Fans and protesters alike have been gathering outside the Park Hotel in Melbourne since Novak Djokovic was moved to the temporary detention facility following his visa cancellation last week.
“Free Novac [sic],” read one protester’s handwritten sign stuck to a tennis racket. “Let Novac play.”
Djokovic case has prompted anger from people who feel the rich and powerful are getting an easy ride when it comes to Australia’s tough Covid-19 rules, which have seen families separated for years.
But it’s also angered anti-vaxxers who believe coronavirus restrictions are encroaching on their civil liberties.
“I don’t see why he should be stuck in a detention center,” said Tara, a 17-year-old Australian-Serb and junior tennis player, who did not give a last name. “Everyone has their own freedom of choice, vaccinated or not.”
Australia’s asylum seekers Djokovic’s situation has also highlighted the plight of asylum seekers in Australia — with dozens of refugees inside the same hotel who have been locked up for years, and who face indefinite detention under Australia’s tough immigration rules.
Nearly a decade ago, Australia said no asylum seekers who arrived by boat would ever be settled in the country. Hundreds were housed at offshore processing centers for years, although some were sent to hotels in Australia to be treated for health conditions.
The refugees still have little hope of freedom, and the conditions they are held in is hugely controversial. Standing in front of the Park Hotel, which is tagged with the words “free them,” Tom Hardman, a 27-year-old teacher, said he had come out in support of the refugees.
“I’m here because the loneliness and the heartache these men suffer from not knowing when they will be released is unbearable to witness,” he said.
