Thursday, 20 March 2025

Syrian community

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (09:53): Recently I met with members of the Syrian Christian community in Hume along with Mr Wafa Al Betros and Mr Barhoum Bannoud from the Australian Suqaylbiyan Association to discuss the ongoing crisis in Syria. What we are seeing in Syria is horrific. We are seeing the targeting of Alawite Christian, Kurdish and Druze populations through indiscriminate killing of persecuted minorities. I join with many in the community in calling on the federal government to consider a humanitarian intake of Syrian persecuted minorities, similar to what Australia did under the Abbott government, and call on the federal government to use diplomatic channels through international bodies to urgently stop the killing.