Asylum seekers and refugees - Australia's future? or our destroyers?

I am really exasperated by the vitriol expressed towards refugees sailing in tiny boats towards Australia and the so-called people smugglers who bring them here on those boats. Australia is a migrant nation... that is what we do.. we offer a new chance at life to people caught up in wars, poverty and oppression overseas. Of course I can differentiate between refugees with visas and those without, but every single person in Australia has come from somewhere else. Or if not us, then our parents or grandparents. We know what desperation is.

In Israel, Singapore or Malta, if they accepted one more refugee, the poor newcomers might have to sleep in tents. There is no more space to put new arrivals! But Australia is a huge continent. Of course we want to accept newcomers in an orderly fashion and we want to assure ourselves that the refugees are truly escaping death and oppression, so security checks are indeed essential. But rejecting people because Australia doesn't have the space or the wealth to absorb new families is absurd. And immoral.

refugees arrive in a small boat

Eamine the language in just a single newpaper article, WAtoday: Huge wave of refugees predicted (headline 28th/3/2011). "Indonesian police intelligence suggests between 7000 and 10,000 more people are waiting in Malaysia to make the journey once their passage is organised by people smugglers. There is a large network of people smugglers servicing the 1 million Indonesian illegal workers who regularly go back and forth between the two countries by boat. These same networks also help arrange passage to Australia. On Saturday, Malaysian authorities arrested 36 Afghans and six Pakistanis being smuggled to Australia via Indonesia".

Note the nasty language - "huge wave", "people smugglers", "large network", "illegal workers", "Indonesians, Afghans and Pakistanis". I wonder if newspapers would use this language about Dutch, British or Swiss citizens.  Worse than racist, the language has rather nasty theories/myths embedded just below the surface:
Myth 1 - Refugees arriving by boats are queue jumpers stopping legitimate asylum seekers from gaining entry.
Myth 2 - Refugees are terrorists or potential terrorists.
Myth 3 - The number of 'boat people' and refugees in general is huge and growing.
Myth 4 - Boat owners who carry asylum seekers to Australia are evil, satanic and greedy.

Two presentations in Melbourne on this very topic will be essential.

People Smugglers: Friend or Foe?
Exhibition Opening Sunday 10th April, 3 – 5pm
Liberty Victoria and Amnesty International present a new exhibition that looks at the issue of people smuggling through the eyes of refugees. In a series of interviews, people from all over the world discuss how they came to Australia and the role people smugglers played in their journey. This exhibition explores the moral complexities of the people smuggling trade. At the same time, it looks at the positive impact refugees have had on Australian society from the Second World War to the present day.

Date: Sunday 10 April – Sunday 8 May
Time: Opening from 3 – 5pm
For more information please visit Liberty Victoria online.
Please RSVP to the opening by Wednesday 6 April: marketing@jewishmuseum.com.au


Finding Refuge: Coming to Australia as an Asylum Seeker
In association with their exhibition People Smugglers: Friend or Foe, Liberty Victoria presents this open discussion, which will explore the difficult issue of people smuggling. Several refugees will tell their stories and give their perspective on whether they see smugglers as good, bad or indifferent. There should be a lively debate to follow the panel discussion.

Date: Thursday 28 April
Venue: The Jewish Museum of Australia

Time: 7.30pm