A group of asylum seekers will end its encampment outside a government building in Docklands on 22 October, marking 100 days of protest, according to organiser Rathy Barthlote.
For three months the group has been sleeping outside the Department of Home Affairs office in the Docklands and demanding refugee status, after the Government rejected their applications under the now-abolished ‘fast-track’ process.
Approximately 8,500 asylum seekers live and work in Australia on temporary protection visas while they wait for their refugee applications to be processed.
Barthlote, co-founder of Refugee Women Action for Visa Equality, said the number is even higher.
“While we have not yet secured permanent visas for the 9,500 refugees, senior Labor MPs have assured us they are seeking solutions,” she told The Citizen.
In late August, a group of 25 crossbench members of parliament and senators signed a letter urging the Albanese Government to provide the asylum seekers with an alternative pathway to permanent residency.
The political support came after the suicide of Tamil asylum seeker Mano Yogalingam, who was one of those protesting in Melbourne.
Yogalingam fled Sri Lanka with his family as a boy and spent more than a decade “living precariously on rolling bridging visas” explained the letter. He set himself on fire and died of his injuries in August.
“We cannot afford to lose another life to this broken system,” the letter reads, urging Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Immigration Minister Tony Burke to do more.
The letter was drafted by Independent MP for North Sydney Kylea Tink and was signed by Greens MPs, independents and senators David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe.
The encampment has attracted mixed reactions from the local community.
Docklands residents and local business owners had raised complaints about disruption caused by the sleep-in protest. The encampment and weekly rallies each Friday impacted the pedestrian traffic, adversely affecting local businesses, Docklands News reported.
The demonstration has attracted a neo-Nazi counter-protest, leading to increased police presence. However, Rathy Barthlote said there has also been support and generosity shown by local residents.
Earlier this month, Melbourne City Council gave a notice to the protesters to stop obstructing the footpath, remove all amplification devices and drums, and remove furniture, including all tables, mattresses and chairs.
On 9 October, police confiscated furniture and other items, but the encampment has since been re-established outside the Home Affairs office.
Barthlote described the Labor MPs’ engagement and the support from the group Unionists for Refugees as major wins for their struggle.
“Although the encampment is ending, our campaign will continue,” she told The Citizen.
“We plan to focus on pressuring Labor MPs, maintaining regular stalls, and showing solidarity at Palestine and other rallies – we’re not stopping.”