Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

Melbourne’s Iranian community rallies against the Albanese Government’s six-month visa ban, calling it discriminatory and hypocritical as families remain separated and lives hang in the balance.

The democratic Iranian community of Melbourne cannot understand why the Albanese Government is banning their friends and family members from entering the country.

That was their loud and clear message when they rallied outside the Department of Home Affairs building in the Victorian capital on 1 April.

Thousands of Iranians have been denied entry to the country, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke saying it was a response to the conflict in the Middle East.

The ban blocks about 7000 people who were already granted Iranian Visitor visas, with the Albanese Government believing it will stop arrivals overstaying from their trips Down Under, and it will last for six months.

Burke said in a statement that the government was “acting in the national interest amid rapidly changing global conditions”, noting that the measure would allow “time to assess the situation properly, while still allowing flexibility in limited cases”.

“Absolute Discrimination”: Community Rallies Against Visa Ban

But the move has been met with strong resistance from Melbourne’s democratic Iranian community, with leaders saying it is hypocritical and discriminatory.

“Our people have been banned from coming to Australia. It’s absolute discrimination under the excuse that our people want to come here and stay longer than the duration of their visa,” Mel-Iran rally organiser Kian Vijeh told The Daily Declaration.

“And what is that based on? Where is the judgment coming from?

“We’re here to raise our voices and to spread this message as far as we can, so we can tell the government here that we are chanting for the freedom of our people who are at risk of execution.

“They’re at risk of death in Iran. They want to come here with valid visas, and they’ve been banned.

“This is wrong. We’re not going to stop. We’re not going to stay silent.”

Cancer Patient Separated From Her Mother

Many in Melbourne’s Iranian democratic community are also questioning why they cannot have their family and friends flown to Australia, particularly the sick and elderly.

Atousa Moradi is suffering from Stage 3 breast cancer. But her mother cannot enter Australia because she was denied a visa by the Albanese Government due to the current conflict in the Middle East. Picture: Josh Spasaro.

Atousa Moradi is one of those.

She is suffering from Stage 3 breast cancer and has lived in Australia for 10 years, and would likely be arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for protesting against the regime if she flew back home.

Her mother is barred from flying to Australia to care for her and support her while she undergoes treatment.

These are the people whom Vijeh is fighting for.

“Of course, we can’t go back to Iran. Who can go back to Iran these days when you show up after speaking against them?” he said.

“We are speaking for freedom. And the minimum the Australian government can do – or any western government – is to support these people.

“Don’t ban them from coming to Australia under a valid visa. What is that even about?

“I’ve had friends who have had their visas cancelled, and the parents who have a daughter here suffering from cancer.

“We don’t understand it. It is so embarrassing. So we keep coming and turning up.

“We keep speaking up against this injustice that we’re seeing.”

What is particularly frustrating for democratic-seeking Iranians in Australia is that people from other war-torn countries and regions, such as Ukraine, Gaza, Iraq and Syria, have been welcomed to Australia as refugees under the Albanese Government.

Vijeh said this goes against Western values, which traditionally do not discriminate against people due to their nationality or religion.

“I would say it’s 100 per cent hypocrisy because look at what we have as our western values,” he said.

“Western values are about freedom. Western values are about letting people in from any race, ethnicity, religion, whatever nationality.

“And that’s what we’re asking for. Obviously, there’s hypocrisy. If we’re Australian, where are our Western values and respect for our freedoms?

“Where’s the respect for their rights to come to Australia on a valid visa? That is the hypocrisy that we’re seeing.”

Terrorist Supporters Walk Freely While We Are Banned

Vijeh added Burke‘s office needed to re-evaluate its priorities when it came to immigration.

He said it needed to look closer at those with IRGC links, or those calling for a global intifada at pro-Palestine street rallies, than denying democratic-seeking citizens of Iran entry to Australia.

Those pro-Palestine rallies continue to shut down the streets of our capital cities.

“There are terrorist supporters walking freely in the streets of Melbourne. And we’ve seen them in the pro-Palestine rallies,” he said.

“Where is the action?

“All our government cares about is to ban some innocent Iranian people with valid visas.

“It is embarrassing for the Western community, and I’m so sorry to see that in this country.

“We can’t stand for this, and we have to keep speaking against it. This can’t continue.”

The Bigger Picture: Iran’s Regime and Its Global Consequences

Vijeh said there was one positive which could be drawn from rising petrol prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.

And that was that it could lead to more Australians becoming aware of why the US and Israel were fighting to eliminate the oppressive IRGC regime.

“I think the fact that we are seeing the consequences of this regime at the petrol stations is a good wake-up call for society here,” he said.

“We need to know that as long as this regime is there, there is death, destruction and expenses imposed on the ships going through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

“All of that is because of this regime. And what is the Australian Government doing? It’s making the regime happy by not letting in our people who are trying to stay out of a country that is not safe at the moment.

“And also, the children here need their help and support, because the children here are permanent residents and citizens.

“And now their parents are not able to come to Australia with valid visas. That is embarrassing, and we need to speak up.

“We can’t stay silent.”

___

Featured image: Mel-Iran rally organiser Kian Vijeh addresses the crowd at a rally outside the Department of Home Affairs building in Melbourne on 1 April. The rally was aimed at raising awareness that the Albanese Government has denied visas to about 7000 Iranians who wanted to visit Australia before the current conflict in the Middle East. Picture: Josh Spasaro.