When Palestinian mother Cassandra was granted an Australian visa she felt a surge of hope. While en route to Australia, she was told to turn around.
Palestinians fleeing the war in Gaza have been left in despair and financial distress after being granted Australian visas only to be told they were cancelled while en route to Australia.
Cassandra, who lived with her family in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, said she was granted an Australia visitor visa in November and managed to escape Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt in January.The Coalition last month accused the federal government ofand suggested some could be supporters of Hamas, prompting the government to accuse the opposition of fearmongering.
After being told she could not board a flight for the final leg of her journey, she said she was given the option of sending her children, who are aged under 13, to Australia without any parental supervision.Cassandra said she was terrified about the future because her family’s residency permits in Egypt expire in 45 days, and they don’t know if they will be able to return to Gaza, which is suffering an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.
Samah Sabawi, a Palestinian-Australian writer from Melbourne, said other Gazans had suffered a similar experience in recent days after being granted visitor visas to Australia. “The delegate considered you never intended a genuine stay temporarily in Australia and therefore the visa was granted based on circumstances that never existed.”
Sabawi said it was cruel that people fleeing a war zone were encouraged to attempt to travel to Australia, only to be denied passage after spending much-needed savings on visa applications and airline tickets.
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