BY BRONWEN BEECHEY
ADELAIDE — The August 28 militant protest by refugees at the Woomera Detention Centre, in South Australia's outback, sparked a racist frenzy from both Liberal and Labor politicians, and the capitalist media. Liberal Premier John Olsen and Labor leader Mike Rann both called for refugees involved in the protest to be deported.
The Adelaide Advertiser described Woomera as a "scene of mass destruction" and the protest as a "destructive rampage". It claimed that the protesters were all Shiite Muslims, in a blatant attempt to fuel prejudices. An unnamed guard at the detention centre was quoted as saying that the protesters were "like a pack of wild animals". Letters were published that called for all the refugees at Woomera to be sent home.
The racist hype was so extreme that even conservative columnist Rex Jory felt compelled to distance himself from it. While he condemned the refugees' actions and supported the detention of the participants, he condemned the racist backlash against refugees as a "lynch mob" mentality (he failed to point out that his own newspaper was leading the campaign).
Kevin Liston, director of the Australian Refugee Association of SA, told Green Left Weekly that the media response to the events at Woomera would make it more difficult for recently released refugees who were working hard to settle into the community. He said that the actions at Woomera were understandable. "People have been detained a long time in difficult conditions and tension and frustration build up."
He called for the federal government to end its policy of mandatory detention of refugees: "Australia is the only country to detain asylum seekers any longer than is necessary to check their identity and health status. In other countries, asylum seekers are released into the community to pursue their claim for refugee status, and there is no reason why Australia can't do the same."
Resistance and the Democratic Socialist Party members gathered in Rundle Mall on August 30 to paint a banner demanding "Free the Refugees" and hand out a statement of support for refugees. While some passers-by were hostile, others welcomed an alternative view to government- and media-sponsored xenophobic hysteria.
Resistance and the DSP have called a protest action for September 3 outside the Adelaide Remand Centre, where protesters from Woomera are being detained. The action has been endorsed by the S11 Collective.