Hundreds of pro-refugee protesters rallied in Melbourne on February 27, calling on political leaders to let refugees stay and close the prison camps.
The action was called in response to a visit by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition leader Bill Shorten to the Lonsdale St Greek Festival. People chanted “Turnbull, Shorten. Blood on your hands” and “Let them stay" as they arrived on the stage.
The action was called by Refugee Action Collective and First Nations Liberation.
Refugee rights
Refugee Action Coalition hosted a forum about what women endure on Nauru and Manu featuring Kyja from the Refugee Action Coalition Sydney, Thea a former save the children worker and Pamella Curr from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
On February 27, hundreds of people rallied in Melbourne to let refugees stay and close the prison camps.
The action was in response to a visit by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition leader Bill Shorten with people chanting "let them stay" at both.
The action was called by Refugee Action Collective and First Nations Liberation.
Heavy handed police assaulted protesters attempting to approach the stage.
The Premier Daniel Andrews has called on Turnbull to let the 267 refugees stay in Australia rather than be sent to Nauru.
The University of Sydney Resistance club held a #LetThemStay action on campus on February 24 which was endorsed by the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA) and attended by Labor, Greens, socialists and LGBTIQ activists on campus.
Sam Wainwright, Socialist Alliance councillor on Fremantle Council, successfully moved the following motion at council’s February 24 meeting:
1. Supports the Palm Sunday Walk for Refugees — March 20, 1pm St George's Cathedral;
2. Calls on the Malcolm Turnbull government to let the 267 refugees that it wants to deport stay;
3. Commits Fremantle to stop doing business with companies who are contracted to run the detention centres, such as Broadspectrum and Wilson Security; and
4. Calls for an end to the offshore mandatory detention regime and boat "turnbacks".
Baby Asha is facing possible deportation to Nauru. Over the last week there have being ongoing protests outside Lady Cilento children's hospital in Brisbane, with health professionals at the hospital refusing to discharge baby Asha whilst she could be sent to Nauru.
The vigil for baby Asha outside the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in Brisbane continues, as the hospital joined a growing group of institutions offering sanctuary to refugee families.
In a statement on February 12, a Lady Cilento Children's Hospital spokesperson said: “Children's Health Queensland can confirm that a 12-month-old girl from the Nauru Detention Centre is currently receiving care at the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital.
“As is the case with every child who presents at the hospital, this patient will only be discharged once a suitable home environment is identified.
The #LetThemStay vigil outside Lady Cilento Hospital is a rare and remarkable moment for Brisbane, not only because it makes visible the resurgence of public concern about our government's inhumane treatment of asylum seekers, but because it's already one of the most significant radical uses of urban space this city has seen in decades.
Thousands of people turned out around the country as part of #LetThemStay rallies in opposition to the governments plans to send 267 vulnerable people including babies and women who have being sexually assaulted to Nauru. After the high court ruled on Wednesday 3 February it was not illegal for the government to detain people on Nauru.
Read 5 reasons to say #LetThemStay here: https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/60991
Sydney
Photos by: Zebedee Parkes
Despite the immigration minister's attempts to block information and ban journalists from offshore detention camps, information continues to leak out.
Ali Bakhtiarvandi was held in immigration detention for four and a half years in the early 2000s before being recognised as a refugee. He is in regular telephone contact with detainees on Christmas Island.
He spoke to Green Left Weekly's Chris Peterson about the recent events on Christmas Island.
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More than 50 teachers at Yeronga State High School in Brisbane, including principal Terry Heath, held an afternoon strike on November 17 as part of their campaign to free 21-year-old Mojgan Shamsalipoor from immigration detention.
Paediatricians and health workers and researchers in Darwin gathered at the Royal Darwin Hospital campus on October 29 to make a public statement that "Detention Harms Children".
The protest followed the weekly Paediatric Grand Round meeting that focused on the impact of trauma on refugee and asylum seeker children.
Staff from Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in Brisbane have held similar protests in recent weeks.
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