BY KATE WILSON
"A boy my age inside tried to hang himself with his bed sheet last night", 16-year-old Resistance member Jess Melvin told protesters holding a vigil outside western Melbourne's Maribyrnong detention centre on January 24. "I can go to school or go out with friends, but in these camps people younger than me are locked up in cells all day. With people growing up in prison because of Australia's racist laws, young people outside have to take action."
The abuse of young people in Australia's detention centres was just one of many reasons why the socialist youth group Resistance called emergency actions on January 24-26. The protests were in solidarity with the 200 hunger-striking asylum seekers in Woomera detention centre, 60 of whom have sewn their lips together.
Tony Iltis reports from Melbourne that 15 red-scarf-gagged activists took part in a 24-hour hunger strike and vigil outside Maribyrnong detention centre on January 24-25. The hunger strike began after a rally at the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) organised by the Refugee Action Collective. Banners and placards in English, Arabic and Persian made the protests highly visible, and the vigil received support from motorists, passers-by and the refugees inside the detention centre throughout the night.
Five Resistance members attempting to visit a refugee were arrested and forcibly removed by the police — in front of protesters and the media. Two of the arrestees, Melvin and fellow high school student James Crafti, have pledged to call a high school walk-out on February 8, in response to their arrest and the government's continuing inhumane treatment of refugees.
Danny Fairfax reports that Resistance called an emergency action outside the Sydney DIMA office on January 23. During the 100-strong picket, protesters wore tape over their lips — symbolising both solidarity with the hunger strikers and the silence with which their plight has been met in the Australian corporate media. Those whose mouths weren't taped up vigorously chanted: "Open the borders, close the camps, free the refugees!"
Speakers included former chairperson of the Ethnic Communities Council Salvatore Scevola, Arsalan Nazaria from Free the Refugees Campaign, Pip Hinman from Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific, Amanda Tattersall from Labor for Refugees and Luisa Ara from Resistance.
Twenty activists remained camped outside DIMA's doors overnight, despite periodic downpour of rain. Western Sydney Resistance also launched a 24-hour hunger strike from Villawood detention centre on January 27.
Sarah Cleary reports from Hobart that passengers exiting buses on Elizabeth Street on January 25 were greeted by chanting and leaflets condemning the government's racist refugee policy. "The government is imposing the same restrictions on refugees as they do in high security prisons", Resistance member Shua Garfield said.
Jacob Black reports that Resistance held a speak-out outside the Perth DIMA office on January 23. A dozen people protested with a coffin, placards and a postcard to the "Dishonourable John Howard" which passers-by were invited to sign. The speak out attracted a great deal of media attention. Supporters of the action included DIMA staff who purchased Green Left Weekly and spoke briefly to protesters.
Maria Voukelatos in Brisbane reports Resistance members held a symbolic hunger strike on January 25, marching from the Queen Street mall to DIMA offices, joining a Refugee Action Collective-organised protest. Participants wore "On Hunger Strike for Refugee Rights" T-shirts and taped their mouths shut.
From Adelaide Ben Standing reports that 50 people attended an emergency protest outside DIMA on January 23. Don McMaster from Fair Go for Asylum Seekers called for the Australian government to adopt a more humane immigration policy, Brian Noon from the Greens attacked Labor's weak stance on the refugee issue, and Lisa Lines from the Refugee Action Collective and Resistance called for a royal commission into the treatment of refugees. Lines also launched a 24-hour hunger strike in solidarity with the Woomera refugees.
Scott White reports from Darwin that more than 60 people signed petitions at a protest in the Smith Street mall calling for a royal commission into refugee policy on January 24, before marching to DIMA.
Resistance organiser Chris Atkinson said: "There are hundreds of 'illegal' immigrants in Mitchell Street, but the government doesn't send the SAS in to round up all the British and New Zealand backpackers who've overstayed their tourist visas. They reserve that treatment for Iraqis and Afghans fleeing repression."
Bronwyn Jennings reports that protesters gathered in the Geelong mall to voice support for asylum seekers. The rally heard from Geelong Ethnic Community Council CEO Jordan Mavros and Uniting Church Reverend Coralie Jenkin.
Cristina Sacco reports from Wollongong that Resistance activists joined a solidarity hunger strike in the mall. They leafleted passers-by, painted a pro-refugee banner and spruiked refugee rights slogans on a megaphone. The action was covered by most local media. The demand for a royal commission into the treatment of refugees received strong support — 50 people signed the petition every hour.
From Green Left Weekly, January 30, 2002.
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