Big Walk 4 Refugees

A VIRTUAL walk all around Australia in solidarity with 10,000 refugees 

#bigwalk4refugees 

The Big Walk begins on 13 February, the anniversary of the government's announcement last February that 19,000 refugees on SHEVs and TPVs would get permanent visas.

The Walk will ‘arrive’ in Canberra on 26 March – just after Palm Sunday.   Work is in progress with several refugee communities, and advocates to arrange meetings with politicians and a media conference at Parliament House on 26 March.  

What is the Big Walk 4 Refugees and how will it help ? 

The Big Walk for Refugees is a virtual walk all around Australia - the kilometres that you walk, run, swim and cycle locally count towards total virtual progress of the walk ‘around Australia’.   The Walk is a solidarity action, through which people right across Australia can demonstrate their concern and care for the thousands of people living in limbo in our communities, because the unfair Fast Track process has denied them the chance of a thorough assessment of their claims for refugee protection.   

Why now?   

The Big Walk 4 Refugees is inspired by the Walks to Canberra undertaken in 2023 by refugees, including Neil Para (from Ballarat), 22 women from Melbourne, and 15 women from Sydney. Former cricketer Thienushan Chandrasekaram also cycled 1400kms from Brisbane to Canberra.  

As we know, most of the 10,000 people seeking recognition as refugees are still in limbo, having waited for certainty for more than 10 years.  This includes those who walked, with the exception of Neil Para.  

How to Register

Get ready to register on 13 February and start adding your kms to the Big Walk to support refugees in our community! Registration will be open soon on the website -  www.bigwalk4refugees.au 

Advocacy resources 

Resources will be available on www.bigwalk4refugees.au  (which will be live by 12 February) 

How do people participate? 

Individuals can walk, run, cycle, swim, dance, row, or even skip! and add their kilometres to the Virtual Walk, helping to make sure the virtual Walk arrives in Canberra by 26 March.   It will be easy to register online at www.bigwalk4refugees.au or on the Big Walk app using the QR code. Then you sync your activity with the Big Walk app, and start 'Walking' for Refugees from 13 February.   If you don’t have a smart phone/technical know how, you can estimate kilometres and add them manually on the BigWalk website.  

Download:  pdf Big Walk Flyer 6 Feb (2.17 MB)

For further information, contact:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | Refugee Advocacy Network