Anti-Refugee groups rally in Eltham to protest resettlement.
Anti-Refugee groups met today in Eltham to protest the resettlement of 120 refugees in disused care homes at a local St Vincent’s Aged Care Service.
Members of the United Patriots Front, True Blue Crew, Party For Freedom, and others gathered in a nearby park to listen to speeches from ‘celebrities’ within the conservative, anti-immigration movement.
One young speaker, having spent only a year within the movement, said: “you can take the refugee out of the jungle, but you cannot take the jungle out of the refugee”.
The refugees to be settled in Eltham under a state government plan are fleeing war in Syria and Iraq. Of the 120 refugees, many are women and children. It’s believed many are christian.
“Originally, they said it would be just women and children…now they say it’s going to be families too…I don’t think Aunty Doris wants to live next to Jamaal” said a speaker at the rally.
Many locals have come out in support of the plan to resettle the refugees, holding a protest march in Eltham earlier this morning so as to avoid confrontation with the opposing rally. One group, Welcome to Eltham, covered the suburb in butterflies as a symbol of welcome to the refugees.
Similar rallies in Coburg and Bendigo have resulted in violence and police intervention.
I’ve uploaded a small gallery of images from the rally below.
