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Immigration Daily News Teachers strike to protest student’s visa refusal and detention
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Teachers strike to protest student’s visa refusal and detention
For the first time in Australian history, teachers have gone on strike while students staged a sit-in to protest against the detention of an asylum-seeker high school student.
Iranian student, Mojgan Shamsalipoor, was months away from graduating from Yeronga State High School near Brisbane, when her visa application was refused in December 2014. She has been held in detention for almost a year now, after spending more than two years in the community and marrying an Australian resident.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton revealed in September he was personally considering a request for Ms Shamsalipoor, to be allowed to apply for a partner visa on Australian soil, after being approached by Coalition MP Natasha Griggs.
With no answer in sight, teachers at the school held a stop work meeting on Tuesday as part of an ongoing campaign to fight for the rights of Shamsalipoor and other students in similar circumstances.
Speaking at the rally, the school's Queensland Teachers Union representative, Jessica Walker, said students also refused to go to class, and held a sit-in to coincide with the industrial action.
It will be the first time industrial action will be taken in relation to a human rights issue, Walker said.
"We have grave concerns for Mojgan's emotional wellbeing, and that of other students who are experiencing increased distress and a sense of hopelessness," she said.
"They couldn't wait three months for her to finish her education? It's revolting. We're standing up and we're going to continue to campaign for Mojgan. Because it's not fair, we believe in a better Australia than this. We can't believe as Australian citizens this is happening in our country and in our name. It's not fair and it's not right." Queensland Teachers Union representative, Jessica Walker
According to a report on the ABC, Ms Shamsalipoor fears returning to Iran, having arrived in Australia by boat in 2012 after fleeing sexual abuse and an arranged marriage to a man in his 60s.
Comments
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Wednesday, 18 November 2015If the Immigration Minister is considering a request for Mrs Shamsalipoor to lodge an onshore application for a partner visa, that is a request for ministerial intervention therefore Mrs Shamsalipoor should be eligible to apply for a BVE.
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Thursday, 19 November 2015
miss shamsalipoor protection visa has been refused she is not eligible to be here if she was not from iran she would probably been deported by now that is why she is in detention because she went to high school here & has some friends should have nothing to do with immigration policy. perhaps if she voluntarily returned to iran then immigration may take a look at processing her spouse visa application married to a man she married after only being together for a short period of time. the immigration minister has to be careful as this type of occurence can infulence others in her situation to get married to avoid possible deportation
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this woman assessed as non genuine refugee just because she wants to stay here is not a good enough send her home but wait the iranian government will not accept her because she will not voluntarily return to iran to her classmates & teachers your hearts are in the right place but these rules are there for a reason you are hoping this will be a one off but the federal govt is concerned & rightly so this will open the floodgates . let her go voluntarily to iran & her pernament resident husband who were briefly together before marriage then she can apply for a spouse visa like many others who marry people from overseas have to & if she qualifies fine let her back in to austraila in stay . this is symptamatic of a bigger problem there are hundreds of people who have had there refugee applications rejected & cant be deported as their country of origin will not accept them unless they voluntarily return this is a rort the australian govt is right in their detention of her & hundreds of other people who have had their refugee applications rejected this problem is increasing all of the the time a solution has to be found maybe deport them to their last departure destination but should they forcebly be removed. but to where