With everything that’s been happening as Priya, Nades, Kopi and Tharni settle back into Biloela life, we’re long overdue to say a proper “thank you” to the Nadesalingam family’s most dedicated supporters.
Nades is back at the meatworks, working the evening shift so he can drop off and pick up Kopi and Tharni from school during the day.
Priya has enrolled in English classes at the local TAFE and plans to get her driver’s license. She dreams of selling her beautiful home-made childrens’ clothes at local markets.
I know how much it will mean to Priya to personally share what your support meant to her during her family’s long journey home to Biloela.
But I also know that this strong, resilient woman has so much more to say than “thank you” - and so do we.
In the days after Peter Dutton’s guards took Priya, Nades, Kopi and Tharni from our town, I remember telling the locals gathered in Lions Park that this was the start of something much bigger.
Even then, we were hearing from people across the country. We heard heart-breaking stories of friends and neighbours forced to danger, after being torn from the cities and towns where they’d made their homes.
Many were Tamil people who escaped tyranny, torture and genocide, only to have their need for protection denied under the unfair, divisive refugee system Scott Morrison created long before he became Prime Minister.
It’s shocking to realise that today - even after the change in government - thousands of men, women and families who’ve been part of our communities for a decade are still living with the fear that the officials running this cruel, unfair system could send guards to their homes and force them to danger.
I truly believe that if people of all beliefs and backgrounds join together, just as we did with Priya, Nades, Kopi and Tharni, we can change things for the better. That’s why I’m inviting you to join us online next Wednesday.
Just before the election, when her own family’s future was still uncertain, Priya said:
“There are lots of people kindly asking that this has to stop with us. I don't want any refugee people to go through this, so please keep your kind hearts and keep showing your love and support.”
On the day the Albanese government granted visas to allow her family to come safely home to Biloela, she said:
“All refugees are survivors. They need hope. I had the support of Nades and we had the support of the people of Bilo. But many others don’t have that support. So I want to help.”
Next Wednesday 16th November, let’s show Priya that this incredible, country-wide #HometoBilo community is ready to stand with the thousands of men, women and families who’ve lived as part of our communities for the last decade. Please join us.
With hope,
Angela