By Carol Mitchell, Director, JEDO
Hundreds of people of faith and good will returned to the streets of Perth to walk in solidarity with and in support of refugees and other displaced people.
As the Perth Palm Sunday 2023 theme and promotional flyer highlighted, guests gathered to ‘Walk for Peace… against the horrors of war and persecution that forces people to flee their homes’; and we ‘Walk for Justice for Refugees… to end the further trauma for those who have fled their homes and are now stuck in Australia’s cruel immigration system’.
After gathering outside St George’s Anglican Cathedral prior to the walk, guests were respectfully welcomed to country by Rev Mitchell Garlett.
Guests then listened to a number of speakers about recent changes to national refugee policies, which also highlighted how far we have to go to be more humane, with details of the AUKUS arrangement in particular being called into question by Quaker and peace activist, Jo Valentine.
Although the positive step to create a permanent visa pathway for 19,000 refugees on the Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) or the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV) was announced last month by the Federal Government, there are others who have been refused protection.
Associate Professor Caroline Fleay, Co-Director for the Centre for Human Rights Education at Curtin University said more than 10,000 people have been refused protection through the unfair ‘Fast Track’ process “…simply because they arrived to Australia by boat”.
We were privileged to also hear from ‘Carolyn’ who spoke of many of the challenges from her lived refugee experience.
However, on a really positive note, there was a loud spontaneous round of applause from the crowd when Carolyn informed us that she now has permanent residency.
So, let us remember, as people of faith and compassion, we can and must do better and we can and must be people of welcome.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic and government directives to restrict public gatherings, this was the first Palm Sunday Walk for Peace and Justice for Refugees possible since 2019.
For more information, go to https://justice4refugeeswa.com/2023/04/03/hundreds-rally-for-peace-and-justice-for-refugees/
Carol Mitchell is Director of the Archdiocesan Justice Ecology and Development Office.