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SBS Australia
7 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Ep.376: Nige has waited 16 years to see his wife again. But he may never do so
DOWNLOAD the script in Italian and English side by side. English A cooking class is underway at a small café in the leafy Melbourne suburb of Warrandyte. Chef Nigethan Sithirasegaram ((NEE-GATE-AN SIT-RAH-SAY-GRAM)), known to friends and family as 'Nige', is preparing a feast from his homeland Sri Lanka. For the 49-year-old, cooking is a vital connection with his Tamil culture. 'I'm going to teach lamb curry, one of the iconic curries in Sri Lanka and also cook beetroot Curry and also raita, rice, the full package meal. When I'm cooking here, actually I'm really proud everyone likes my food. ' And that means a lot to Nige who fled Sri Lanka in 2009 at the end of the civil war, leaving behind his wife and young son. '16 years, almost 16 years [ago] I left my wife. Every day is very torture and the painful. I'm struggling and also panic. I want my family with me all the time.' As a Tamil, Nige fears he can never return to Sri Lanka. He now has a permanent protection visa in Australia, and has applied for a spouse visa for his wife Thusa, who remains in Sri Lanka. '[It's] A very hard time. My wife asks me every day 'when you take me to Australia?' It's very painful for me and also painful for her. ' Immigration is a hot election issue. The federal budget predicts net migration of 260,000 in the next financial year. Asylum Seeker resource centre deputy CEO Jana Favero. 'It's really disappointing. What we should be doing is increasing in our humanity and our generosity and our compassion. It's really a tactic used by politicians that are playing into fear and division.' With almost 140-million people forcibly displaced worldwide, according to the UNHCR, Jana Favero calls for an earlier pledge to increase Australia's humanitarian intake to 27-thousand places. 'Australia can and should do more to increase our humanitarian intake in response to global catastrophes that are happening around the world. If you have a look at what's happening in Gaza, in Yemen, in Sudan... We've had many conversations with the Albanese government about their commitment to increase the places to 27,000, but [we] only have them at 20,000. This is insufficient, and we should do more. We feel that the figure should actually be 50,000.' For Nige, who worries daily about his wife's safety, the long wait is agony. 'It's really killing my heart. I know the situation; [for] a single woman [to] survive in Sri Lanka in [the] east part or [the] north part is really hard. So, that [is] situation for my wife, it's so breaking [my] heart.' As a Tamil born in Sri Lanka's east, Nige grew up as conflict raged between government forces and the Tamil Tigers. His earliest memories are of fleeing violence. '[For] My whole life, [I saw] war and bombing and disaster. I'm Tamil, so they suspect me and also they tried to kidnap me. I saw lots of torture equipment, lots of civilian kidnapping and killing them on the street, dead bodies. That's why I escaped from Sri Lanka without my wife and son'. At the end of the war and fearing for his life, Nige fled to Singapore and then Malaysia. What followed was a harrowing 46-day boat journey to Australia. 'The fuel is not enough, fuel run out. And also the boat is [a] very old boat and wooden boat. Also very big storm and rough sea. Many people got seasick. Then finally the Australian border posts took to me Christmas island.' Nige spent the next six years in various Australian detention centres. '[The time in the] Detention centre is [a] very hard time because we can't go outside. I'm really struggling [in the] detention centre [for] six years, mentally and physically'. At the Melbourne Immigration Detention Centre in Broadmeadows in 2014, Nige met café founder Derek Bradshaw and the connection would change his life forever. 'We had a house out the back of our café that we decided that we wanted to use to try and support people to get the start that they so badly needed after coming out of detention. And Nige went on to cook and that's when we started doing our Tamil feasts. ' A decade later the pair remain good friends and in 2023 Derek Bradshaw obtained a student visa for Nige's son, Ruksi. Being reunited with his dad was a day the teenager will never forget. 'Touching him, hugging him. It's so crazy: when I see him, I have a hug and it's all the feeling about my dad. It's like feeling in real life in front of my eyes and I can feel it. This is my dad!' It was a great moment for Derek Bradshaw, too. 'When we picked up Ruksi from the airport he looked at me and said, 'this is the best day of my life', and sorry, I'll get emotional, but as a father of four kids, I just cannot imagine the trauma and the grief that Nige has gone through. ' Nige and his son Ruksi now live in north Warrandyte rent free, thanks to the generosity of a local couple Reg Ellery and Olive Aumann. 'Our children had left home Nige's been living with us since 2016. He's a wonderful, wonderful man and his son's a wonderful young fellow. ' Nige and Derek Bradshaw continue to host Tamil feasts at the 'Now and Not Yet' Café, raising raise funds to resettle refugees and asylum seekers. 