Photograph shared by Jimmy Yan on the Facebook Event page
On Sunday the 21st of October, Melbourne FACT attended the ‘No To Offshore Processing’ rally. There were 5 FACToids in attendance to keep an eye on the crowd and make sure everyone at the action stayed safe. The action started at 1pm outside the State Library of Victoria with speeches from Adam Bandt (Greens Deputy Leader), Theo Mackaay (Victorian Council of Churches), Michelle O’Neil (Victorian State Secretary, Textile Clothing & Footwear Union). A speech was also made by a Tamil man who had come to Australia seeking asylum as an unaccompanied child and had been processed in a detention center at the age of 13. His speech was extremely emotional as he detailed the atrocities that he had seen, including witnessing the death of his brother at the hands of the Sri Lankan Military Forces. “Why is the life of a child from another nation worth any less?” was a question he posed to the audience that was received with silent nodding as it clearly resonated with the rest of the protesters.
Sri Lankan refugee speaks of his experiences
According to news reports at its peak the action had 300 protesters present. The March left from the State Library and headed down Swanston St. The march gained a lot of attention from on-lookers with several hecklers, however the group remained undeterred and continued to march and chant. The march ended at the Princess Bridge where the protesters sat down in Solidarity with those currently in detention and offshore processing centers.
Sitting on the Bridge at the end of the March
If you want to be a part of the next Refugee action there is going to be a ‘Welcome the Refugees’ Barbecue and Festival on the 6th of November 2012 (Melbourne Cup day) from 1pm at the Maribyrnong Detention Centre – 53 Hampstead Rd, Maribyrnong.
Follow the link below for more details: