5,000 signatures reached
To: The Hon. Tony Burke MP
Let me stay in the country I love
Dear friends,
My name is Ailin. I’m 17 and I'm in year 12 in Sydney. Right now, everyone around me is talking about what comes next – university, jobs, their future.
I love Australia, and I want to give back. My dream is to study radiation therapy, and work in healthcare. But I can’t. I’m not even sure I’ll be allowed to stay.
I fled Iran with my family and came to Australia when I was three, and spent a year in offshore detention on Nauru. Ever since, I’ve been on short-term visas. Every six months, I have to reapply. Every six months, I cross my fingers that my visa is approved again. I’m stuck in legal limbo.
But right now, with what’s happening in Iran, there’s a real chance the government could finally try and fix this. It could finally give people like me the chance to stay. Having the support of thousands of Australians is what might make the crucial difference.
Will you stand with me and call on Minister Tony Burke to let me stay?
When my family arrived in Australia looking for safety almost 15 years ago, new government policies meant families like mine were told we’d never be welcome to settle here.
Over the years, some others like me have been resettled to the United States and New Zealand. But there weren’t enough places for everyone, and my family is here. So I’m still stuck living with the consequences.
I want to stay. I want to keep building my life here and work helping cancer patients. But right now, that future feels out of reach.
Because of the bridging visa I’m on, I’m treated as an international student. A degree would cost tens of thousands of dollars upfront, which I just can’t afford. That means even if I work hard in school (which I am proud I do), even if I get the marks, I won’t be able to study like all of my friends.
My younger brother was born here. When he turns ten, he will automatically become an Australian citizen. We’re brother and sister, raised in the same family, in the same country – but only one is allowed to belong.
And I’m not alone. There are around 700 people like me, many who came here as children, who’ve grown up here, who’ve gone to school here and have all their friends here, but are still being told they don’t belong.
I’m not asking for special treatment. I just want the same chance every other kid in my year 12 class already has – to plan for a future in the country that raised me.
If you believe people like me who love this country should have the chance to stay, will you add your name?
Why is this important?
The government has the power to change this. They can give young people like me the chance to stay – to study, to work, to build a future in the place we already call home.
Right now, the people supporting me tell me there’s a better chance than ever of actually winning this change to let us stay. I know that GetUp members have stood with refugees and people like me for two decades, and pushed governments on both sides to do better. That’s why I reached out to GetUp – and why I really hope you can help.
From the bottom of my heart, I just want the chance to keep building my life here. I really need your support to keep my hope alive, and to get a chance to stay. So please, stand with me and sign my petition today:
I call on Minister Tony Burke to grant permanent Resolution of Status visas to ‘transitory people’ in Australia who were previously sent to offshore detention in Nauru or Papua New Guinea.
Around 700 people remain on insecure, short-term visas or in community detention with nowhere else to go. They have built families, found jobs and become part of our communities. Most have already been found to be refugees. They were brought here for urgent medical treatment because of the harm they endured in offshore processing, and have since rebuilt their lives here. This is their home.
It is time to let them stay for good.
I call on Minister Tony Burke to grant permanent Resolution of Status visas to ‘transitory people’ in Australia who were previously sent to offshore detention in Nauru or Papua New Guinea.
Around 700 people remain on insecure, short-term visas or in community detention with nowhere else to go. They have built families, found jobs and become part of our communities. Most have already been found to be refugees. They were brought here for urgent medical treatment because of the harm they endured in offshore processing, and have since rebuilt their lives here. This is their home.
It is time to let them stay for good.
In hope,
Ailin
Ailin