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Sunday 01 Nov 2015 - 13:07 Makkah mean time-19-1-1437
Sydney (IINA) – Thousands of Australians marched around the nation in a big shout-out, under the slogan "Walk Together" to support refugees and celebrate diversity and respect for people of different faiths and backgrounds, news agencies reported.
Participants in the rallies included members from Australian federal and local parliaments, Islamic and Christian institutions and people from different religious backgrounds.
The crowd had walked along the footpath down Cleveland Street from Victoria Park, in Sydney, chanting "Say it loud, say it clear. Refugees are welcome here".
Organizers pointed out that it was not a march or a rally but a walk, part of a National Day of Unity which saw walks in 25 other cities and towns and 14 mosques around Australia opened their doors to the wider community as part of National Mosque Open Day.
The Sydney walk attracted a diverse crowd, including young women wearing head scarves and draped in the Australian flag. Others walked under banners proclaiming the Uniting Church, the Socialist Alliance, Grandmothers Against Detention for Refugee Children, and the Land Rights flag.
The star turn of the speakers who addressed the gathering was Najeeba Wazefadost. She was smuggled out of Afghanistan when she was 12 and came to Australia on an asylum seeker boat in 2000 and graduated a medical doctor 10 years later.
Holding her arms out wide she told the crowd: "I am the living of the benefits of giving refugees a voice and a symbol of hope”. She demanded that hundreds of refugees should be given a chance to restore hope for life and stability.
AB/IINA
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