Overcoming the national tendency to blame migrants for all our woes
Mar 26, 2024
On Palm Sunday, diverse refugee activists were literally running rings around reflexive fear mongering politicians.
Palm Sunday rallies bring together Jew and Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist, many varieties of Christian, humanists and atheists to share a vision of ecumenical cooperation and tolerance.
The rallies traditionally promote human rights and equity while also condemning war. Thinkers, believers and visionaries speak to each topic all over the country.
Sydney’s rally today was no exception. Josephite Sister Susan Connelly had plenty to say about the monetary drivers of military expansion. “Christ”, claimed Connelly, “would not be impressed by corporate or political greed”. Money lenders in the temple got mentioned. She emphasised the arrival of Jesus to Jerusalem on a humble donkey rather than the high horse of imperial or even colonial victors.
Humanitarian leader and national soccer veteran Craig Foster spoke about the importance of reconciling our nation’s history with our beliefs and political actions before we can look to a truly harmonious future. He mentioned the referendum with regret.
Mr Foster said Australia could yet become a model of multi-cultural diversity and acceptance for the whole world.
Foster mentioned that prolonged detention ordeals are based on a tissue-thin rulings or bits of legislation that can be changed with the stroke of a pen. There is one tiny step or key between prolonged suffering and relative liberty. Foster witnessed such a transformational moment when Manus detainee Farhad Bandesh stepped past a formerly locked gate after 8 years of various types of imprisonment. The moment features in the film “Freedom is Beautiful”.
Offshore ordeals and turnbacks of the past 13 years continue on Nauru and in PNG. Foster crisply mentioned that denial of permanent residency for 11,000 more refugees constrains real freedom still.
Temporary visa conditions include limited work and study options, disrupted Medicare, fear of deportation, legal double standards, lack of family reunion, reduced financial credit and the absence of a clear way forward.
The joy of seeing Tamil walker Neil Para get not only work rights but the chance to host his ageing parents for a few months is proof of the momentous power of Permanent Visas. That the Para children can also aspire to work and higher learning is a great relief.
The national tendency to blame migrants for all our woes was also mentioned by Foster today. Scapegoating and inundation narratives seems heightened when asylum seekers come by boat.
Preventing drowning at sea is as simple as providing humanitarian aid to Rohingyans in squalid refugee camps where people struggle to manage on less than US 27 cents per day. The option of offering regional processing pathways for prospective Australians (to prevent the resort to maritime travel) is too often ignored.
Any refugees escaping from especially harsh regimes who broke our laws were given not only a jail sentence but then an extra, indefinite period of debilitating (rather than rehabilitative) immigration detention. Double jeopardy.
Now there is political outcry that a handful of these possibly-less-than-perfect people may be freed by High Court rulings. Ooher. This beat-up completely obscures the great things many thousands of other refugees have done while working through Covid as essential employees, taxpayers, volunteers, bringers of fresh skills, insights, culture and experience.
It is disproportionate. Only today, some Palm Sunday refugee speakers first gave blood in Melbourne. I doubt many politicians have the stamina or stomach for that.
Medical, anti-AUKUS, Arab, spiritual, whistleblower, anti corruption, refugees in Indonesia or PNG and other themes were represented today.
The Palm Sunday rally kilometres walked in capitals and regional centres around the country will be added to the distances walkers logged for The Big Walk 4 Refugees. This means that fit refugees and their supporters have lapped Australia’s circumference 4 times. They are literally running rings around reflexive fear mongering politicians.
On Tuesday 26th, some of those refugees with lived experience, will go to Canberra to explain the reason for their participation.
It is, as Foster says, up to Federal Government to take the next, not-so-big step and grant permanent visas to all who have been living here long term.
Is the stroke of a pen so very strenuous?
A version of this article first appeared in AIMN, March 22, 2024.
For more on this topic, P&I recommends:
Furious and fit: refugee virtual walk encircles Australia in half the time
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