Home to Bilo – campaign update

As you may know from our last update, the central Queensland community of Biloela is mobilising to get their neighbours Priya, Nades and family back home to Bilo.

The family were taken from their community by Australian Border Force in the early hours of the morning, flown to Perth and put on a plane to be deported back to Sri Lanka.

Legal intervention kept the family in Australia. They remain in a detention centre in Melbourne, In total the family have been detained for 43 days.

The Home to Bilo campaign is closely supporting the family through social media and visits to the detention centre, and are campaigning for the family’s return.

Marie Austin, a Biloela resident recently visited the family in detention, she has this to say on the Home to Bilo Facebook page.

“I am not about to debate our laws on asylum seekers and our country’s immigration policy, but I do admit that it has suddenly become personal. Very personal.

This family were not causing trouble, or looking for trouble. Their crime? To seek a ‘better’ life – a life that a large number of us take for granted; a life that the majority of Australians were blessed enough to have been given, purely because they were lucky enough to be born here; a life where they can be treated as equals; a life free from fear.

I have seen this family grow in number as they celebrated the births of their babies; I have chatted with them over a coffee in their home as I would any of my friends”

Biloela is a powerful story of a small community who welcomed a family seeking asylum, and the proven value and contribution of that family back to the community. The community continues to attract national media and political attention, community groups around Australia are taking actions to support the campaign and Home to Bilo was represented by advocates at national Palm Sunday rallies.

Federal member for Callide, LNP’s Colin Boyce MP has spoken publicly in support of the campaign and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Queensland Senator Chris Ketter have travelled to Biloela to meet with the community.Thanks to everyone from the ASRC community who is supporting the Biloela community and people like Priya, Nades and their family.

If you haven’t already, please write a personal invitation to the Prime Minister to come to your home and talk about supporting people:

You can also organise a lunch time invitation writing activity at your work place to get more letters sent and keep up the pressure on our leaders.