'When you hear the stories and understand the atrocities that they are escaping - civil war and genocide and things that [happen] if we're in those situations, we would absolutely run and escape as well. I'm proud that this sort of sacred community space has become a space where people feel loved when they walk through the doors, that people come in here and connect with others.' Nige is also working in aged care while he waits for his wife's visa to be granted. Jana Favero says the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre already supports more than 7,000 people seeking safety. 'We need to invest in family unification so that people can be with their families. That story is extremely sad. And what's sad is that family reunion probably will be one area that is cut, which would be absolutely devastating not only for that individual but for tens of thousands of others who are waiting to be with their family. For now, all Nige can cling to is hope. 'This process takes a very long time. I don't know what's the reason. I don't know still how long I'm going to be wait. Every day is painful. But I believe one day, me and [my] wife [will be] reunited in Australia.' Italian In un piccolo caffè nel verdeggiante sobborgo di Warrandyte a Melbourne è in corso una lezione di cucina. Lo chef Nigethan Sithirasegaram, conosciuto da amici e parenti come 'Nige', sta preparando un banchetto tipico del suo Paese natale, lo Sri Lanka. Per il 49enne, la cucina è un legame vitale con la sua cultura tamil. 'I'm going to teach lamb curry, one of the iconic curries in Sri Lanka and also cook beetroot Curry and also raita, rice, the full package meal. When I'm cooking here, actually I'm really proud everyone likes my food. ' E questo significa molto per Nige, che è fuggito dallo Sri Lanka nel 2009 alla fine della guerra civile, lasciando in Sri Lanka la moglie e il figlio piccolo. '16 years, almost 16 years [ago] I left my wife. Every day is very torture and the painful. I'm struggling and also panic. I want my family with me all the time.' In quanto tamil, Nige teme di non poter più tornare in Sri Lanka. Ora ha un visto di protezione permanente in Australia e ha richiesto un visto per coniugi per sua moglie Thusa, che rimane in Sri Lanka. '[It's] A very hard time. My wife asks me every day 'when you take me to Australia?' It's very painful for me and also painful for her. ' L'immigrazione è un tema elettorale caldo. Il bilancio federale prevede una migrazione netta di 260.000 persone nel prossimo anno finanziario. La vice direttrice generale del Centro risorse per i richiedenti asilo, Jana Favero: 'It's really disappointing. What we should be doing is increasing in our humanity and our generosity and our compassion. It's really a tactic used by politicians that are playing into fear and division.' Con quasi 140 milioni di sfollati in tutto il mondo secondo l'UNHCR, Jana Favero chiede un impegno anticipato per aumentare l'accoglienza umanitaria australiana a 27mila posti. 'Australia can and should do more to increase our humanitarian intake in response to global catastrophes that are happening around the world. If you have a look at what's happening in Gaza, in Yemen, in Sudan... We've had many conversations with the Albanese government about their commitment to increase the places to 27,000, but [we] only have them at 20,000. This is insufficient, and we should do more. We feel that the figure should actually be 50,000.' Per Nige, che si preoccupa quotidianamente della sicurezza della moglie, la lunga attesa è un'agonia. 'It's really killing my heart. I know the situation; [for] a single woman [to] survive in Sri Lanka in [the] east part or [the] north part is really hard. So, that [is] situation for my wife, it's so breaking [my] heart.' Nato nello Sri Lanka orientale, Nige è cresciuto mentre infuriava il conflitto tra le forze governative e le Tigri Tamil. I suoi primi ricordi sono quelli della fuga dalla violenza. '[For] My whole life, [I saw] war and bombing and disaster. I'm Tamil, so they suspect me and also they tried to kidnap me. I saw lots of torture equipment, lots of civilian kidnapping and killing them on the street, dead bodies. That's why I escaped from Sri Lanka without my wife and son'. Alla fine della guerra, temendo per la sua vita, Nige fuggì a Singapore e poi in Malesia. Seguì uno straziante viaggio in barca di 46 giorni verso l'Australia. 'The fuel is not enough, fuel run out. And also the boat is [a] very old boat and wooden boat. Also very big storm and rough sea. Many people got seasick. Then finally the Australian border posts took to me Christmas island.' Nige ha trascorso i sei anni successivi in vari centri di detenzione australiani. '[The time in the] Detention centre is [a] very hard time because we can't go outside. I'm really struggling [in the] detention centre [for] six years, mentally and physically'. Nel 2014, nel centro di detenzione per immigrati di Melbourne a Broadmeadows, Nige ha incontrato il fondatore del caffè Derek Bradshaw e conoscerlo ha cambiato la sua vita per sempre. 