Ruth Ratcliffe, Sydney
Three years after the Tampa affair, when Prime Minister John Howard's government refused to allow 400 asylum seekers who had been rescued by a Norwegian freighter to set foot on Australian soil, 250 refugee-rights supporters packed out a public forum at the University of Technology Sydney on August 27.
They had come hear Aladdin Sisalem, the last refugee to be detained on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. Sisalem was sent to Manus Island after a journey through Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to Australia's Torres Strait.
When other asylum seekers were transferred out of the Manus Island detention centre in June 2003, he was left as the sole inhabitant of the camp.
After the Howard government denied that any detainees remained in the camp, 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly journalist Sarah Stephen alerted refugee advocates and lawyers to Sisalem's plight. Stephen hosted the meeting, which was sponsored by 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly.
One of those who Stephen urged to take up Aladdin's case was Julian Burnside, a prominent Melbourne QC. He recounted to the forum various examples of government intransigence, bureaucracy and inhumanity, including immigration officials' assertions that Sisalem had not sought asylum in Australia because he had not asked for "Form 866".
Sisalem, a stateless Palestinian, had arrived on Australian territory and explained his need for asylum. Form 866 was never given to him.
Burnside represented Sisalem in challenging the legality of his detention. The government eventually caved-in to increasing public criticism of Sisalem's plight, and a growing campaign for his release. In May, it granted Sisalem a five-year humanitarian visa.
Melbourne artist Kate Durham, a founder of Spare Rooms for Refugees, was one of the only refugee advocates to visit asylum seekers in detention in Nauru. She recounted the journey she made, along with BBC journalist Sarah MacDonald, disguised as tourists and using hidden cameras to produce the documentary Australia's Pacific Solution.
Describing the detention camp as a "monstrous construction", Durham said "these are concentration camps concentrating depression, grief and despair". She called on the audience to grant "political exile" to John Howard at the next election.
Sisalem expressed his gratitude to the refugee-rights movement for maintaining pressure on the government for his release. He told the meeting: "It is because of you people that I am standing here today." When questioned about the conditions of his temporary visa, he replied, "I am still a bit afraid for my future, whether one day I will see the life I have built taken away". The audience was deeply moved by his story and gave Sisalem a standing ovation.
During discussion, one member of Bennelong for Refugees reported on a meeting he had attended on August 24 with Howard regarding the refugee issue. When questioned on the cost to taxpayers of Sisalem's detention on Manus Island ($23,000 per day), Howard responded: "It doesn't matter what it costs to keep illegal migrants out of Australia."
Others in the audience commented that while removing Howard from office at the next election was essential, it was also necessary to look beyond that to the issue of "systemic change".
The audience welcomed the presence of two stateless Palestinians, Ahmed al Kateb and Ibrahim Ishretch. Kateb was the subject of one of the cases heard recently by the High Court, which found that it was lawful to keep asylum seekers who can't be returned to the countries they fled, in detention for the rest of their lives. Both men are among 12 asylum seekers directly affected by the High Court decision.
The mood of those attending the forum reflected anger and disgust at what the government has so far got away with, but determination to try to change the current policy. Audience members reminded each other that everyone could take action on this issue, whether by visiting the detention centres, writing letters or spreading the facts about the reality of asylum seekers and mandatory detention. Burnside commented: "People need to know the facts because when they do, their views shift."
The need to support independent media such as 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly also featured as a theme of the meeting. Burnside summarised the audience's sense of diversity and collective strength, saying: "As single individuals we can only do so much but collectively we are like a sand-blaster against a wall every little piece doing its bit."
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, September 1, 2004.
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