Members of the persecuted Hazara community, many of whom work as tilers, labourers and bricklayers, say they are trapped because they can never return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and are stuck in temporary visa arrangements in Australia.
"Most of us are at breaking point, we can't tolerate the situation anymore," says Zaki Haidari, an asylum seeker and one of the organisers of Tuesday's protest in Canberra.
"When I was in Afghanistan, I was discriminated because I was a Hazara but in Australia I am discriminated because I am a refugee and 'boat arrival'."
Mr Haidari, 28, says he fled the Taliban almost a decade ago after his father, who was a doctor, was killed. He is one of more than 5000 Afghan asylum-seekers and refugees in Australia placed in temporary arrangements after arriving by boat, according to the Refugee Council of Australia.
The Australian government has said asylum seekers would not be required to return to Afghanistan, but it also has a long-standing policy of not resettling people who arrive by boat.
The protesters told AAP they were frustrated that meetings with Australian government officials in recent years had not helped their plight. Tuesday's protest is a rare instance of members of the Hazara community coming from different parts of Australia to protest in unison.
A Department of Home Affairs representative repeated a previous commitment for Afghan citizens to be prioritised in Australia's humanitarian program.
The government announced last month that it would allocate 15,000 humanitarian and family visa places to Afghan nationals over the next four years.
"The success of Australia's border protection policies has enabled the government to make a generous contribution to addressing the global humanitarian crisis," the spokesperson said.
The temporary visa arrangements allow the asylum seekers to work, but prohibit them from bringing family members to Australia. Many Afghan asylum seekers work in trades that help fill Australia's widespread skills shortages, caused in part by global travel restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nabi Afzali, a business owner who arrived in Australia more than two decades ago who is now a citizen, says he attended the protest because he understands the pain and suffering of other Afghan asylum seekers.
"They are living in uncertain purgatory," Mr Afzali says.
"They are not the only ones who suffer psychologically but their wives, children and parents also suffer."
The Taliban surged back to power in Afghanistan in September 2021 after two decades of fighting against US-led coalition forces. The swift change in regime has prompted an unprecedented number of visa applications from individuals seeking resettlement.
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