In an effort to draw the attention of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to refugee families who are languishing in limbo and to pursue permanent residency in Australia, a Sri Lankan asylum seeker in Australia has started a 1000-kilometer journey on foot from Ballarat to Sydney.
Without a visa, Neil Para has been residing in Ballarat, a remote Victorian city in Australia, for more than eight years.
He is one of over 12,500 persons who have lived in Australia for more than ten years but are not qualified to apply for permanent residency under the new Resolution of Status visa; according to foreign media, about 2,500 of them have no visa at all.
In the thick of the civil strife, Para escaped Sri Lanka for Malaysia in 2008, leaving his wife Sugaa behind.
In 2012, Para sailed by boat to Christmas Island, an Australian overseas territory, via Indonesia with his eight-month pregnant wife and two children.
The family spent time in a Darwin detention facility before moving to Ballarat in September 2013, when they were released on a bridging visa.
For four months, Para could work while on a bridging visa before their request for protection was denied and their visa was cancelled.
For nearly nine years, the family has relied on neighbours to pay their rent and other expenses as they filed appeals against the decision and requests for ministerial involvement.
