ALMOST 1700 people have signed a petition pledging support for a Tamil refugee family living in Ballarat to stay in Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Neelavanna Para, his wife Suganthini and their three daughters Nive, 3, Nivash, 7, and Kartie, 5, are facing deportation back to Sri Lanka.
Mr and Ms Para fled Sri Lanka in 2008 in the midst of the civil war which ravaged the nation for years.
Nivash recently performed the Australian anthem at a multicultural event in Ballarat.
VIDEO: Watch Tamil refugee Nivash Para, 7, sing the Australian anthem in Ballarat recently.
Last week, the Ballarat community started an electric petition which is circulating social media pleading for Australia’s assistant Immigration and Border Protection Minister Michaelia Cash to intervene.
The Courier understands the family have exhausted all avenues of staying in Australia.
To date, the family have been unable to secure permanent residency and there have been no assurances of their safety if they were forced to return to Sri Lanka.
Serious concerns have been raised that if the family were to be forced back to Sri Lanka, Kartie and Nive, would not be recongised as Sri Lankan citizens because they were born aboard.
It is believed a last ditch request for ministerial intervention, prior to the petition being established, was denied by Ms Cash last week.
It is also understood the family are surviving on the generosity of the Ballarat Rural Australians for Refugees who are providing them with food and ongoing financial support.
Refugee advocate, Kate Moran, who was compelled to start the CommunityRun petition detailing the family’s plight said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support to date.
However, Ms Moran said more support was needed and urged residents to get behind the family and sign the petition.
She said residents were also handing out hard-copies of the petition around the city.
To sign, the petition visit www.communityrun.org/petitions/don-t-send-this-family-back-to-sri-lanka