Tamil family: ‘Mum witnessed fiance burned alive’

For most of us, the horrors witnessed by Tamil couple Priya and Nades before they arrived in Australia are beyond comprehension. We have the power to ensure they and their children never see anything like that again, writes Chris Breen.

PRIYA, Nades and their Australian-born girls were dragged by Border Force officials on to a Skytraders plane last week. A last-minute legal injunction halted their forced deportation.

A further injunction is in place until 4pm Wednesday.

PETER DUTTON: ‘Why Tamil family must go’

Thousands rally to keep Biloela family in Australia

Lawyers will argue for Minister Peter Dutton to allow the youngest child to apply for asylum.

The family has now been flown to Christmas Island to keep them away from media, friends and legal support. The Morrison Government reopened Christmas Island as a $185 million election stunt. The family are the first and only asylum seekers to be held there.

Priya fled to Australia by boat in 2012 after she witnessed her fiance and five other men burnt alive.

Nadesalingam came separately in 2013; he still has scars and shrapnel in his body from a government bomb. Under the Federal Government “no advantage” policy, they had to wait years to be allowed to apply for asylum. Meanwhile, they built their lives. They met, married and had children. Nades worked in the Biloela meatworks; Priya was active in the community.

The small rural town of Biloela mobilised to defend the family and 200,000 people have signed a petition for them to stay.

Supporters of Tamil asylum seekers Nadesalingam, Priya and their Australian-born children Kopika and Tharunicaa, are seen at a rally outside the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne on Sunday. Picture: AAP Image/Ellen Smith

Mr Dutton and the Coalition Government are ignoring the groundswell of support for this family because they are worried about dents in their myth that Sri Lanka is safe for Tamils, and that their tangled web of cruelty will unravel. Australia has deported more than 1000 Tamils to danger in Sri Lanka. Former UN special rapporteur Ben Emmerson found last year that use of torture in Sri Lanka was “systematic and routine”. The military continues to occupy Tamil areas. Returned asylum seekers are routinely arrested. Asylum seekers deported by Australia told SBS in 2014 they had been raped and tortured on their return to Sri Lanka.

In a welcome shift, Labor leader Anthony Albanese has called for the family to stay. There is also an active Comcare investigation into their treatment in detention. They should be allowed to stay to give evidence.

The toxic politics of refugee deterrence comes as a package. The treatment of this family is of a piece with indefinite detention on Manus and Nauru, and the Coalition’s attempt to roll back the right to appropriate medical treatment for refugees there. Some 30,000 asylum seekers and refugees in the community have begun to directly protest for their right to permanent protection, and to end the discrimination that denies them even the right to family reunion. They and the Biloela family have a right to safety and security.

Refugee activist Chris Breen. Picture: Facebook

The deportation can still be stopped. Mr Dutton has the power to prevent it. Damage has already been done to the health of the two young girls by prolonged detention. Any further harm is on the hands of Minister Dutton, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Government. This family’s treatment has exposed the reality behind the Government’s refugee policies. The cruelty must end. Give this family sanctuary.

Chris Breen is a spokesman for Refugee Action Collective, Melbourne