After more than a decade in Australia, and years of tireless advocacy, Thanush is leaving. Not by choice, but because he was not granted the right to stay. 

Since 2021, Thanush has been part of JRS Australia’s Refugee Leadership Program, sharing his story with thousands of students, community members and decision-makers, and advocating for the rights of people seeking asylum. 

This is his story, in his own words. 

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When you are reading this, I will be in New Zealand. Although I am grateful for the chance to finally settle and pursue a permanent life somewhere, I would be lying if I said I truly want to go to New Zealand. 

I am going because I don’t have any choice.  I don’t have the right to stay in Australia. 

My journey started in 2013, when I came to seek asylum in Australia, and instead spent 7.5 years locked up in a detention centre on Manus Island. I made friends there, and we shared lots of struggles and pain. We had no freedom, very limited medical care, and rare opportunities to speak to our loved ones, or to seek legal advice. The guards treated us with no dignity.  

At one point, I thought it might last forever. After the electricity and water was turned off in our compound for days, my fellow detainees began to protest. Guards came into the compound and started to attack us. We lost 13 innocent people’s lives that day. I had my arm broken.  

I was proud to share the truth about my experiences in detention for a recent submission to the Australian Government. The Australian Government have started sending people to a detention centre on Nauru again. I fear for the well being of people being sent to offshore detention. It was the worst time in my life.  

 But, we keep fighting for our freedom. 

After I broke my arm, I was brought to Australia under the Medevac law. I thought maybe my opportunity had come, to be heard, and to seek protection. Instead, I was locked up again in hotel detention for another 1.5 years. 

In 2021, when I was finally released, the first thing I did was start advocating. On my first day out, I stood in front of hotel detention to speak up for the people who were still left behind. 

Since then, I have shared my story far and wide :in schools, in the media, in the community, and directly with decision-makers in Canberra. Every time I went to Parliament, I spoke to politicians about the struggles people seeking asylum are facing in this country.  

We have been living in limbo for so many years, and I wanted them to understand that. 

Step by step, after almost a decade, with pressure and advocacy, things did start to change.  

In 2023, people who were on temporary protection visas were finally given permanency. I have seen my friends finally able to travel, to see their families. That is a big achievement. 

For many of us, it still feels like too little, so late. People who were not initially granted protection, because of a failed “fast-track” system that refused people who should have been granted protection, have been waiting 10 years or more in limbo. With insecure work rights, limited access to support services, no way of seeing family, and no pathway to a secure and dignified future.  

And people like me, who came through offshore processing, still don’t have the right to stay or any pathway to permanency in Australia. There are still over 700 people in this situation. 700 people still in limbo.  

This life is not easy. Being in detention, being on a temporary visa – it takes everything from you. In my case, I lost my father without seeing him for more than 12 years because I didn’t have the right to travel. This kind of pain, nobody should have to experience. 

That’s why I accepted the offer to go to New Zealand. If I didn’t accept it, I could be punished with more years in limbo. I want to see my family, especially my mother. That is the reason I am going. 

But it is not easy to leave. I have built a community here. I will miss everyone. 

One of the most important parts of my journey has been going into schools and speaking to students. That experience has meant so much to me. When students and teachers write letters and take action after hearing my story, it shows me that change is possible. 

My journey has been full of struggle and pain, but I have never lost hope. I still believe in freedom and equality. Everyone deserves to be treated the same. 

Half of my life has been spent fighting for freedom, for myself, for my friends, and for people I may never meet. But I am proud of that, because we have achieved something together. 

And we cannot stop now. There are still people left behind, still living in limbo, still separated from their families. 

We have to keep going. We have to keep advocating for a better future for everyone in Australia. 

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Thank you, Thanush. 

Thank you for your courage, your leadership, and your unwavering commitment to a belief in a better world. You have made a lasting impact on our community at JRS Australia, and far beyond. 

We wish you strength and happiness in this next chapter. You will always be part of our family and we hope to welcome you back to Australia one day soon.