Shamikh’s father is dead and his mother is trapped alone in Gaza. He says Dutton’s words come at ‘the worst moment of my life’
Shamikh Badra is one of many Palestinian Australians hurt by the Coalition’s recent push to impose a temporary blanket ban on granting visas to those escaping the deadly conflict in Gaza.
The Sydneysider, who is undertaking his PhD, has been desperately trying to get his elderly mother out of Gaza City after Israeli tanks destroyed the family home last year.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, escalated the opposition’s rhetoric against Palestinians fleeing Gaza this week, criticising the security checking process for visa applications and urging a temporary blanket pause.
The comments have stirred furious debate over whether the approach is discriminatory, shortly after Asio’s director general, Mike Burgess, cautioned politicians “to be careful about their robust political debate”, warning it could “drive violence in our society”.
Badra says Dutton and the opposition’s comments are “deeply troubling” and provoke a “strong reaction” in him.
“He would not make such statements if, as an Australian citizen, he had family trapped in Gaza, suffering from a lack of medicine, water and food due to the ongoing conflict, and if his family had died under those dire circumstances,” he says.
‘This is my suffering’
Badra still remembers the “miracle” of hearing from his elderly parents after seeing footage of Israeli tanks rolling through his old neighbourhood in Gaza City.
The family home had been partially destroyed - while his parents were still in it – but, remarkably, both were alive.
Since those early days in late October and early November, Badra has pleaded with various political offices and the department officials to help him get them out.
As an Australian citizen, Badra passed the first hurdle – getting his parents temporary visas to come to Australia.
But it was only one challenge in a long and complicated race.
With a valid visa, someone in Gaza City still has to survive the dangerous trip to one of the besieged strip’s borders. In the far south of Gaza, one border, Rafah, remained open for months but has since been shut after Israeli authorities seized the area in May.
The trip is around 40km – an eighthour walk, or one-hour drive, in peacetime. In war, the journey is treacherous, if not fatal.
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Tragically, Badra’s father died in December after getting sick and having no access to his regular medication or medical care. Badra says his friend buried his father in their backyard because it was too dangerous to travel to the nearest cemetery.
A few weeks earlier, Badra’s broth
er, Ehab, his wife and their children, who had been living with and caring for Badra’s parents, briefly visited their nearby apartment to assess the damage during a temporary ceasefire.
The family of seven, which included his sister-in-law’s father, have not been heard from since.
“People told us your brother is under the rubble with his family and his children, he’s killed,” Badra says. “My mother is alone, and this is my suffering.”
Now, Badra’s mother is alone in the empty neighbourhood. Despite having a valid visa to Australia, she is one of the thousands stuck in the conflict with no safe passage out.
“I want to take my mother to a hospital and then after that, if she’s good, I will take care of her in Australia for a few months,” Badra says.
“All the people are sick. Lots of diseases are spreading but my mother, before the war, was sick. She needs medicine all the time.”
Badra finds comfort in the success he’s had elsewhere in helping others get to Australia from the war zone. He played a crucial role in helping Mohammed Saleh and his young family arrive safely in Sydney’s northern beaches in July.
Years earlier, and with Badra’s help, Saleh and another Gazan, Hasan Alhabil, spent time training with North Steyne surf club before returning to Gaza to set up its first Nippers club, based on Australia’s surf lifesaving program for children. Badra’s father, Khalil Wajeh Badra, had also helped support the club in Gaza.
While a number of the children involved in Gaza’s Nippers program have been killed, Saleh and his family survived, escaping to Egypt shortly before the Rafah border was closed.
“We are happy that we succeeded to evacuate a family from Gaza,” Badra says. “Especially to see the children are happy and laughing.”
Badra’s focus now centres on getting his mother out of the dire situation she has remained in for more than six months.
Only the spouse and dependent children of Australian citizens were initially considered “immediate family” under Australia’s visa rules, though this was later changed to include parents in Gaza.
While Badra’s mother had a visa, she was not automatically granted consular assistance due to limitations with the tightly controlled border crossing.
Palestinians seeking to leave must have approval from both Israeli and Egyptian authorities to exit the besieged territory. Since Israeli forces took control of the border in May, few can leave, apart from those in need of serious medical evacuation.
Australia’s home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed on Wednesday that 2,922 visas had been granted to Palestinians since 7 October 2023. More than 7,100 had been rejected for various reasons, such as security concerns and applicants not being considered immediate family. Just 1,300 have made it to Australia in that time.
Badra says the delays in expanding the definition of immediate family meant a “golden opportunity” was missed. As for his mother – her options are limited.
Badra wants to see the federal government do more to help those trying to leave the strip with valid visas.
“It’s important to say, what happened to me can happen to any Australian, because this justification should not be acceptable. The price was so high, I lost my father,” he says.
“I failed to get [my parents in time]. I couldn’t help them. The government didn’t help me, and it’s become the worst moment of my life.”