Tens Of Thousands Of Aussies #LightTheDark In Solidarity With Refugees

By

Published

September 7, 2015

All around the country tonight, tens of thousands of Aussies stood together, each holding a candle. These candles were to remember Aylan Kurdi, the little boy who passed away while seeking asylum from Syria, and also to show solidarity and compassion to refugees who are “forced to ask for protection from countries like ours”.

This event was called ‘Light The Dark’, and public gatherings were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide & Perth. Many chose to privately light a candle in their homes to show their support, too.

Even if you were unable to attend the events, the hashtag #LightTheDark and #WeCanDoBetter were both thriving and keeping everyone informed:

Y’know, people of Australia, you’re pretty decent. Wish I could say the same about most of our members of Parliament. #LightTheDark

— Norman Ma (@darkhorse166) September 7, 2015

#LightTheDark Sydney #refugeeswelcome pic.twitter.com/KnFwKuvZ3Z

— Leah Williams Veazey (@leahmouse) September 7, 2015

@TonyAbbottMHR please resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees #LightTheDark #RefugeesWelcome @amnestyOz pic.twitter.com/OD2ZT6b3Qu

— Roxy Moore (@RoxyAmnestyOz) September 7, 2015

#LightTheDark #Sydney pic.twitter.com/zbmDGv59mV

— ? Clinkerbelle M ? (@mm_ssssshh) September 7, 2015

Loads of people already at #LightTheDark in #Adelaide, and they’re continuing to stream in pic.twitter.com/8qpDtKnih6

— Casey Briggs (@CaseyBriggs) September 7, 2015

Hundreds lined up to sign this petition:

Despite being much smaller than the other cities, Adelaide’s crowd was very impressive:

#adelaide #LightTheDark #WeCanDoBetter pic.twitter.com/drjFb9yo6o

— Welcome to Australia (@welcome2aussie) September 7, 2015

Melburnians turned out in droves to support the cause and show their solidarity, despite it absolutely pissing down with rain:

:

Wet weather doesn’t stop the crowds at #LightTheDark #Melbourne @abcnewsMelb pic.twitter.com/xUZZ0EFH9A

— Stephanie Anderson (@skateanderson) September 7, 2015

Enthusiastic crowd for #lightthedark #Melbourne Treasury Gardens. Hear the voice.. pic.twitter.com/tT21HifnqH

— Geoff Slattery (@GeoffSlattery) September 7, 2015

#Melbourne you’re doing us proud as you #LightTheDark to say #refugeeswelcome.

Yes they are!

#AylanKurdi #Syria pic.twitter.com/3NmfSUaC3b

— Kon Karapanagiotidis (@Kon__K) September 7, 2015

And Sydney’s turnout was absolutely huge, too:

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

It’s very clear that the Australian public wants to welcome, help and support refugees, so why does our government refuse to listen? #WeCanDoBetter

via Twitter