In October 2009, the Australian Customs ship, Oceanic Viking, rescued 78 people from their sinking boat in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait. Sixty-eight men, five women and five children, fleeing Sri Lanka’s genocidal war against the Tamil people, sought asylum in Australia. The Tamils are an ancient nation whose language is one of oldest in the world…. Read more »
immigrant rights
Amal Basry’s life inspires hope
When Amal Basry died on the 18th of March this year, all asylum seekers lost a courageous voice. She was one of the survivors of the sinking of the so-called SIEVX (Suspected Illegal Entry Vehicle X) in which 353 people lost their lives. Amal survived the night in the ocean, clinging to the body of… Read more »
What immigrants need: amnesty, open borders, and a movement that won’t back down
The following article is a slightly revised version of a talk given by Eduardo Martínez Zapata at a Freedom Socialist Party May Day celebration and forum in Portland, Oregon on May 6, 2006. When I was nine years old, my family came to the United States because my parents had no other option as they… Read more »
How the Howard Government used refugee policy to attack workers’ rights
Even the Murdoch newspapers called it a “bloody disgrace.” Cornelia Rau, an Australian resident, had spent 10 months in immigration detention. Despite the fact that she was listed as a missing person in Queensland, no attempts had been made to establish who she was. Her use of a pseudonym and a nearly imperceptible German accent… Read more »
Refugee Women: Desperate but Defiant!
Five hundred and eighty-two refugee children, some of them alone, some of them orphaned, are incarcerated in concentration camps. Their only offence is to seek a new life, free from war, or State persecution, or poverty. Some have been tortured by their guards, others sexually abused. All are desperately traumatised by their disgraceful treatment. And… Read more »
Angela Acosta, El Salvador: “Working class Australians will not tolerate injustice in their name.”
“I was born on September 19, 1972 into a politically active family in El Salvador. I grew up with my mother and part of my mother’s family. Because our lives were in danger, we were forced to escape to Costa Rica. There were thousands of women and children from El Salvador with little formal education… Read more »
Resistance swells to stop the war at home & abroad
It didn’t take long for George W. Bush to show just who he had in mind when he declared his war on terrorism. The horrifying September 11 carnage provided U.S. authorities with an excuse not only for the murderous bombing of Afghanistan and a bully campaign against that whole region of the world, but also… Read more »
End the persecution of refugees!
Immigration Minister, Phillip Ruddock dubbed the “Minister for Misery” by The Age newspaper, has overseen appalling mistreatment of immigrants during his term of office. But it is important to remember that most of his inhumane and racist anti-immigrant laws and procedures were put in place by his ALP predecessor, Nick Bolkus, acting well within that… Read more »
Racist Immigration Laws Resurrect White Australia Policy
Chasing votes. Enraging the remnants of One Nation, the Howard Government has pinched its immigration policy by enacting the Border Protection Act. This cruel law permits officials to board refugee boats and threaten the occupants. Refugees who are in danger of death will be limited to three-year temporary residency visas, if they’ve “arrived illegally.” The… Read more »
