Palm Sunday marchers in Melbourne, Australia support refugees

[Melbourne Anglican]  Zaki Haidari was only 17 when he fled persecution in Afghanistan.

He is now a refugee rights campaigner with Amnesty International Australia, a key contributor to Melbourne’s Palm Sunday March for Refugees.

Zaki sought asylum by sea in 2012. He was trying to find a safe country.

The Taliban was committing mass murders among the Hazara community to which Zaki belonged. Hazara voices were silenced, and there was no freedom of movement.

“The decision wasn’t easy,” he said. “Leaving your country, your family and friends, the place you grew up.”

On arriving in Australia, Zaki was denied work rights for three years. There was no funding for him to study or learn English.

“It was a bit harsh on me being that age and not having any rights…rights I strongly believe every human being deserves, rights to education…to have freedom to find employment and sustain yourself,” he said.

Zaki said refugees were required to sign a contract with the immigration department not to speak publicly about their experiences. He said this silencing was similar to the silencing of the Hazara people in Afghanistan.

But Zaki chose to speak out. As a result, he received a scholarship to study English and went on to complete diplomas in information technology and graphic design.

On a surprisingly warm Palm Sunday, masses of people gathered to march in support of asylum seekers like Zaki.

Led across Princes Bridge by Riff Raff Marching Band, grandparents, students, children, and faith and community organizations made their voices heard, calling on Australia to welcome refugees with justice and kindness.

Grandmothers for Refugees member Sue was thinking of the refugees stranded in Papua New Guinea. “They have done nothing wrong except claim refugee status,” she said.

Medical Students for Refugees representatives Farah and Julia were marching to call out the poor healthcare available to refugees. “As future healthcare professionals we’re taught not to do any harm, and healthcare is a human right,” Farah said. “As medical students we’re here to rally for the rights of refugees.”

Julia said they represented a body of medical students who supported health equity for all refugees and asylum seekers.

St. Mary’s North Melbourne parishioner Michael said he believed in justice for refugees. “If you want to make things better…first you pray for it, and then you act on it,” he said. “That’s how prayer works.”

The dean of Melbourne, the Very Rev. Andreas Loewe, reflected in his address to the march that St. Paul’s Cathedral’s commitment to welcoming refugees had transformed the community.

“Our congregation grew more international, with members from across the globe, displaced people, migrants, those who fled persecution for their faith,” he said.

Loewe said the congregation changed and grew from listening to the stories from the refugees, hearing their traditions and supporting one another with their gifts. “As a cathedral we’re significantly enriched,” he said. “This exchange is something we want to see in our nation as well.”

Former United Nations assistant secretary-general Gillian Triggs said she was pleased to be a part of the Palm Sunday march, which emphasized welcoming the stranger. She said there was an increased global willingness to deny the legal standards of the Refugee Convention.

Triggs said faith groups were vital to the U.N.’s work with displaced people. “They don’t go away when the money runs out,” she said. “They’re always there in the community, and they’re the ones that deliver a lot of the humanitarian responses.”