“I can assure you:everyone who travels to Australia is checked. Israel checks all the names,Egypt checks all the names,Australia checks all the names.”
Anyone with close links to listed terrorist group Hamas,he argues,would not make it through these layers of checking. Home Affairs data shows 2922 visas have been granted to Palestinians since October 7,while 7111 applications have been rejected. Around 1300 have arrived in Australia,with many remaining trapped in Gaza,where the southern border has been sealed since May.
“The people coming here are all qualified:pharmacists,doctors,engineers,” Altannah says. “These are not people from Hamas;they are people who want to live in safety to have a good life ... Most of the people in Gaza are not Hamas.”
Asked his view on the conflict between Israel and Hamas,Altannah says that,even before the war,life was tough for many Gazans because of the difficulty in importing essential supplies. But he wants nothing to do with politics.
“This is a problem for Hamas and Israel,not for me,” he says. “I need to have a good life for my family.”
His view of the war,now in its 11th month,is one you’d hear across Australia. “We need a ceasefire,we need to stop the war,it’s enough. We need peace.”
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Altannah is grateful for receiving refuge in Australia but anxious about the 12-month visitor visas he and his family received. Rather than sitting at home,the 42-year-old wants to put his engineering experience to use,pay taxes and contribute to Australian society.
Under the visitor visa scheme,the family is not allowed to work,access Medicare or receive other government benefits. This is a problem because Altanna’s son Osama and daughter Lana suffer from serious medical conditions. Soccer-mad Osama,13,struggles to speak above a whisper because of a throat condition that requires surgery and has led to bullying from his classmates. Lana,2,has poor eyesight and also needs surgery.
“We want a safe life,a good education for our children,” says Altannah’s wife Maysoun,also a trained engineer.
“Without Medicare,we can’t do anything for them. My son Osama is suffering.”
Her 70-year-old mother,Rowaida Abughalwa,says:“We are tired,we want a restful life.”
They want the same thing for their family as they want for their homeland:peace. Already,they can hear the clock ticking to March,when their temporary visas will expire.
“We’re not tourists,we are refugees,” Altannah says. “All I want is to not worry about the future.”