CAN OF WORMS
Planet
Earth has a monumental refugee problem. It’s estimated that, world-wide, there
are over 40 million displaced persons, or refugees, seeking a safe place to
call home. The so-called ‘Lucky Country’, Australia, has not been spared from
this problem and is a preferred destination for many asylum-seekers from Sri
Lanka, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries where persecution of
minorities occurs.
Those lucky enough to have valid passports,
appropriate papers and resources fly into the country, obtain temporary visas
and then disappear from sight hoping to elude the authorities as they start a
new life. Those with families, or without passports or necessary documents and
with limited resources, somehow find their way to Malaysia or Indonesia which
they use as launching pads to get to Australia. Refugees from Sri Lanka
generally sail from there directly to Australia.
They pay outrageous amounts of money to
people smugglers to obtain passage on unseaworthy and leaky boats and head
south to Australia. Many make it, but hundreds don’t, as their over-crowded
boats capsize or sink on the way. Over 100 men, women and children have drowned
in the last few months.
Undeterred, thousands of asylum-seekers in
Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia have been queuing up to take the high-risk
voyage and Australia’s onshore and offshore detention centres are bursting with
interned refugees. And although these isolated centres resemble up-market concentration
camps and internment can last many years, still the refugees risk their lives
and keep coming.
This is a dilemma and a can of worms for
most Australians. The majority of refugees are desperate to find a safe and
secure place to live, and many would face persecution and even death if they
returned to their countries of origin. However, many Australians believe we
would be swamped if we just open up our doors to everyone. Even a lucky country
like ours hasn’t got unlimited resources. Our health, education, social
services and infrastructure just wouldn’t be able to cope and the potential
stresses – economic, cultural, political and religious – would be
mind-boggling.
We are currently upping our intake of
legitimate and screened refugees to about 27,000 a year, which on a per capita
basis (Australia’s population is around 23 million) seems reasonable compared
with other countries. Should this be more? Probably.
The two major political parties have
struggled to come up with a feasible and morally sustainable solution to the
problem. The Liberal/National Coalition (currently the Opposition) favours a
simplistic ‘Stop the boats!’ policy, which apparently involves stopping the
boats before they reach Australian territory and having the navy either turn
them around or tow them back to where they came from. Oh yeah, that’ll work
given our miniscule naval resources! What if an armada of refugee boats suddenly
appears on the horizon?
It seems that Kevin Rudd, our new/old Prime
Minister and leader of the Labor Party has just gazumped the Opposition. He’s
done a deal with Papua-New Guinea’s Prime Minister to ship all newly-arrived
boat people to PNG where they’ll be interned and eventually resettled. For
this, Australia will throw heaps of dollars PNG’s way, allegedly to be spent on
hospitals and education as well as fund the concentration camps detention centre’s infrastructure, among
other things.
The idea is that once the word gets out that
no boat people will ever be
allowed to go to Australia, but at best, can look forward to PNG as their
future permanent place of residence, the boats will stop and the people smugglers
will go out of business. There is a certain amount of sense in this rationale,
because PNG is an under-developed Third World country beset with problems,
including massive unemployment, an ailing economy, corruption at all levels,
poor education and health services etc. and a society wracked with violence,
murders, robberies and rape. So, provided the Australian Government can get
this message across to would-be boat people, you’d have to believe they’d think
twice about jumping on the next boat.
Problem solved! Or is it?
What if the money thrown at PNG by Australia
falls down a black hole? What if the refugees wither away in the isolated
jungle camps because of inadequate care, or if they’re ill-treated or abused or worst?
Who’s responsibility will it be? PNG’s or Australia’s?
What
if the boats keep coming? What will the indigenous people of PNG make of the
strangers in their midst, with their different appearances, languages, customs
and religions. How will they feel about sharing their land and meagre resources
with unwelcome guests?
Be that as it may, I’m sure many Australians
share the Prime Minister’s optimism that the problem is now solved and we can
resume our normal daily lives, watching soapies or sport on TV; complaining
about the declining Australian dollar and its impact on our next Bali holiday;
eating and drinking too much and waiting with bated breath for the P.M. to announce
the date of the general election now he’s on a roll.
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