Refugees, Research and the Media
On Monday morning an overseas researcher was interviewed about violence
towards women in Afghanistan. Once again we see how the Australian media
divorces the issue of the asylum seekers on our doorstep from these
academic reports of violence and human rights abuses in the refugees' home
countries.
- Right now a teenage boy sits
in an Indonesian prison as the flow-on effect of violence against women.
His family have been separated and devastated as a result of a loving
father’s decision not to hand over his 15 year old daughter in marriage
as demanded by a 57 year old local mullah. As a result the
father was slaughtered, and his wife and two daughters and six sons sent
running. An Australian relative said to the Americans, "This man is a
Commander. To us he is a Talib who demands any woman he pleases." The
village elders advised them not to complain but to run to save their
lives. Five sons are missing, the mother and her daughters travelled on
foot and by donkey over the mountains into Pakistan where they hide out
in fear. The youngest boy wound up in Indonesia.
- On Christmas Island a father arrived with his 13 year old daughter. He
and his wife made this decision after the teenage girl was marked by an
elderly mullah for marriage. Instead of handing her over the family
sacrificed everything and ran. With only enough money for two passages,
the father took his daughter - as the child
most at risk - on a dangerous boat journey.
These are just two of the many stories behind the flight of people whom
our government condemns for daring to knock on Australia’s door and seek
help. Violence and fear beget flight; there is no other way to survive.
These people then spend months on Christmas Island being grilled and
challenged, and having to justify why they have left their families and
homes to come our way. The media discusses in the abstract the appalling
conditions of far away countries but never links the reports to the
asylum seekers in our midst. Partly this is a result of the refugee
determination process which demands secrecy, but it is nevertheless easily
accepted by some sections of the media.
Pamela Curr
7 December 2009 |
