Anti-racism protesters target Andrew Giles
In recent times, the mainstream media has been obsessed with the story that working-class communities in Melbourne’s outer suburbs are beginning to break with the ALP. Much of this has focused on their economic grievances, which are real, and which Anthony Albanese’s government has done little to address.
As part of our federal election campaign, the Victorian Socialists are campaigning for a series of radical redistributive measures to address rampant profiteering by supermarkets, banks, developers and landlords. This message resonates in working-class neighbourhoods, where people are all too aware that big corporations are making huge profits at our expense.
Yet there is another aspect to these areas that is less well covered: they are some of the most culturally and linguistically diverse in the country. As such, there are specific racial, religious and ethnic issues that arise. Last weekend, two separate protests were held against the Labor government’s racism, targeting Andrew Giles’ electoral office in the working-class suburb of Thomastown.
The first was a Friday night memorial for 42-year-old refugee Prathap Kunasekaram. Prathap drank himself into a coma after spending a decade waiting for permanent protection. After three years in this state, during which the government repeatedly refused his wife and child the right to come to Australia to say goodbye, he passed away on 11 February. As if this wasn’t enough, his family has been issued the bill for his three years in a hospital room—because refugees are denied access to Medicare.
Attendees articulated their rage at Labor’s failure to grant permanent visas to the nearly 10,000 refugees languishing on short-term visas. “We have protested, we have camped, we have had meetings, but Labor just isn’t listening!”, said Prashanth, a young Tamil nurse who is still hoping to win permanent residency.
Refugees explained that Giles made sense as a target because he was the minister for immigration for many years and could have fixed their problem with a stroke of a pen. But also because there is a thriving Tamil community in the area that, like so many other working-class groups, feels taken for granted by Labor.
Many of the attendees work in local factories and complained about the terrible conditions. “Just last week somebody ruined their back trying to pick up a heavy metal sheet”, one worker explained. “And the boss forces everyone to drive the forklift, even if they don’t have a licence. It’s very unsafe, and very low wages, but [the boss] knows we don’t have any option to leave.”
This connection between racism and exploitation is as old as capitalism itself. In Donald Trump’s America, the bigotry is at fever pitch. But Australia is far from immune. Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s attempt to blame migrants for the housing crisis—produced by decades of privatised development and low wage growth—is proof enough of that. While Labor generally refrains from the worst racist rhetoric towards refugees and migrants, the party enables it through it policies, which in their cruelty are often indistinguishable from the Liberal Party’s.
While the vigil had a sombre feel, organisers were not content to mourn the dead. Instead, they tried to mobilise the community for a political struggle in the months ahead. Vasanthan Anantharajah, a representative of the Tamil Coordinating Committee, spoke about the need for refugees to throw their weight behind attempts to challenge the racist major parties.
Two representatives from Victorian Socialists, myself and Aran Mylvaganam, who is also a leader of the Tamil Refugee Council, were invited to speak and make the case for a socialist alternative to a system that treats human beings so deplorably. Some Tamils have already begun letterboxing for Victorian Socialists, and there are more plans for collaboration in the future.
Two days later, another crowd of locals gathered in the same location, this time to express their disgust at Islamophobia. This action was triggered by the racially motivated assault of two Muslim women at Epping Plaza last week. Both Albanese and Dutton eventually condemned the violence, but nobody at the action had any illusions in the value of such statements.
“I don’t blame the attacker, because they’re just ignorant”, argued Dr Naser Alziyadat. Dr Alziyadat is a spokesperson for Muslim Votes Matter, a group that is organising Muslims to vote against the established parties to punish them for their support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. “I blame the systematic racism of Australian society, and the politicians and the media who create the environment for this hatred.”
Imam Alaa Elzokm, from the Elsedeaq Heidelberg Mosque, highlighted the targeting of Muslim women as a specific problem: “We must stand up against all harassment of women, to defend the right to religious expression without fear of discrimination”. This is vital, as the bodies and attire of Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab are the most visible symbols of Islam and are an easy target for racists.
As the rally’s chair, I pointed out that Labor and Liberal policies have signalled to the public that Arab and Muslim lives are worthless. This includes the treatment of refugees, many of whom are from the Middle East, but also their support for the so-called War on Terror, and now Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza. These policies create an environment in which bigots feel confident to attack Arabs, Muslims and supporters of Palestine, on the street and at work.
In contrast, the real, but far less common incidents of antisemitism have been hyped to the point where multiple pieces of legislation are being pushed through parliaments across the country. Far from opposing genuine bigotry where it exists, the bills are a significant attack on free speech in general, and the right to advocate for the Palestinians in particular. The perverse outcome is that those of us who are the most determined opponents of racism, fascism and war are labelled antisemites, while supporters of Israel are free to defend war crimes and champion Donald Trump and other far-right figures the world over.
The rally dispersed after taking a solidarity photo, with Muslim women front and centre. Halima Ahmed, one of the organisers of the event, emphasised that their goal was to see real action against Islamophobia, not meaningless motherhood statements. They are planning further actions, including a possible event at the site of the attack in Epping Plaza.
As the only political party that takes both fighting racism and organising in working-class communities seriously, the Victorian Socialists was proud to support both these actions. Our approach to electoral campaigns is that they are one aspect of a broader effort to strengthen the left and assist organising efforts in our workplaces and on the streets. We invite all those wanting to see a world of economic and social justice to join our effort to build a principled alternative to the major parties.
Omar Hassan is the Victorian Socialists candidate for the federal seat of Scullin, located in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne. As well as being a primary school teacher in the area, he is a long-time anti-fascist and pro-Palestine campaigner.