'We had a house out the back of our café that we decided that we wanted to use to try and support people to get the start that they so badly needed after coming out of detention. And Nige went on to cook and that's when we started doing our Tamil feasts. ' Un decennio dopo i due rimangono buoni amici e nel 2023 Derek Bradshaw ottenne un visto di studio per il figlio di Nige, Ruksi. Il ricongiungimento con il padre è stato un giorno che l'adolescente non dimenticherà mai. 'Touching him, hugging him. It's so crazy: when I see him, I have a hug and it's all the feeling about my dad. It's like feeling in real life in front of my eyes and I can feel it. This is my dad!' È stato un grande momento anche per Derek Bradshaw. 'When we picked up Ruksi from the airport he looked at me and said, 'this is the best day of my life', and sorry, I'll get emotional, but as a father of four kids, I just cannot imagine the trauma and the grief that Nige has gone through. ' Nige e suo figlio Ruksi vivono ora a nord di Warrandyte in affitto gratuito, grazie alla generosità di una coppia locale, Reg Ellery e Olive Aumann. 'Our children had left home. Nige's been living with us since 2016. He's a wonderful, wonderful man and his son's a wonderful young fellow. ' Nige e Derek Bradshaw continuano a ospitare feste tamil al 'Now and Not Yet' Café, raccogliendo fondi per il reinsediamento di rifugiati e richiedenti asilo. 'When you hear the stories and understand the atrocities that they are escaping - civil war and genocide and things that [happen] if we're in those situations, we would absolutely run and escape as well. I'm proud that this sort of sacred community space has become a space where people feel loved when they walk through the doors, that people come in here and connect with others.' Nige lavora anche nel settore dell'assistenza agli anziani mentre aspetta che venga concesso il visto alla moglie. Jana Favero afferma che il Centro risorse per richiedenti asilo sostiene già più di 7.000 persone in cerca di sicurezza. 'We need to invest in family unification so that people can be with their families. That story is extremely sad. And what's sad is that family reunion probably will be one area that is cut, which would be absolutely devastating not only for that individual but for tens of thousands of others who are waiting to be with their family. Per ora, tutto ciò a cui Nige può aggrapparsi è la speranza. 'This process takes a very long time. I don't know what's the reason. I don't know still how long I'm going to be wait. Every day is painful. But I believe one day, me and [my] wife [will be] reunited in Australia.' Report by SBS News Listen to SBS Italian every day from 8 am to 10 am. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rights groups slam Australian plan to transfer criminals to Nauru
Rights groups on Monday denounced an Australian plan to send three violent foreign criminals -- including a murderer -- to live on the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru. Canberra said Sunday it had paid an undisclosed sum to Nauru -- population about 13,000 -- in return for it issuing 30-year visas to the trio, who lost their Australian visas due to criminal activity. "There has to be consideration of the lawfulness of banishing people offshore when they've been living as part of our community," said Jane Favero, deputy chief executive of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. "It's a complete disregard of people's human rights." Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the three would be held in immigration detention until they are put on a flight to Nauru or a legal challenge is lodged. "When somebody has come and treated Australia in a way that has shown appalling character their visas do get cancelled, and when their visas are cancelled they should leave," Burke told reporters. "All three, though, are violent offenders. One is a murderer," he said. Once in Nauru, they would live in individual dwellings with a shared kitchen space and be allowed to work and move freely, Burke added. Authorities have not disclosed the identities, gender or nationalities of the trio, or said whether they had served sentences for their crimes. Nauru is one of the world's smallest countries with a mainland measuring just 20 square kilometres (around eight square miles). Phosphate mining once made Nauru one of the world's richest countries per capita, but that boon has long dried up, leaving much of the mainland a barren moonscape and its people facing high unemployment and health issues. Australia's government has been searching for a way to deal with migrants who have no other country to go to when their visas are cancelled. - 'Mental damage' - The High Court ruled in 2023 that indefinite detention was "unlawful" if deportation was not an option, leading to the release of 220 people in that situation, including the three now destined for Nauru. Burke said any decision to transfer others to the Pacific island would depend on the Nauru government. Refugee Council of Australia head Paul Power said the government had a duty to ensure any solution was humane and ensured people's rights and dignity. "History has shown us the deep mental and physical damage indefinite detention on Nauru has caused," he said. Under a hardline policy introduced in 2012, Australia sent thousands of migrants attempting to reach the country by boat to "offshore processing" centres. They were held in two detention centres -- one on Nauru and another, since shuttered, on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. The scheme was gradually scaled back following 14 detainee deaths, multiple suicide attempts, and at least six referrals to the International Criminal Court. Nauru still held 87 people as of August 31, 2024, according to latest Australian government figures. lec/djw/fox
