THE WOMEN OF BILOELA
When Border Force officers forcibly removed the Murugappan family from their home on Rainbow Street in the rural Queensland town of Biloela, they unknowingly lit a fuse. Because when the community awoke that morning to find the family gone, they were horrified and instantly spurred into action, holding a vigil and then launching a campaign to bring the family #hometobilo. “That they would tear a family away like that, that was the start of people going, well, ‘What if that had happened to our family?’” explains campaign spokesperson Angela Fredericks.
From a petition of 98,000 signatures, the movement has grown into a powerful PR strategy encompassing multiple social-media accounts, high-profile news coverage and a crowdfunding campaign raising almost $500,000 for legal fees. And all coordinated by a group of women united by their mutual love of the family and their determination to hold the government to account on its treatment of refugees. “It’s just incredible seeing how women can network,” says Fredericks, a social worker who speaks to mother-of-two Priya via FaceTime “most days” and always keeps a photo of the Murugappan family with her. “I’ve watched these amazing women put aside any political differences, any differences of opinions and backgrounds, to come together. That’s something that’s truly amazed me, and I’ve been so grateful to be a part of that.”
In September, the women successfully campaigned for the government to issue the family a three-month bridging visa, allowing them to stay in Australia. But their fight to bring them #hometobilo is far from over. “We would love to have them home for Christmas,” Fredericks says. “To actually give them that peace of mind would be the best gift we could possibly ask for.”
Priya Muruguppan’s memories are awash with pain and persecution: of her first fiancée being burnt alive before her eyes in Sri Lanka; of being manhandled by Australian guards who ripped a tendon in her arm while forcing her onto a plane seeking to deport her; and of her youngest child nearly dying when she didn’t receive proper medical care in detention.
Yet the softly spoken mother-of-two remains composed, a pillar of strength and bravery, driven by the desire to protect her family. “I just think about keeping my daughters safe and my husband safe,” she explains.
Priya and Nades travelled to Australia by boat in 2013 and 2012, respectively, seeking asylum as persecuted Tamils from Sri Lanka. They met and married in 2014, then moved to Biloela, , where they had two daughters: Kopika, now six, and Tharnicaa, four, becoming beloved by the local community. But in March 2018, as their visas expired, they were ripped from their home in a dawn raid and sent to detention on Christmas Island, living in deplorable conditions.
In June, they were transferred to Perth when Tharnicaa became gravely ill, and remain there, the government refusing to grant the whole family visas to enable them to return to Biloela and live in Australia. “I felt overwhelmed,” Priya says of the community’s #hometobilo campaign. “I’m so relieved and happy that there are people who really love and support us.” As their ongoing court battle for a safe future continues, Priya’s wish is simple: “All I want is to go back to Biloela, restart my life and live peacefully.”
“I just think about keeping my daughters safe and my husband safe”
It was the triumph of goosebump-inducing proportions: Ash Barty winning Wimbledon on the 50th anniversary of her mentor Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s first Wimbledon title, on a date that coincided with NAIDOC week. And five months on, even the tennis great herself is still grappling with the overwhelming reality of conquering her “ultimate” dream. “It felt surreal then and still does to be honest,” she tells marie claire. “It was my dream to win Wimbledon for such a long time, I still can’t believe I’ve actually done it.”
In a scalloped-hem tennis skirt inspired by the outfit Goolagong Cawley wore when she won Wimbledon in 1971, Barty took out game, set and match against Karolina Pliskova with cool confidence, launching the nation into an ecstatic Barty party and cementing her status as a sporting icon alongside her predecessor. Their connection is one that is poignant and powerful. “Knowing I have Evonne’s support and encouragement as a friend and as a mentor is something I value very much,” says Barty. “She paved the way for young girls like me and showed Indigenous boys and girls that they were capable of anything.”
And while the 25-year-old Queenslander might describe her momentous victory as the “stars aligning”, her achievement is likely to deliver more magic for other aspiring young hopefuls. Barty’s advice to them? “Believe in yourself and chase your dreams – you are capable of anything!”
“It was my dream to win Wimbledon for such a long time, I still can’t believe I’ve done it”