Back in 1988, Palawa (Tasmanian) activist Michael Mansell issued Aboriginal Passports to a delegation of activists who were travelling overseas. More recently, Robbie Thorpe of the Treaty Republic and Ray Jackson, President of the ISJA, were approached by Sydney-based refugee activists to obtain passports for Tamil asylum seekers detained indefinitely at Villawood detention centre.
Together they developed the idea of a Ceremony, opening up the invitation to migrants and others across Sydney wishing to receive an Aboriginal Passport for travelling within the Aboriginal Nations of Australia.
Among the couple of hundred people who gathered at The Settlement to receive their passports was Mamdouh Habib, an Australian citizen detained in Guantanamo Bay, who had his Australian passport revoked by officials on returning to Australia. On receiving his passport, Mr Habib proudly stated he will “… not carry this passport for ID. I carry this passport for dignity … because the truth is the land is Aborigin[al] land”.
