Let us get ahead of the dogfight on asylum seekers

7 October 2008

A second boat with 17 people has arrived. The people are currently on their way to Christmas Island on an Australian naval vessel. With the boat last week, this makes a total of 31 people of whom a few are crew only — hardly a flood.

We do not know if these people arrived recently in Indonesia, or whether they have been waiting up there since 2001 when the Navy pushed boats back to Indonesia during the infamous Operation Relex.

We do not know if these people hold UNHCR refugee recognition. Many people who are recognised as refugees spend decades waiting for some place to call home.

Now that a second boat has arrived, the coalition will no doubt claim the Government are attracting asylum seekers. This is Australian politics after all. Not clever. Not even true. Just the Howard Ruddock way. It will be a joyful surprise if Malcolm Turnbull directs his team not to engage in the tired politics of race, lies and fear-mongering. We can only hope.

Senator Evans said the arrival of any boat people would be:

...a result of significant long-term pressures driving the international movement of displaced people from the Middle East and Asia, caused by conflict and natural disasters.

We can only hope that the shock jocks and rabid media commentators are listening.

Oxfam reports that:

Across the world an increasing number of people are being forced to flee their homes. They are driven out by persecution for their political beliefs, targeted for ill treatment because of their ethnic group, or compelled to leave as a result of war or natural disaster”.

These are the facts:

Iraq has 2.2 million people internally displaced within Iraq and another 2 million struggling to survive as refugees in Syria and Jordan.

Afghanistan has 3.5 million refugees living in Pakistan and Iran who are being pressured to go home to their country where there are no jobs, no food, no schools, no homes; just war, bombs, killing and fear.

Iran has vowed to send back as soon as possible about 1.5 million Afghans who are within its borders without papers. This past weekend has seen Pakistan order the destruction of Afghan refugees' homes and camps in Bajaur to force them out. Many of these people will stay close to their borders but some will decide that their best chance for survival lies elsewhere.

Meanwhile the governments of Sri Lanka, Iran, Sudan, and Burma are persecuting and killing people from opposition and minority groups. Some of these people have managed to get out and are trying to find a country to take them.

Australia is approached by a very small number.

Let us remind the journalists, shock jocks and others that we signed the United Nations Refugee Convention in which we promised the following:

Article 31 - Refugees unlawfully in the country of refuge
1. The Contracting States (that is us) shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees who, coming directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened in the sense of article 1, enter or are present in their territory without authorization (that is without a passport and visa), provided they present themselves without delay to the authorities and show good cause for their illegal entry or presence.

Article 16 - Access to courts
1. A refugee shall have free access to the courts of law on the territory of all Contracting States.

Article 26 - Freedom of movement
Each Contracting State shall accord to refugees lawfully in its territory the right to choose their place of residence to move freely within its territory, subject to any regulations applicable to aliens
generally in the same circumstances. (Nothing here about Governments allowed to lock people up in detention centres for years)

Or they can read the lot for themselves here at http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/3b66c2aa10.pdf

Let us lead the debate with home truths, a bit of compassion, understanding and generosity, and just maybe this time Australians will lead their politicians.

Ring your local radio station, write a letter to the paper and don’t forget to ring and write to your local member. Be heard.

To find your local member click here

Pamela Curr
Campaign Co-ordinator
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre