RISE: Refugees, Survivors and eX-detainees, highly condemns campaign and rights organisations like GetUp, ASRC, Human Rights law centre, migrant organisations and other so-called “progressive” campaigners and NGOs in Australia staying silent on Israeli military attacks on Palestinian land and the genocide of their citizens. These entities are part of the structures supporting the white nationalism, privilege and saviour complex that comes with that. It is not a secret that even within the Australian based refugee rights context or human rights issues, some of them side with the Australian Labor party, support their distorted narratives and provide them with platforms.
While the Australian media is completely whitewashing the current catastrophe in Palestine and sidelining their resistance against genocide, the rights sector is also feeding into the same narratives by ignoring the lives of Palestinians.
Most of the Australian based organisations are receiving funds from white saviours who support Israel’s genocidal agenda against Palestine. You can’t use our lives and call yourself “rights campaigner” while averting your eyes from Israel and its monstrous conduct. There is so much similarity between the white TERRA NULLIUS invasion of Australia and the Israeli invasion of Palestine.
Most of all of these entities benefit from our eX-detainee lives or refugee displacement and POC discrimination. They speak on behalf of us from time to time and accumulate funding for their non-profit industry. Without us, they can’t exist and we are their money pawns.
No organisations run perfectly but as time goes by they, including ourselves, are expected to do better. Yet, some of these organisations continuously dance the same white supremacist song without being challenged over decades. They should go rather than exist.
The POC who are part of these organisations and honouring their work must be held accountable. Your backyard white supremacist colony needs to be dismantled first before you go out there and lecture people about the racist government in Australia.
Also, those POC working within Australian media and medical fields where is your solidarity? Your silence on Palestine is unacceptable. STOP tokenism.
When it comes to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, there is no middle ground: The Palestinian people should have the right to live safely and freely on their own land and deserve the right to self-determination.
RISE eX-detainee Team