THE joy of freedom for 21 refugees who arrived in Brisbane from detention on Nauru earlier this month is tinged with worry about those left behind.
‘They’re concerned about the people they’ve left behind. That’s coming through loudly and clearly,’ said the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Greg Harris.
Mr Harris, who is the society’s Queensland vice-president and chairman of its migrants and refugees committee, headed the organisation’s efforts to help the refugees as soon as they arrived.
The men – 16 Afghans, three Iraqis and two Palestinians – were allowed entry into Australia on temporary protection visas (TPVs).
Fourteen were from the group of 433 people rescued by the Norwegian ship, the ‘Tampa’, after their boat sank near Christmas Island in August 2001.
They had been detained in Nauru as part of the Australian Government’s Pacific Solution of diverting asylum seekers attempting to arrive in Australia by boat, to off-shore processing centres.
There are still 356 asylum seekers on Nauru or Manus Island.
Twenty of the men who have been released are on five-year TPVs. The other has a three-year visa.
The Romero Centre, which specialises in working with refugees, is also helping the men to settle in.
A worker at the centre, Sharyn Kann, said it was noticeable on their faces that they felt welcomed.
The Ecumenical Social Justice Group in the Western Suburbs (ESJGWS) of Brisbane answered a call from the Romero Centre to provide food and toiletries in the first few days.
The group’s chairwoman, Valerie Whitehead, said: ‘We’ll certainly be supporting them any way we can.’
To donate white goods or cash to the St Vincent de Paul Society, phone (07) 3010 1000 or write to 10 Merivale St, South Brisbane, Qld 4101.
Send donations of phone cards to the Romero Centre, PO Box 6115, Buranda, Qld, 4102. The centre also welcomes cash donations.
