamentarians Dee Margetts and Robin Chapple.
After setting up camp at the local caravan park on July 18, the protesters, ranging in age from two to 71, marched through the dusty Port Hedland streets, carrying banners and beating drums, to the back of the detention centre where dozens of detainees had gathered in the recreation yard.
For the next 10 hours, activists and detainees tried to ignore the two fences and razor wire separating them, as they shared stories, performed songs and swapped letters with each other. Kids on the inside initiated a game of throwing tennis balls back and forth over the fence. The detainees had prepared a vast amount of food, tea and coffee, and this too was thrown over the fence, reflecting incredible generosity, hospitality and humanity.
The night of July 19 was spent in a similar way. After a speech from Margetts, protesters sang "Happy Birthday" to a Palestinian detainee who was turning 18 that day. The midnight farewells brought some to tears.
Nicola Paris, a 27-year-old office manager, commented that the trip "was probably one of the most special, beautiful, tragic, depressing experiences in my recent memory".
A young detainee, imprisoned at Port Hedland for three years, who wishes not to be named, said: "We really appreciate all those who were at the protest here ... We had a nice time with them; having a conversation, getting introduced ourselves. We had a very nice night with them. We didn't feel that we were talking behind the fence. We didn't even think that among us there was a fence. We felt we were free just talking and enjoying with our friends."
From Green Left Weekly, July 30, 2003.
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