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‘Too much’: Refugees rally for permanent visas in Australia | Refugees News


Canberra, Australia – Refugees in Australia are putting pressure on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s three-month-old government to make a promise to grant them permanent protection visas so they can work, study and lead normal lives. more often.

More than 1,000 refugees, supporters and activists converged on Parliament House on Tuesday to report their case.

“We are here because we want action, we want change. We want to be recognized in this community,” said Mostafa Faraji, a speaker at the Canberra rally.

Currently, there are 31,000 refugees living in Australia on a variety of temporary visas that limit their lives – whether it’s work, study or family relationships.

In the run-up to elections in May, Albanese’s Labor party has promised to abolish some temporary visas and provide permanent protection in their positions.

During the protest, Australia’s Minister of Immigration, Citizenship, Migration Services and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles, posted a statement on social media reiterated the promise and said it would be implemented “as soon as possible”.

There are three types of temporary visas for refugees in Australia: Temporary Protection Visa (TPVs), Safe Haven Business Visa (SHEVs) and bridging visas. The government has promised to abolish TPV and SHEV.

These temporary visas are issued to refugees arriving without a valid protection visa, usually come by boat. When the holder’s temporary visa expires, their protection claim will be re-evaluated and their visa potentially renewed.

SHEV holders can apply for a permanent resident visa, “but in the entire history of SHEV, only two people have met the strict language [requirements] and qualified,” Ian Rintoul, a political activist and spokesman for the Refugee Action Coalition, told Al Jazeera.

TPV holders cannot apply for a permanent resident visa at all.

Visas also place restrictions on people’s potential to work and study.

While TPVs and SHEVs allow holders to do both – and pay taxes – visa holders often find higher-paying jobs out of reach.

Those on the TPV or SHEV are often restricted from attending as international students, which means they have to pay exorbitant fees, said Faraji, who is studying law and nursing degrees.

To pay for his studies and “to survive,” he had to take any job he could, from driving an Uber to working as a security guard.

A young refugee wearing a white 'Permanent Visa' T-shirt in black and gray pants hangs the Australian flag in front of Parliament House in Canberra
Many of those living in Australia on a temporary visa now consider themselves Australian [Zoe Osborne/Al Jazeera]

The reality is that many employers do not accept temporary visas, he said.

“They require student visas, or permanent protection or citizenship, or skilled work visas,” says Faraji. “So your job opportunities… it’s limited.”

One refugee at the protest, who asked to remain anonymous for the safety of his family, holds two master’s degrees from his hometown, one in political science and one in philosophy. His wife also has a graduate degree but they are forced to do basic, low-paying jobs because that’s all they can find.

He recounts many years of hard work, from the farm to the kitchen.

“I remember four or five months I worked for someone but they didn’t pay [me], and I get as low as AU$7 or AU$5 ($5 – $5.50) per hour on that hard work,” he said. “We used to work on the farms, picking and packing, in the mud, it was so hard.[s] with that payment and no insurance, nothing, if something happens to us. “

Temporary visa holders also have limited access to state benefits, called Centrelink, and state-funded health care (Medicare), if they have access.

“TPV and SHEV users have access to Medicare and Centrelink… [but] they are not eligible for the pharmaceutical benefit program,” says Rintoul. “Bridge visa holders… cannot access Centrelink. If they have the right to work (some bridging visas do not allow employment), they can usually access Medicare, but not always.”

Another protester, a refugee living with schizophrenia, said he couldn’t access medication because his Medicare coverage was for emergencies only so it didn’t cover the medication he needed. .

“I have a permanent health problem that I can’t do anything about but take medication,” he said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m being treated like an animal.”

The pain of separation

Then there was the pain of separation from a close family that they could not bring to Australia.

Alex, one Hazara Refugees from Afghanistandrove 14 hours from Brisbane to be at the rally.

A man wearing a white T-shirt and blue trousers stands with the protesters holding up a sign that reads: # Permanent visas for all refugees.  No distinction
Temporary visas are usually issued to people arriving by boat. When the temporary visa expires, their protection claim will be re-evaluated and the visa may be extended [Zoe Osborne/Al Jazeera]

Using a moniker for his family’s safety, he told Al Jazeera that the temporary visa policy had “ruined” his life.

“I worked hard to save money to support [my family] in good condition,” he said, “but because [of] 10 years apart, they slowly, slowly, step by step, they lose their sense of me.”

Alex and his family fled Afghanistan to a neighboring country about 25 years ago when the Taliban gave them three options: convert to Sunni Islam, leave the country, or let the Taliban “make your choice.”

“I [tried] many ways to find a legal way to come to Australia…with my family together,” he said. “But unfortunately, all the doors and options [were] locked and closed for me. “

He came to Australia by boat in 2012 with the support of his wife.

But during the years apart – thanks to a temporary visa – their relationship deteriorated further.

“The people in here [Parliament] The house… they look like people,” he said of the Australian government. “They look like humans[s] but their actions, the things they are doing, we can see they are terrible.”

Activists say abolishing the TPV and SHEV would be a welcome first step, but Australia needs to do more to make its immigration system more humane.

“It is just the tip of the iceberg… the iceberg of injustice and injustice that applies to thousands of people in the community,” Rintoul said, “Many of them are living, working and paying bills. huge taxes and GST, but at the expense of an existence on the fringes of legal society. “

Rintoul points to regulations such as Direction 80, which says family reunification applications by people arriving in Australia by boat will be treated with the lowest priority.

A father and his two sons, one sadly looking at the camera and the smaller one looking at the ground.  join a protest for a permanent protection visa in Canberra.  Other protesters with banners stood behind them.
Refugees, including this father and his two sons, staged a silent protest outside Parliament as the government reiterated its pledge to abolish some temporary visas. [Zoe Osborne Al Jazeera]

Then there are the refugees who don’t have visas at all because their visas have expired, he said. These people are barred from working or studying, or from accessing government payments and state-funded medical care.

“I would say there are several thousand Tamils, Iranians and Afghans living in the community with expired visas… they have nothing, no income… they are illegal,” he said. “They rely on refugee organizations and mostly they rely on their own community.”

Sam, as his friends know him, is one of them.

He lived his best part life in limbo. “I am 25 years old [when I came]“I’m 38 now,” he said, taking off his cap to reveal gray hair.

“I haven’t seen my family in 12 years. I’ve lost two members of my family, I don’t see them,” he said.

Like so many other refugees, his case is complicated. He was asked to return to his country, but he has no nationality, so he cannot go “home”, he said.

In fact, after more than 10 years in Australia, Sam, like so many other refugees in the country, feels that Australia is his home.

Organizer Arad Nik explains that this is an important part of the rally – to “tell people that we are… Australians”.

“We want to share [a] beer with all my friends in this wonderfully beautiful country,” he said, noting that the refugees brought their skills, knowledge and culture with them. “Asylum is not a problem, asylum is a solution.”

But until the Australian government begins to change its policy towards refugees, it looks like many will not only be separated from their old homes but will also remain aliens in the new land. their.





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