Dozens of asylum seeker advocates have gathered at a twilight rally in Brisbane to call on the government to take in stranded Rohingya refugees.
Nearly 3000 refugees have already swum to shore or been rescued from the coast of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand over the past 10 days.
A Thai crackdown disrupted long-established smuggling routes, prompting some smugglers to abandon their human cargo at sea.
More than 100 supporters gathered in King George Square on Friday to hear from members of the state's Rohingya community.
The Rohingyas have been subjected to the Burmese government's "systematic and ongoing persecution of minorities" for decades, spokesman Sujauddin Karimuddin said.
"The Rohingyas are stigmatised as illegal migrants from Bangladesh, although they have been living in the land for centuries," he said.
"These accusations of being illegal have opened them up to harassment and physical and verbal abuses on the streets."
The humanitarian disaster was a direct result of the persecution, he said.
Mr Karimuddin returned from Burma a week ago where he heard firsthand shocking stories of the refugees' journeys.
Some are paralysed from sitting for long periods of time, while others are malnourished, he said.
"I met a mother who lost two of her children - a five-year-old and a seven-year-old boy," Mr Karimuddin said.
"Imagine this mother. Two of her children are dying before her eyes and she cannot do anything."
He urged the crowd to put themselves in the shoes of those stranded at sea.
"Every second, every moment they are living in a sea of rejection from the world."
The group called on the Australian government to end its policy of turning back asylum seeker boats and offer resettlement to the stranded.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott flatly ruled out the possibility on Thursday.
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