Unity: The group of women at the Seymour Baptist Church on Sunday, September 24.
Geoffrey Johnstone is the Pastor of the Seymour Baptist Church.
Twenty-two female refugees camped at the Baptist Church in Seymour as part of their journey from Melbourne to Canberra on Sunday, September 24.
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Women’s Action Group for Visa Equality members and event organisers Geetha Ramachandran, 38, and Rathy Barthlote, 37, are mothers who came to Australia as asylum seekers from Sri Lanka.
Along with Samira Turkian Zadeh, an asylum seeker from Iran, they founded the group after spending 11 years in bureaucratic limbo.
Supported by a network of churches, faith groups, unions and community and refugee organisations, the women are asking the government for:
• Permanent protection visas for all refugees left in limbo in Australia;
• Work and study rights for all refugees;
• The abolition of the fast track system and the Immigration Assessment Authority; and
• Permanent settlement in Australia for all refugees from the processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
Taking a stand: The group members have been seeking shelter at places of faith as they travel from community to community.
Leaving children, family and friends, the women embarked on the 640km trek to highlight the devastating impact of visa uncertainty on refugees and asylum seekers who have been living in limbo in Australia for more than 10 years.
They set out from Melbourne at 10am on Friday, September 22, from the office of Federal Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles. The women plan to arrive at Parliament House in Canberra on October 18.
Mrs Ramachandran and Mrs Barthlote fled Sri Lanka when the civil war reached its terrible climax. The official toll was 55,708 deaths. However, 100,000 civilians remain unaccounted for.
Mrs Ramachandran and her husband came to Australia in 2013.
She said that because the government did not recognise her family as refugees, she was not fast-tracked to permanent residence status.
“I am a mother of three young children, one of whom was born in Australia and knows no other home,” Mrs Ramachandran said.
“Like tens of thousands of other women, I grew up surrounded by the violence of the civil war in Sri Lanka. My parents were refugees, I am a refugee and my children are refugees.
“We transmit that violence and uncertainty from one generation to another. I am marching to bring this to an end — not just for me and my family, but for all people condemned to uncertainty.”
About 10,000 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan are in a similar situation.
Left out of the February 13 announcement that 19,000 refugees who arrived over a similar period could apply for permanent residency, the women are calling for permanent protection for 10,000 victims of the ‘fast track’ assessment process.
Mrs Barthlote said many members of the group had children born here who were not eligible for any benefits.
“We have lived in Australia for 10 years. This is our home and our children’s home. Yet we cannot work or study,” Mrs Barthlote said.
“We are walking calling for the Albanese Government to support the 10,000 and to end the dreadful mental health toll that uncertainty has.
“The Albanese Government has expressed its commitment to ending violence against women and girls.
“Just weeks ago, the government announced increased sanctions against figures in the Iranian Government responsible for ongoing atrocities against women.
“Please extend these sanctions to the 10,000 refugees living here in the community.”
The group introduced Seymour Baptist Church Pastor Geoffrey Johnstone to a 19-year-old who raised $90,000 to study nursing as an international full-fee paying student.
The trek from Melbourne to Canberra will take 35 days and cover 640km. Before reaching Seymour, the group camped in the Gateway Community Church in Wallan. As of Thursday, September 28, the group had arrived in Shepparton.
The undertaking has elicited a range of responses.
Michelene Tyson, who helped organise their accommodation, expressed her concerns.
“They do not have any insurance. While there are five support vehicles following them, there are no medical staff on hand if something goes wrong,” they said.
The police also spoke to the group members, stating they must walk in single file to use country roads.
While there is widespread support for their cause, they have been spat at by a passing motorist.
Regardless, the group intends to push on in the hope that rural communities become aware of their plight.
