Darwin Detention Hazara statement

This statement was released by Hazara asylum seekers inside Darwin detention centre to explain the aims of their protest:

We the Hazara Afghan Asylum seekers held a peaceful protest in Darwin detention centre with number of 100 asylum seekers on 24 September 2011.

We strongly condemn the act of target killings of Hazaras in Pakistan and Afghanistan and we pass our condolences to those grieved families

The aim of protest was to let the Humanitarian nations and the UN know about the Hazaras Persecutions and genocide in Pakistan and Afghanistan and take notice of the Hazaras Target killings. Asylum seeker from different compounds gathered and shared their concerns.

The asylum seekers held banners saying, “Is being Hazara still a crime?”; Why UN is silent ?; Stop killing of innocent Hazaras, Is there any one to hear Hazaras voices, NO More Killings, UN wake up and take notice of the current situations,

The protest was held following news that from 31 August 2011 till 23 September, more than 60 Hazaras were executed ruthlessly in Pakistan and Afghanistan. On 2 February, 2009 UNHCR sub-office Chief John Soloki from the Chaman Housing area in Quetta, Pakistan was kidnapped the whole world raised their concerns and protested world wide but today when Hazara genocide has reached to its peak non of the Nations of the worlds takes notice this.

Our demands from immigration department was to know that Hazaras live a colonial life which consists of a father, a mother, sisters and brothers, etc. whose lives are at an extreme danger in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the asylum seekers are much too concerned about their families living as illegal refugees in Pakistan and Afghanistan where is no life guarantee for any Hazaras.

The peaceful protest continued for 2 hours and At the end of the peaceful protest the asylum seekers returned to their compounds. But the anxiety and their worries remain. We would like to request all Hazaras of the world to raise their voices against the brutalities on innocent killings of Hazaras

Sayed Kasim’s story

Sayed, who has recently been released from Villawood detention centre after being forced to flee first Burma, then Malaysia, asked us to post this thank you letter to his supporters, along with photos below of Sayd at the recent “Villawood: Survival + Resistance” art show at the ICE building in Parramatta.

Sayed

A letter to Sayed Kasim’s supporters

My name is Sayed Kasim and I would like to thank the Australian government and all of the people who supported my family and me during the one year and ten months that I spent in the Villawood Immigration and Detention Centre.

My troubles began in my homeland of Burma. As a member of the Rohingya Muslim minority, I was not allowed to receive any public or secondary school education. Instead I was educated in the religious school in my village. My membership in the Democratic Party for Human Rights also put me at odds with the Burmese government. After applying to the authorities to open a school in my village, I was seized and then tortured by the Burmese military.

In 1992, I escaped to Malaysia, where I registered as a refugee with the UNHCR. I met my wife and married in Malaysia in 2003. We had four children. There, I opened a school for the children of Rohingya refugees in the city of Klang in 2005. However, in 2009 I was targeted by a large religious party in Malaysia who resent the presence of Rohingya refugees, and who threatened my life on many occasions. After it became clear that neither the UNHCR, various NGOs, nor the Malaysian police were able to help me, I was forced to leave my wife and children and take a boat to Australia. If I had had the money, I would have brought them with me.

On 4 January 2010, I arrived at Christmas Island and was given refugee status after 6 months in detention. However I was then to wait over a year for my security clearance from ASIO. My wife had no means of livelihood during this time, and was forced to put my eldest son in an orphanage. She became homeless for two days before finding temporary refuge in the home of another refugee. During this time, I felt powerless and became extremely distressed. My family were starving and losing all hope of survival. Yet thanks to the kindness and generosity of my supporters here in Australia, I was able to send money to my wife, who could then afford a home and food for our children. My son was taken out of the orphanage and reunited with the family.

My heartfelt thanks go out to the people who have supported me: Bert Mendelsohn, Peter Wise, Helena Ameisen, Safdar Ahmed, Bilquis Ghani, Mahmood Ghani, Ann-Marie Meeks, Carl Connor, Mark Goudkamp, Graham Thom, Abdulah Zayied, Annarose Robinson, Naza Alkhateeb, Jessica Hill, Sarah Whitney, Jessica Compton, and everyone else who followed my case.

