Diana Haddad was supposed to arrive in Sydney from Iraq in March after being granted a humanitarian visa. She's one of thousands currently stranded overseas as the COVID-19 pandemic forces Australia to keep its borders closed.
David Odeesh was overjoyed when the Federal Government granted his sister and her family humanitarian visas in January.Australian citizens and permanent residents are the only people allowed to enter the countryAfter escaping Islamic State in their hometown of Mosul in Iraq and fleeing to Lebanon, they had planned to arrive in Sydney in March.The Australian Government's COVID-19 travel restrictions prevent refugee and humanitarian visa holders from entering the country.
For the last six months, he had tried to help them by applying two times for an exemption to the border restrictions.For the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic read our coronavirus update story."They've been accepted, and they got approval for the humanitarian visas … but they don't consider them as permanent residents.
"I can see no reason why people who have permanent resident visas to come to Australia as refugees — whose need for refugee resettlement was recognised by the Australian Government because of the urgency of the situation — can't be allowed to come," Mr Power said. With many parts of the world already grappling with humanitarian issues, Ms Agha said COVID-19 was making life for many refugees more difficult than ever.
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