In Australia, a Sri Lankan refugee’s long ‘Walk for Freedom’ spotlights plight of persecuted asylum seekers

Neil Para’s family fled civil war and have been trapped in Australia for nearly a decade after their visas were revoked without explanation

He hopes his 1,000km trek will make an impact – but he faces an uphill battle when Canberra’s ‘harsh anti-asylum seeker policies’ remain a vote winner

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Tamil refugee Neil Para on his 1,000km “Walk for Freedom” to petition Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about his family’s visa-less plight. Photo: Handout/Neil Para

Published: 2:00pm, 13 Aug 2023Updated: 11:12pm, 13 Aug 2023

It was only the third day of Sri Lankan refugee Neil Para’s 1,000km (620-mile) walk to see Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when he started developing terrible blisters.

But that discomfort was nothing compared to the pain of living in Australia for 11 years without a visa, meaning he cannot work or access free medical services.

Trapped in the country’s complex refugee processing system since his and his family’s bridging visas were revoked in 2014 without reason and never replaced, Para is walking to raise awareness of both his plight and that of thousands of other refugees.

Afghan refugees in Australia join Para on his 1,000km “Walk for Freedom” to petition Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo: Handout/Neil Para

His family are Tamils who fled the 1983-2009 civil war in Sri Lanka and say they cannot return for fear of persecution.

“We are angry, frustrated, depressed and have a lot of mental health problems. We have so many feelings in [any] one day,” Para told This Week in Asia, adding that at one point the family had even collectively considered suicide.

Still, the 44-year-old is grateful not to be back in his home country.

“There may not be a war there now, but there’s a lot of racism and discrimination,” he said. “There is no stability.”