After 20 months in detention, I received the news that my security clearance came through and am now experiencing my first days of freedom in this country. Words cannot express my happiness, given that I was not truly free in the past, neither in Burma nor in Malaysia. I would like to thank the Australian Government and my supporters for giving me a new life and a new future for my family. And because human rights apply to everyone, I call on the Australian government to release people from detention. I am particularly concerned to see that other asylum seekers are going through the kind of agony that I experienced.

With peace, Sayed Kasim.

Sayed does an interview at the art show

Help make sure this is the end of offshore processing

Julia Gillard and Chris Bowen are pushing ahead with new legislative amendments designed to get around the High Court and allow the Malaysia solution to proceed. Tony Abbott has announced that the Liberals will not support the new laws, and the government has rejected his proposed amendment that would have meant asylum seekers could only be sent to countries that have signed the UN Convention on refugees, such as Nauru.

The Labor caucus has approved Gillard’s new amendments, despite significant opposition from inside the caucus. The refugee movement has been encouraged by the reports that Labor MPs are considering crossing the floor or boycotting the vote. It is an indication of the growing community support for putting an end to the disgraceful race to the bottom between Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott.

At this stage new legislation is unlikely to pass through parliament. But further efforts by the government to get up new legal changes are possible, before the government plans to push for a vote on them on Wednesday. If parliament passes any amendments RAC will hold a protest this Thursday at 12.30pm at the Department of Immigration, Lee St, City.

In the meantime, RAC is urging people to contact their local MPs to make sure the law is not changed, by urging MPs to vote against any proposed amendments designed to allow the Malaysia deal and other expansions of offshore processing to proceed. Read more

Malaysia solution sunk: What the High Court decision means

Below is an assessment by RAC of what the decision in the High Court over the Malaysia solution means. We will discuss the ramifications at RAC’s next organising meeting this Monday night, to which all are welcome: 6pm Monday Sept 5 at the NSW Teachers federation building 23-33 Mary st, Surry Hills, walking distance from Central station.

Yesterday’s High Court decision has found that the Malaysia Agreement is unlawful. Politically, it is a significant blow to the Gillard government that has invested so much in selling this Agreement as its answer to the Liberals carping on about Nauru.

However, there is no sign – as yet – that the government is now about to take refugee policy in a humanitarian direction (see some of Bowen’s comments below).

The refugee movement can take some sustenance from the decision. The refugee movement fought Howard to a standstill. We now have to do the same thing with the Gillard government.

The High Court decision is a significant obstacle to the government finding a offshore country that will satisfy the High Courts criteria for a “safe third country” to process asylum seekers.

This doesn’t mean that the government won’t try – hence Bowen’s statement that he won’t even rule out considering opening Nauru.

We will have to wait to see what the government’s actually does in response.

The Gillard government has suffered a setback. However, regardless what happens with offshore processing, the government’s offshore processing on Christmas Island and its mandatory detention regime remains intact. There are now over 6000 people in detention. The “factories of mental illness” are relentlessly taking their toll. Read more

Hunger strike at Villawood ends

The hunger strike at Villawood has ended on Sunday March 13–below is the text below of a letter sent by the strikers to the Immigration Department to inform them. Read more

PRESS RELEASE: Citizens Against an Australian asylum seeker processing centre in Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste speaks out against Australia’s asylum plans

PRESS RELEASE
11 October 2010
For immediate release
***************
Tonight Ms. Dinorah Granadeiro, Director of Timor-Leste‚s NGO Forum, presented a public petition to the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship at an invitation only reception in Dili.

The petition opposes an Australian asylum seeker processing centre in Timor-Leste. It highlights Australia‚s poor human rights record in asylum seekers and emphasized Australia‚s responsibility to receive asylum seekers on its own soil.

“We reject any proposal for an Australian refugee detention centre in Timor-Leste,” said Ms. Granadeiro.

Ms. Granadeiro also gave the Minister an open letter stating several problems with Australia‚s plan. The letter emphasized that an asylum seeker processing centre distracts from Timor-Leste’s own needs, such as supporting health care, housing and education.

Few people in Dili were aware of the Minister‚s visit beforehand and the petition only began late Sunday afternoon. Organizers were overwhelmed by the response.

* Citizens Against an Australian Asylum Seeker Processing Centre in Timor-Leste
Email: sidadaunsira@gmail.com,
Mail via FONGTIL, Caicoli, Dili, Timor-Leste