100 signatures reached
To: David Coleman, Minister for Immigration
Don't Deport Commonwealth Games Asylum Seekers
We, the undersigned, call on Immigration Minister David Coleman not to deport athletes who fled the Commonwealth Games to seek protection and safety in Australia.
The athletes are under threat of being deported to countries where they face grim persecution.
We oppose any measures to have them removed from Australia, and call for them to be allowed to settle permanently in this country.
Why is this important?
Following the Commonwealth Games held at the Gold Coast in April this year roughly 250 athletes fled, seeking protection and safety in Australia.
In May, then Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton told 2GB Radio that he needed to "round them up as quickly as possible".
A number of these athletes are LGBTI. If they are forced to return to their home countries where homosexuality is illegal, they face the prospect of vicious punishment including "corrective" rape.
Others face persecution for having political opinions that oppose their home governments.
One of the athletes recently told the Canberra Times, “I just want to live a normal life where I can be free and nobody judges me.”
All of these athletes should have the right to live safely in a country which will protect them.
More information: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/i-don-t-think-i-will-survive-if-i-go-home-20180727-p4ztz6.html