By Phil Hudson
MELBOURNE — In April, several thousand people attended a public event here to support the East Timorese asylum seekers. Following an excellent rock concert in the Treasury Gardens and an enthusiastic march through the city, a mock refugee camp was set up outside the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs building.
The action demonstrated that ordinary Australians are willing to say "no" to the hypocritical policies of successive Australian governments and "yes" to supporting one of the most vulnerable groups in Australia, the 1360 East Timorese asylum seekers.
These refugees are vulnerable not only because most have suffered human rights abuses in East Timor but also because they have been waiting over two and a half years to have their legal status resolved, a situation that continues despite recent legal developments.
In May, the Federal Court handed down its decision on the East Timorese test case. It found that while there was no error in law in deciding that some East Timorese people hold Portuguese nationality, the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) had erred by not considering whether Portuguese protection for the asylum seekers was effective. It referred the case back to the RRT.
The tribunal for that case has not been reconstituted. However, the RRT made decisions in three cases that the East Timorese are refugees because they cannot return to Indonesia and because the protection offered by Portugal is not effective.
These decisions were made by outgoing members, despite public pressure by the immigration minister, Philip Ruddock. The government has appealed against these decisions to the Federal Court, cynically ensuring that a legal solution will still be years away.
It appears that the government may resort to even lower tactics by lifting the processing freeze on East Timorese applications. This means the refugees would lose asylum seekers' assistance (their sole source of income, less than the dole).
The waiting and possible nightmarish scenarios have put enormous stresses on the asylum seekers and their community.
Their situation has struck at the hearts of ordinary Australians in a way that few issues do, leading to development of a movement to support the East Timorese, the Sanctuary Network.
Originally established by Sister Kathleen O'Connor, a Josephite nun from Sydney, the movement now also has a strong Victorian base and the support of a significant number of churches, trade unions, non-government organisations, progressive political groups, ex-World War II diggers and individuals whose consciences have been pricked.
The purpose of the network is to pressure the government to grant residency to the East Timorese asylum seekers and to support them until this goal is reached. In the event that the refugees face deportation to Portugal, the Sanctuary Network will illegally harbour them.
Those involved in supporting the asylum seekers could pay a cost for following their consciences: harbouring a deportee carries a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment.
Although it would not be politically astute for the government to pursue such legal action (given the numbers of people involved and the political sensitivity of the issue), it is not impossible. But the threat of criminal prosecution has not stopped more than 10,000 people and organisations who have offered their houses and resources to harbour Timorese refugees if necessary.
As well as establishing a safe house network, the campaign is seeking to provide for the legal, medical and welfare needs of the East Timorese refugees until they are allowed to stay.
And the Sanctuary Network will continue to be active politically by threatening a public relations war that the government cannot win. The network also aims to continue tapping into the swelling international support for the cause.
In particular, the position of the Portuguese government has been of great help. Portugal has been under pressure from Australia to accept the refugees but instead has consistently maintained that protection is available only to East Timorese who voluntarily request it and that it would be contrary to their right to self-determination to have Portuguese nationality imposed upon them.
Closer to home, the Sanctuary Network continues to seek the support of various groups such as individual ALP branches and student groups.
Positive talks have been held with sections of the union movement — including the Australian Services Union, the Transport Workers Union and the Community and Public Sector Union. With their support, areas such as immigration processing, customs and aircraft refuelling could be blocked, making deportation impossible.
There are many other ways individuals can support the campaign. Offering your home as a "safe house" is one practical way to be involved. Another is to donate money: if asylum seekers' applications begin to be processed again, huge amounts of money will be needed for them to survive, while there are also campaign costs.
Welfare is another significant area: we are seeking those with medical, trauma counselling and youth work expertise. Another priority is employment: the more East Timorese who can be financially independent, the better.
Learning English is also a huge need: if anyone has the time and skills to tutor or assist teachers of English, there are many asylum seekers who would greatly benefit.
Writing letters to influential politicians (at this stage it is best to write directly to the prime minister and urge him to create a special visa class) and newspapers is another way of standing in solidarity with the refugees.
While the East Timorese asylum seekers continue to wait, it is vital that we do what we can to support this vulnerable group. Through local, national and international solidarity with the East Timorese refugees, we can prevent a great travesty of justice and set a precedent to help prevent future unjust government actions.
And support generated for the East Timorese refugees may be consolidated to re-energise the movement that seeks to bring change to the policies of the Australian government and peace and freedom to the people of East Timor.
Contact: Sanctuary Network Victoria, GPO Box 5268BB, Melbourne 3001, ph: 9251 5281.
[Phil Hudson is a community worker with the Uniting Church's Asylum Seeker Project.]