Rathi Barthlote knows the pain and anguish faced by refugee women.
Ms Barthlote has for the past four weeks been on a 640km walk with other refugees from Melbourne to Canberra to call for permanent residency and an end to uncertainty for 10,000 people.
“We are refugees who came to Australia seeking safety, but after a decade still do not have a clear pathway to permanent residency,” she said, arriving in Canberra on Wednesday.
“I lost my first child because of the Sri Lankan civil war and I haven’t seen my mother for 18 years.
“It breaks my heart that my mother is living alone and I cannot reunite with my family.”
She said many people were prevented from working or studying and their children could not go to university.
“All of us are still waiting, after 10 years, for a permanent place to call home, a place to belong.”
Twenty-two Tamil and Iranian women on short-term bridging visas completed the walk to Parliament House.
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre director of advocacy Ogy Simic said the women had shown courage.
“The Australian government must now listen, abolish the flawed ‘fast track’ system, and offer the 10,000 people failed by the system for 10 years a clear path to permanency.”
Joining the women was Tamil asylum seeker Thienushan Chandrasekaram, who cycled to Canberra from Brisbane, averaging 90km a day.
He came to Australia with his family in 2013 but is still awaiting a decision on his permanent residency.
“My aim is to present my case to the minister for home affairs and the minister for immigration not just for me and my family but for whole community of 12,000 like me struggling on bridging visas or no visas,” he said.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has previously stated it was government policy to grant refugee protection to people who are owed protection.
Lifeline 13 11 14
beyondblue 1300 22 4636
By Paul Osborne in Canberra
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