New rally against offshore detention draws thousands in Sydney and Melbourne
A refugee calling from Manus Island has told a rally in Melbourne he’s suffering in a state of limbo as thousands gathered around Australia to protest the government’s treatment of asylum seekers.
More than 1000 people stopped traffic in the heart of Sydney on Saturday, while about 500 protesters in Melbourne rallied against the federal government’s offshore detention centres.
The asylum seeker told the Melbourne protest he, and those with him, had experienced five years of suffering and hopelessness: “We need action. We need to move away from this state of limbo,” he said. Among the crowd in Sydney was Australian rock icon Jimmy Barnes, who said he felt compelled to bring his family to Hyde Park and rally against offshore detention. “People are living in detention with no hope, with no future, nothing to live for, nothing to strive for, nothing to dream about, it’s criminal,” Mr Barnes said.
“The behaviour of our government and the government before it, our politicians, have been disgusting.”
Mr Barnes said he was worried Australia was becoming “a joke” on the world stage.
“My friends in America, they’re all fighting their own demons with Trump, but they all look and say: ‘man your human rights record is worse than ours’,” he said.
“We should stand back as a country, the lucky country, and say: ‘how can we help?’ Not be afraid.”