General News
6 April, 2026
Voices for refugees rise on Palm Sunday rally
THE plight of refugees was high on the agenda during a recent Palm Sunday rally in Great Western. Organised by Rural Australians for Refugees Grampians, around 50 residents from across the region attended the rally which aimed to bring people together in a show of support for refugees and displaced people.
In the Christian Tradition, Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey — a humble, symbolic act that challenged political and social injustice.
Stawell based councillor Jenny Greenberger addressed the crowd in her capacity as a member of Rural Australians for Refugees.
She said Palm Sunday has become a symbolic day for standing up for refugees because of its deep themes of justice, compassion and solidarity.
“Refugee and asylum seeker policy in Australia should be shaped by empathy, not fear. Refugees should be seen as people needing kindness and protection, not punishment. Current policies of detention, temporary visas, and fear of deportation, are cruel and cause people to feel excluded and uncertain, and often fearful for their future,” she said.
“Refugees are refugees for a reason. They should be treated with compassion.
Great Western resident Anita San Ba spoke of her experience, with her family fleeing from Burma to Thailand.
Anita was born in a refugee camp in Thailand 1995.
“Like many refugee children, I have no birth certificate, no baby photos.
“In the camp, it was not easy. We were not allowed to leave, the camp was surrounded by barbed wire and it you went outside, you did so at your own risk, but still many people went into the forest to gather food, bamboo shoot, wild vegetables and fruit.
“In January 2000, my father went into the forest to cut bamboo and never came back. We don’t know if he’s alive or dead. I was four and a half at the time,” she said.
“My mum said the hardest thing for her was uncertainty. The camp was temporary, we could not go back because it was unsafe, we could not go forward because we had no identity, we were not Thai citizens. So we were stuck.
“But today my story id different, In August, it marks 19 years since I arrived in Australia.
“My story is just one of many and it is a reminder that behind every number is a person, a family and a story of survival,” she said.
Read More: Great Western, Stawell, Ararat