On Monday night in cities and towns around Australia, people gathered to lift a candle in the memory of drowned Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi and to recognise the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Middle East and Europe.
The events, held in most state and territory capitals, also demanded that Australia's politicians take action and offer sanctuary to those seeking asylum.
Thank you #Adelaide for standing up for compassion and saying #welcomerefugees #LightTheDark pic.twitter.com/uiizayEBEG— Sarah Hanson-Young (@sarahinthesen8) September 7, 2015
"The image of a Syrian child's lifeless body washed up on the shores of a Turkish beach this week brought the world to its knees. His name was Aylan Kurdi, and he was just three years old," the #LightTheDark Facebook event read. Supported by organisations such as Amnesty International and GetUp!, the crowd was said to reach more than 10,000 in Sydney's Hyde Park.
While Prime Minister Tony Abbott had previously indicated the country would take more displaced Syrians but would not lift its overall refugee intake, there are signs he might shift his position, Fairfax Media reported Tuesday. On Monday, the opposition leader Bill Shorten called for Australia to create 10,000 permanent refugee places to address the ongoing turmoil.
While politicians debated, students, parents, religious leaders, and people across the country shared images and thoughts on social media under the hashtag #LightTheDark to show the world Australians are welcoming and willing to take action.
aaaaaa so proud that so many peoples showed up at the #adelaide #lightthedark pic.twitter.com/jk9mchdho4— cosmic sans (@mcat_ee) September 7, 2015
Australia says welcome! #LightTheDark #Adelaide pic.twitter.com/qczkl23uE7— Zahra (@Zuuzuu96) September 7, 2015
#Adelaide I am loving your compassionate response to #refugees @GetUp #LightTheDark #refugeeswelcome pic.twitter.com/Eohuo9qP5q— Nicole (@nikwallis) September 7, 2015
Beautiful work #Sydney. We #LightTheDark to welcome #refugees. To shine a light on our shared humanity. #AylanKurdi pic.twitter.com/LlgSmGFEhg— Kon Karapanagiotidis (@Kon__K) September 7, 2015
A photo posted by mamamiaaus (@mamamiaaus) on Sep 7, 2015 at 3:55am PDT
And those thousands are lighting candles to remember #AylanKurdi #LightTheDark #Sydney pic.twitter.com/th1M62E3mP— Hijacked (@HJCKD) September 7, 2015
#Perth #LightTheDark #endmandatorydetention #endoffshoreprocessing #freetherefugees @GetUp pic.twitter.com/XnJSaxi6Iz— StudentsForRefugees (@S4R_wa) September 7, 2015
A beautiful gesture to support a beautiful sentiment #lightthedark #lightthedarkperth #PerthCC #perthcity Photo: @sarahbj2 A photo posted by Perth City (@perthcityaus) on Sep 7, 2015 at 7:42am PDT
#Perth crowds rally for refugees tonight as part of #LightTheDark http://t.co/VO0TULqZjx pic via @JamUCWA #perthnews pic.twitter.com/BkgHTuJ8UZ— Ben Anderson (@BenjaminFA) September 7, 2015
#lightthedark A photo posted by Lunch Lady (@hellolunchlady) on Sep 7, 2015 at 1:34am PDT
A photo posted by JennyHodge (@greentortoise4) on Sep 7, 2015 at 3:47pm PDT
A photo posted by JennyHodge (@greentortoise4) on Sep 7, 2015 at 3:25pm PDT