BY SHANE BENTLEY
SYDNEY — Two hundred people chanting "Refugees yes, racism no; Detention centres have got to go!" marched through the streets of Parramatta, in Sydney's western suburbs, on September 23. The rally was organised by the Refugee Action Collective.
"While the organisers of the Olympic Games, which are being staged near here, proclaim that they are 'celebrating humanity'," said RAC activist and Democratic Socialist Party member Paul Benedek, "just 15 minutes down the road, there are innocent people being inhumanely imprisoned for the 'crime' fleeing persecution and violence".
Benedek was referring to the Villawood detention centre, where asylum seekers are held while their applications for protection visas are heard and reviewed. Many of the detainees have been in the camp for over a year.
RAC activists Cyrus Sarang and Zainab Al Turkey also provided passionate descriptions of the brutality refugees face in their home countries — brutality which, they said, only continues when they arrive in Australia. They called for an end to mandatory detention of refugees and for full political and social rights for refugees.
The rally marched to federal Liberal MP Ross Cameron's office, where Kim Bullimore from the Indigenous Students Network and the DSP called for an alliances between all the oppressed people in Australia to fight for change.
RAC activist and International Socialist Organisation member Alison Stewart condemned the Liberal Party's racism on refugee issues. The federal Labor party also copped criticism, Benedek pointing out that the ALP has voted with the Coalition to pass its anti-refugee policies and while in government introduced some of the most brutal policies.
The march proceeded to the local department of immigration office. RAC activist and barrister Julian Gormley, who worked for the department until the horror of what he saw convinced him to campaign for refugees' rights, addressed the crowd. A spirited march back to Parramatta Mall left protesters in high spirits.
The next RAC meeting will be held at Sydney University SRC office, City Road, on October 8 at 2pm.