Freedom Street

Freedom Street - Director’s Statement

Australia’s immigration history began after the first British Occupation in 1788. Since that fateful year, the future of this ancient continent has been sealed forever. What was once an isolated land containing sophisticated yet mysterious ancient civilisations has forever been transformed into a globally connected place with the abundance of opportunity and prosperity for those who venture and seek towards it.

With this idea and the need for us to find peace and a sense of belonging, my family and I decided to immigrate to this country. And when we landed here, we were amazed by the fact that the government provides actual support for the majority of its citizens. And comparatively against the world standard’s, Australia has a healthy meritocracy with decent checks and balances. Something that is foreign to me and my family who experienced many forms of discriminations as a minority back home.

However, we were not prepared for the reality of the chequered and bloody history this continent has. Starting from it’s colonisation history and the displacement of it’s indigenous lands and population. To then discriminating those who come here on the basis of their skin colour. And how it finally panders towards eventual human rights abuse in treating refugees who have no option but to come by boats. For most people in Australia, the idea of not being able to obtain a passport is something that’s inconceivable. And also as an Indonesian, the majority of us would have no concept of having no citizenship. The reality is that most refugees will not be able to obtain the necessary visa to escape from the government that they’re being persecuted from if they were considered citizens to begin with.

Australia’s claim that these people were queue jumpers and evading it’s rules based order is simply illogical and out of context from reality. There is no system for those who are simply invisible and not even recognised in this globalised world. The persecuted, the tortured, and the stateless. Wealth means nothing when your very existence is a threat to the people around you. And for some, the idea of belonging to a place at all is something that they never thought was possible.

Yet Australia’s obsession with the idea of “protecting its border” had engaged all it’s poorer neighbouring countries and businesses to its protection policy. What has happened in Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Christmas Island, Various forms of mainland immigration detentions like Park Hotel, Villawood, BITA, and finally, the biggest one of all, and the least known, the various indefinite stallment of those who are stuck in Indonesia who are directly affected as a result of Australia’s policy. To talk about the largest piece of the puzzle in the scheme of things, you also need to understand the full history of how this has all come to be. And who would tell the stories better than the voices of Ashfaq, Joniad and Azizah, who are also some of the most invisible people in this world supported by the various experts that will ultimately, contextualise the full picture of this situation.

It is time for a film about Australia’s cruel border policy that finally fully reckons this entire situation since it’s beginnings… There is no other way for these refugees but to Freedom.