📰 ❤🧡💛 Reeta and Dixtan finally reunited. Great news for the start of a new year ☺

Reeta and her son, Dixtan, have finally been reunited. Dixtan was released into the community yesterday after years of detention.
Reeta has been tirelessly fighting to stop her son’s deportation, and this long-awaited reunion marks the end of a harrowing journey. Both Reeta and Dixtan are survivors of the Mullivaikkal genocide, where Reeta’s husband was killed by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. Reeta endured severe torture, and Dixtan was forced to witness it. In a desperate bid to survive, Reeta made the heart-wrenching decision to flee the island, leaving Dixtan in the care of other family members.
After arriving in Australia, Reeta was granted refugee protection and eventually a permanent visa. Dixtan later tried to join his mother, but because his case was assessed separately under the flawed fast-track process, he was not recognised as a genuine refugee. This decision left him in detention for over six years, during which he faced multiple threats of deportation.
Reeta sought help from countless members of the community. When Andrew Giles became Immigration Minister, Vasanthan from the Tamil community and I met with him to raise concerns about Dixtan’s case. Kalyani from the Tamil Refugee Council in Sydney worked tirelessly to advocate for Dixtan’s release. Reeta’s union, the United Workers Union, also lent its support, advocating on her behalf. At the same time, Carina Ford Lawyers handled the legal work to prevent Dixtan’s deportation.
After nearly three years of advocacy under the current government, someone in the department finally saw reason, and Dixtan has now been released into the community.
Meanwhile the plight of over 9,000 other refugees who remain victims of the fast-track process continues. (Posted by Aran Mylvaganam of the Tamil Refugee Council)