The Guardian
16-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Poll suggests majority of Australian voters expect fair and humane approach to refugees
Political leaders are being urged to embrace refugee polices 'grounded in humanity, not cruelty' as new research found a majority of Australians polled believe the federal government has a responsibility to accept people seeking asylum. The polling, commissioned by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and conducted by Redbridge, shows more than half of those polled support granting asylum seekers work and study rights while they await the outcome of their protection visa applications. The findings, which asked 1,508 Australian voters in January, show while many supported tough policies for those seeking asylum, many still supported compassionate responses. However, those polled also rated refugee and asylum seekers as one of the least important issues to voters ahead of the federal election, with the cost of living, healthcare and the economy rated in the top three. Just 1% considered refugee issues as their top election priority. It comes as the Albanese government announced on Sunday three non-citizens, whose visas had been cancelled on character grounds because of previous criminal convictions – including a convicted murderer – had been placed in immigration detention awaiting deportation to Nauru after the tiny Pacific island agreed to grant them 30-year visas. The polling showed 35% strongly or somewhat supported the government's powers to pay other countries to take asylum seekers or non-citizens Australia wants to deport. Around 32% were strongly or somewhat against the measure, while 23% felt neutral. Almost a third supported deporting asylum seekers to their country of origin, regardless of the risk of persecution or violence, while 42% opposed it somewhat or strongly. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email More than two-thirds supported allowing those denied a protection visa through the former Coalition government's 'fast-track' system, which Labor dismantled after being elected, a chance to relodge an application through the new system. The controversial fast-track refugee assessment process reviewed the claims of thousands of people who arrived by boat between August 2012 and January 2014. In addition to the assessment process, the former Coalition government introduced temporary protection visas for those recognised as refugees fleeing persecution – another measure Labor scrapped in place of permanent protection visas. Jana Favero, the ASRC's deputy chief executive, said the results showed voters had 'compassion' and 'a desire for humanity' when it came to people fleeing danger and how 'out of touch some politicians are – especially in the lead up to elections'. 'People have a big heart, and they want politicians to reflect their values. This polling shows that the current toxic debate weaponising refugee policy is misreading the nation's pulse,' she said. 'It's time for our leaders to embrace policies grounded in humanity, not cruelty.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The polling also showed voters felt strongly about punitive measures for those in immigration detention, with 50% backing powers to conduct more invasive searches compared to 22% against the measure. The data showed voters with more conservative leanings, or who watched right-wing-leaning media, were more likely to agree with tougher measures, while left-leaning respondents were more likely to agree with extending rights such as study or work. In one example, three groups were shown different political messaging on people seeking asylum, alongside a control group, to evaluate the impact on their opinions. The groups were then asked to support or oppose the existing system, prompted by this message: 'Currently, all people seeking asylum who arrive in Australia by sea are transferred to an offshore immigration detention centre on Nauru, with no prospect of ever settling in Australia.' The control group supported offshore detention at 51% while 24% opposed. Support dropped marginally to 49% and 50% after messages against offshore detention, while the group exposed to pro-offshore detention increased to 57% support. Kos Samaras, a director at Redbridge and former Victorian Labor campaigner, warned federal politicians against politicising the issue for gain. 'They don't want their government punishing marginalised people. This is a clear message to both major parties – voters are watching, and they expect a fair and humane approach to refugees,' he said.
