Vigil for Vietnamese refugees

A large gathering of people from the Vietnamese and Catholic communities - alongside supporters of refugee rights - gathered at the St Mary's Cathedral in Perth on November 8 to highlight the situation of Vietnamese refugees in the Yongah Hill Detention Centre. Around 700 Vietnamese refugees have arrived in Australia in recent years complaining about religious persecution in Vietnam. Further, the Immigration Department has allowed Vietnamese officials into Australian detention centres to interrogate refugees there. This has resulted in further persecution of their relatives and communities back in Vietnam according to the refugees. The vigil was organised by the Refugee Rights Action Network, the Vietnamese community in Perth and the Catholic diocese.