Elnaz, Milad Makvandi and Sowriya Vishnuvarman, refugees who have lived more than 12 years in limbo, travelled to Canberra on October 8 to urge federal MPs to grant about 8500 people permanent visas.
The three, who are a part of the 24/7 refugee encampments, represent the Afghan, Iranian and Tamil refugee communities. They are calling for permanent visas for the refugees who have spent 12 years separated from family and fearing deportation.
Elnaz, a Hazara woman representing the Afghanistan community and Melbourne encampments, said: “With a PhD in cancer research, Australia is the only place where I can contribute meaningfully. I cannot return to my country. Here, I can make a difference.”
Makvandi, representing the Iranian community and Sydney encampments, who left Iran in 2012 seeking safety, said that despite receiving his truck mechanic qualifications in Australia, his future remains uncertain.
“My life is filled with anxiety — the fear of being sent back to a land that, for me, is nothing short of a prison and a death.”
Vishnuvarman, representing the Tamil community and Sydney encampments, said: “By stripping away the basic things that every person needs, this government is making it really difficult for us … Refugee youths are suffering as they are unable to continue their education. Many refugees have been deeply affected by living with such conditions for over a decade.”
The Fast Track policy, introduced under Tony Abbott’s Coalition in 2014, applied to people who arrived here by sea seeking asylum between August 13, 2012, to December 31, 2013. It was promoted as being about hastening the processing of protection claims.
Instead, it produced unfair and legally incorrect decisions, caused extended delays, retraumatised people and led to refugees being deported to countries where they face persecution and risk of serious harm.
The failures of the Fast Track process have been devastating: so many people have been separated from loved ones and struggle to survive with limited and arbitrary access to work rights, study rights and healthcare.
However, despite Labor voting against the law in 2014 and abolishing the Fast Track process, it has not committed to rectify the harm to the 8500 people and families remaining in limbo.
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre spokesperson Jana Favero said the Fast Track policy had “inflicted profound and lasting harm on people in need of protection and safety”. She said Labor needs to provide “a pathway to permanency” for those who have been failed so they can start to rebuild their lives.
Sarah Dale, Refugee Advice and Casework Service principal solicitor and centre director, said Labor has made “tangible, real progress for so many”, but that it needs to step up and give certainty to those people affected by Fast Track.