PAULINE PANNELL is a member of Grandmothers for Refugees Fremantle. She can usually be found on a Friday outside the Scots Church on the corner of South Terrace and Parry Street, joining fellow refugee advocates calling for a more humane approach.

THEY are a Fremantle Friday ritual.  

Drive, walk or cycle past the of corner of Parry Street and South Terrace, on any Friday evening between 5 and 6pm and you will see a motley collection of protesters with placards calling for a more humane Australia for refugees and asylum seekers.  

Some belong to Amnesty International or Grandmothers for Refugees.  

All are committed to this ritual which celebrated its 200th week on June 14. 

It is a ritual motivated by the stories of decent people who have fled persecution and death.  

Decent people who want to contribute to Australia. 

People like Fremantle man Hamid.   

• Hamid and his immediate family.

On April 15 last year, when the city of Khartoum in Sudan erupted in civil war with airstrikes, artillery and gunfire, Hamid was there with his family. 

Hamid’s family, including seven of his grandchildren aged between two and 18 fled, without possessions, first to another part of the city and then by bus to Egypt.

Their home in Khartoum, which had been in the family for generations, was destroyed.

This was the beginning of a conflict that has killed more than 15,000 people, displaced over 6.5 million and seen more than two million flee the country as refugees.  

Hamid is a softly spoken, educated gentleman in his 70s.  

He and his wife raised their sons and daughters in Sudan to dream of building a better country.  

Each of his five children studied in Sudan and are qualified professionals in mathematics and engineering.   

In 1989 an extremist Islamic group began to dominate Sudanese politics. 

Hamid was concerned about what this meant for his country and family, so he worked to improve the situation by supporting a moderate party in the “democratic” election of 2009. 

When he left the country to visit one of his daughters, who had married an Australian and was then living here, he hoped to return to a more liberal and fair government.  

Instead, violence and corruption ensured that the existing government remained. 

Hamid was warned that he would be killed for his political affiliations if he returned to Sudan.  

Hamid is grateful to have been granted permanent residency here in 2013. 

His wife, Eiman remained in Sudan, committed to help care for her mother and grandchildren.

Hamid had returned to Sudan to visit them when the terror began last year. 

Now home in Fremantle, Hamid is distraught.

As his wife’s visa in Egypt is soon to expire, he has applied to bring her to join him and their daughter and five Australian grandchildren.

Like many who seek or have been granted asylum here, Hamid is desperately trying to reunite with loved ones.

He works tirelessly to meet the requirements of an impersonal and often illogical visa application process.  

The Fremantle Justice Vigil for Refugees asks everyone to demand a more compassionate Australia for Hamid and others like him.

They also ask for a fair process for over for over 10,000 asylum seekers who arrived by boat and live among us, waiting for a decade or more for resolution of their visa status, most working and paying tax, and for those still stuck in the hell of offshore detention.

All are welcome to join the vigil or to join one of the Freo groups who volunteer their time to fight for a more just society.

Amnesty International Fremantle Christa fremantleamnesty@gmail.com 

Grandmothers for Refugees Fremantle pauline.pannell@gmail.com