Neil Para’s 1000km Walk for Freedom

Sri Lankan refugee and asylum seeker Neil Para is setting out on a 1000km walk for freedom in August to raise awareness of the plight of refugees in Australia especially their right to work.

Neil is one of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers who cannot legally earn an income because they have been waiting, often years, for the Australian Government to grant them a permanent visa and the right to work.

Neil, who will march from Ballarat on August 1 to the Prime Minister’s Sydney Electorate office arriving in the second week of September, has lived in Australia in limbo for 11 years with his wife Sugaa and their three young daughters Nivash, Kartie and Australian-born Nive with no visa, no work and no Medicare.*

The entire time they have been unable to earn a dollar even though they would love to work. Neil was a hairdresser in Sri Lanka and wants to be a police officer in Australia, while Sugaa would love to be an aged care worker. 

The Federal Government’s Resolution of Status (RoS) visa announcement in February paved the way for permanent visas for 19,000 refugees1 (on a temporary protection or safe haven enterprise visa 2013) but Neil is one of thousands of others who missed out. 

Beyond trying to find certainty for his family who can never return to Sri Lanka as it would be dangerous for them, he is advocating for refugees who’ve been left behind in similar circumstances to him.

“I’m calling on the government to end the uncertainty for all the waiting refugees; please grant us permanent visas and the right to work,” Neil said. “I am walking so that refugee children such as my children can have certainty.”

Neil will leave Ballarat at 8am on August 1 from the office of Ballarat MP Catherine King and trek to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's electorate office in Marrickville, Sydney arriving in September.

With support from various refugee advocacy groups, such as Rural Australians for Refugees, he plans to deliver a petition on foot to Mr Albanese's office and later attend a refugee rally organised by Refugee Action Collective. The petition has nearly 11,000 signatures but many more are needed.

People can sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/endtheuncertainty

In the petition Neil says: “I fled war and persecution in Sri Lanka and arrived in Australia in 2012. Hundreds of asylum seekers like me from different parts of the world were seeking safety in Australia.

“Instead, we experienced years of detention in offshore and onshore detention centres that almost broke our spirit. But we are resilient, and we carry the hope that we’ll call Australia home one day. “The ADF Navy took us to Christmas Island, a refuge from the turmoil we were escaping, Today, I stand with them (refugees) as part of the Union of Australian Refugees (UAR).” 

Neil established the Union of Australian Refugees this year to bring refugees together, create awareness and be their voice. Its motto is Be Seen, Be Heard, and while they were seen during a four day sit down at Parliament House, he said it appeared they were not heard.   Neil says in the petition: “We are tired of living in limbo for more than a decade. We have spent years in detention, the harshest time of our lives, but it doesn’t end. We cannot return to a country where we don’t feel safe and we don’t feel at home. We yearn to contribute to the society we now call home.”

The family fled Sri Lanka to Malaysia where they remained for four years after being granted refugee status by the United Nations. They came to Australia by boat with bridging visas and lived in detention in Darwin and Dandenong before the government sent them to Ballarat in 2013 as part of a regional trial to fast-track visas. Unfortunately, the deal was reneged on and their bridging visas were removed, leaving the couple almost suicidal.

“We didn’t know what we were going to do, we didn’t even speak English,” Neil said.

Ten years later, Neil’s family is still waiting, and the strain of living in limbo has taken a huge toll on their mental health.

The family survives through the generosity of the local community, groups such as Rural Australians for Refugees, friends and relatives.

Neil and Sugaa do volunteer work in Ballarat to give back to the local community which has supported them.

Both have been continuously involved in community committees.

Neil is a tireless volunteer for the SES and leads a crew, while Sugaa has volunteered for years in aged care (Ballarat Health Services) and the visitor information centre.

They learnt English through their volunteer roles as their non-resident status precluded them from even attending classes to learn English. 

Neil has also arranged local rallies/walks in Ballarat to raise awareness of the mental health issues that refugees and asylum seekers experience due to being denied residency and the right to work.

He has raised over $1000 for homeless people donated to Ballarat Uniting Care and received an award as one of Australia’s Best Neighbours in 2020. His wife and daughters have donated their hair at least 12 times (3 times x 4 people) to cancer sufferers, Sugaa has raised more than $1000 for Ballarat Hospice Care and the children have raised and donated $602 for a primary school in Ararat.

In 2018, Neil received a Refugee and Asylum Seekers Recognition Award from the Friends of Refugees for his community services and in 2017 the Catherine King Award for Community Service from Black Hill Primary School.