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Refugees and their supporters rallied at Town Hall, Gadigal Country/Sydney, on July 18 to demand Labor stop deporting refugees and grant permanent visas to asylum seekers.

The protest, organised by Refugee Action Coalition Sydney (RAC), marked the 12th anniversary of former Labor Prime Minister’s Kevin Rudd’s inhumane and misnamed “Papua New Guinea Solution”, which prohibited asylum seekers who arrived by boat from ever settling here.

Mark Goudkamp, spokesperson for RAC and an activist with Teachers 4 Refugees, spoke about the successful campaign to free 61-year-old Palestinian-Gazan Maha Almassri from Villawood Detention Centre, who was released that day.

Milad Makvandi, Iranian asylum seeker and victim of former Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s “fast track” refugee determination system, told the protest that he has “lived ten years in limbo” here. “This is my home now, I cannot return to my former home. Here is where I work, study and am safe. We need permanent visas and an end to this uncertainty.”

NSW Greens MP Dr Amanda Cohn told the protest that her grandparents, who were Holocaust survivors, taught her “how to stand up against injustice”. A former general practitioner in Albury-Wodonga, Cohn said the city it is a settlement hub for refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bhutan, but “many are on temporary visas and cannot access health care. This is totally inhumane.”

Setayish Jawadi, an 11-year-old Hazara refugee stuck in Cisarua, Indonesia, with her family for 10 years, addressed the rally by zoom. “My life is in limbo … We ask the government to remove the ban on resettling refugees from Indonesia in July 2014 so we can begin our lives.”

Goudkamp said refugees from Gaza have only been given visitor’s visas, and when they apply for a permanent visa the government only assesses their claims “on a case-by-case basis”.

Palestine community advocate Khaled Ghannam told the rally that the community is being pressured by Labor not to speak out. “Even Palestinians who are Australian citizens, like me, aren’t supposed to say who is killing the children in Gaza. They say that if we talk about this, we are threatening ‘terrorism’.”

Ghannam said 1700 Palestinian refugees arrived in Australia over the last 16 months, but only 12 have been given permanent residency. “Nine have been threatened with deportation. Seven have been deported just because they’ve said things like ‘Bless people in Gaza; I hope we win the war’.

Ghannam reported that immigration services had locked up another Palestinian Gazan, Nasser, on July 7. “In total, the government has rejected 7000 Palestinians who applied in Palestine for an Australian visa. More than 2000 Palestinians had their visas cancelled mid-flight on their way to Australia.”

Ghannam said when the community seeks advice on how to gain a permanent resident visa, they are told it’s a “case-by-case” decision for the minister. “There are no rules,” Ghannam said, “But no one can silence the Palestinians.”

Ian Rintoul, from RAC, said the 129-day-long vigil outside immigration minister Tony Burke’s office in Punchbowl, organised by Tamils, Iranians and Bangladeshis to demand permanent visas for the 9000 refugees left in limbo for 10 years, did win some concessions.

“The government finally opened up applications to unaccompanied minors. Out of 80 minors, 70 have been given permanent visas. About 20 ‘fast track’ victims with Australian partners have now been granted permanent partner visas.

“There are thousands of refugees on bridging visas who have to renew each six months for another visa. Their application for a permanent visa is also assessed on a case-by-case basis.

“The system is designed to grind people down: refugees from Manus and Nauru are still being told they need a third country to take them.”

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