Jeff Byrne

develynz@yahoo.com

AS thousands of people continue to flee violence and turmoil in African and Middle Eastern countries, many are heading to Australia, which was once a welcoming nation.

These days, however, people seeking refuge and a better life for their families are no longer welcome in Oz.

Aided by so-called people-smugglers, many set out from Indonesia in boats that were rarely seaworthy. Countless lives have been lost when these boats have foundered.

Those who have managed to arrive in Australian waters have been intercepted and, instead of finding asylum, end up behind razor wire in what are little more than concentration camps. Some of these people, including children, have been there for years.

Many become mentally disturbed after having been detained for years. There are numerous accounts of suicides and self-harm, and there have been violent protests as refugees plead for release into society.

The trouble with Australia now is that the refugee “problem” has become so politicized that politicians use it as a ploy, saying “we will decide who comes into this country and who does not.”

And of course, it’s all blamed on the “people-smugglers.”

If the present government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard was serious about “stopping the boats” it would be better advised to stop the people-smugglers.

In their quest for self-interest, Australia’s politicians have lost sight of the truth. Refugees are being treated as queue-jumpers who are trying to gain advantage over people seeking to immigrate legally from a host of countries around the world. Refugees are “illegal,” politicians say. They are not. They have a legitimate claim to asylum.

It should be noted that of the 54 pieces of anti-terrorist legislation introduced in Australia since the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, 48 were sponsored by the Howard government.

Australian law professor George Williams recently said these laws leaned toward a police state and had no place in Australia.

He criticized the powers that allowed domestic spy agency ASIO to give a negative assessment of a refugee’s application, without explanation, ending in the refugee’s rejection or indeterminate detention.

Professor Williams says these laws could be used against Australian citizens and collectively represented the greatest assault on Australia’s civil liberties since World War II.

When all the rhetoric and dishonesty is swept aside, politicians and their actions are exposed. This issue is about refusing to provide succor to people in distress, to those less fortunate than ourselves. Australians need to examine the real motives for this shameful lack of compassion.

Because if we cease to practice empathy and compassion, we cease to be a civil society.

(The author is a former Shenzhen Daily senior copy editor and writer.)