More than 70 people attended an online meeting organised by the Refugee Action Collective (RAC) on April 12 to discuss the global struggles of refugees.
Moz, a refugee detained in the Mantra Hotel in Preston, a suburb in Melbourne, spoke about the conditions facing some 70 refugees there.
鈥淓veryone is sick, mentally and physically鈥, he said. Refugees are in their rooms 23 hours a day, but there is a risk of catching the virus because the guards 鈥 some of whom are coughing and sneezing 鈥 are not practicing physical distancing. There are about 80 staff聽who work two shifts.
Moz聽thanked refugee rights activists for their support, saying 鈥渨e are freedom fighters, not victims,鈥 and that 鈥渨e could not survive without you鈥.
Another Mantra detainee, Ishmail, added people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are only receiving sleeping tablets.
Petros Konstantinou, a refugee rights activist from Greece, said the Greek Prime Minister is looking approvingly at the 鈥淎ustralian model鈥, including isolating refugees on remote islands. There, about 50,000 refugees are detained on five islands.
Public gatherings in Greece are limited to 10 people under that country鈥檚 emergency laws, so activists gather in groups of up to 10 and hold placards outside supermarkets.
On March 21, activists defied the law and organised a rally of 80 people in Syntagma Square,聽outside parliament. They demanded the refugees be freed from camps and be bought to hotels.
RAC member Chris Breen spoke about his arrest on a charge of 鈥渋nciting鈥 people to participate in an April 10 car cavalcade for refugee rights.
He also criticised Labor Premier Daniel Andrews for not supporting the detainees, and failing to use his public health powers to remedy the unhealthy situation in the Mantra Hotel.