Asylum seekers: myths and facts
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| Wednesday October
28,
2009 |
The debate surrounding the arrival of asylum
seekers by boat has descended to a level reminiscent of the Tampa and
Children Overboard affairs.
The federal opposition appears to be calling for
a return to the draconian policies of the previous government while the
Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has wrongly described asylum seekers as
"illegal."
That and other common myths and misconceptions
are quickly dispelled in a fact sheet, Myths
and Facts about Asylum Seekers, produced by the refugee advocacy
group, A
Just Australia. Here is a summary:
Myth 1:
The recent
increase in boat-borne asylum seekers is a result of reforms to
Australia’s asylum policy.
Fact: The number of boat-borne asylum seekers arriving to Australia follows global trends. In the past 2 years there has been
a worldwide increase.
This indicates that the increase is not
due to receiving countries "going soft" on asylum seekers. It is due to
violence in countries
like Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Sri Lanka.
Some refugees flee as far as
Australia because it is the first country they come to that can offer
protection. Very few countries between Afghanistan and Australia
offer real protection or durable solutions. Most are not
signatories to the Refugee Convention.
Myth 2: Harsh
policies against asylum seekers will stop people smugglers and
unauthorised arrivals.
Fact: Temporary protection visas were
part of a harsh policy, but after their introduction in 1999
unauthorised boat arrivals increased. They only decreased in 2003 when
global asylum seeker numbers
decreased.
It is illogical and unfair to punish
refugees and asylum seekers in the hope of deterring people smugglers.
The only way to stop unauthorised boat arrivals
is though regional and international co-operation to resolve conflicts
and to create durable solutions for refugees so that they no longer
need to undertake perilous journeys to find safety.
Myth 3: Refugees
who get to Indonesia should stay there and not come to Australia.
Fact: Very few countries between the
Middle East and Australia provide real or permanent protection for
asylum
seekers. Australia represents the first reasonable opportunity to apply
for protection.
Indonesia does not offer real protection or
durable solutions. Observers have described Indonesian detention
centres as "hugely
overcrowded" and conditions as "horrendous". On average, the waiting
time
until a claim
is finalised by the UNHCR is 10 years. And even after they are
registered,
refugees cannot
seek employment, send their children to school, apply for family
reunion or apply for residency.
Myth 4: Boat people are
"queue jumpers," stealing the places of "genuine" refugees waiting
patiently in camps for their turn at orderly processing by the UNHCR.
Fact: A "queue" - where refugees have their
names recorded in an organised database and "wait
their turn" - is completely untrue.
Many asylum seekers come from countries like Iraq
and Afghanistan where there is no UNHCR office and no Australian
embassy. In countries with a UNHCR office, a refugee might not
physically be able to register because of roadblocks, curfews and
travel restrictions. Sometimes, simply expressing a desire to leave is
enough
to put your life at risk.
Many refugees believe taking refuge in a
camp will not increase their chance of escape or survival. Camp
conditions can be as dangerous as the
situations from which people have fled. In many countries, Australian
officials do not visit refugee camps to see if people need protection.
It is wrong to say that asylum seekers arriving
by
boat "steal" the places of people who could come via the off-shore
Humanitarian program. There is no logical reason to link these two
separate pathways.
Myth 5: Getting rid
of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) sent a "green light" to people
smugglers. We should bring back TPVs.
Fact: After the introduction of temporary
protection visas in
1999, unauthorised boat arrivals continued
to increase.
Former Immigration Minister, Phillip Ruddock,
repeatedly claimed
that letting children out of detention centres would send a "green
light" to people smugglers. In 2005, in response to community concern,
the Howard government let the children out. There was no increase in
boat numbers.
TPVs caused great hardship including inability to
apply for family reunion, to get adequate settlement assistance or
achieve the
stability and security of permanent protection. Many who drowned in the
SIEV X tragedy were the wives and children of TPV
holders attempting to reunite their families.
Myth 6: Boat people
are not "genuine" refugees because they pay people smugglers.
Fact: Asylum seekers who use people
smugglers are mostly desperate people whose options have run out. They
see this route as the only way to safety for themselves and their
families. Extended families may sell everything and live on tiny
incomes for years to send one person to safety.
But you do not have to poor or uneducated to be
a refugee. Many people are persecuted because of their educational,
professional or political backgrounds. Sometimes even refugees in camps
have to pay large bribes to processing officials to have their refugee
claims assessed.
Myth 7: People who
arrive unauthorised are not "genuine" refugees. They are illegal
immigrants.
Fact: Asylum seekers are not
illegal
immigrants. Under Australian and international law, a person is
permitted to enter Australia to seek asylum. A refugee’s claim for
asylum has nothing to do with how they arrive in a country.
In order to justify "getting tough" on
unauthorised arrivals, some politicians have inaccurately labelled
asylum seekers as "illegal" and "not genuine." However 84% of those who
arrive unauthorised in Australia seeking asylum are found to be
refugees.
Myth 8: If we
abolish mandatory detention we will "open the floodgates" and be
"swamped" by unauthorised arrivals.
Fact: There is no evidence that mandatory
detention deters boat arrivals. Australia has had a mandatory detention
policy since 1992 and since then there have been increases in asylum
seeker arrivals due to "push" factors in source countries such as
Afghanistan.
Mandatory detention is inhumane and in breach
of
international law as it is arbitrary, non-reviewable and
discriminates
against people for their mode of arrival regardless of the legitimacy
of their claim.
Australia has the right to protect its borders
and its security, but it also has the responsibility to uphold its
human rights obligations.
Myth 9: Without
mandatory detention, boat arrivals are a health risk to the community.
Fact: On average, 1,180 people arrive in
Australia every day. Most are tourists and not required to have health
checks. Asylum seekers who arrive by plane are not detained and are
allowed one to two months to get a health check. The government knows
there is minimal risk to the community. There is
no reason to treat asylum seekers who arrive by boat any differently.
Myth 10: Refugee
advocates want unrestricted entry of refugees, which will allow
terrorists into Australia.
Fact: No credible organisation who speaks on
behalf of refugees advocates a policy of unrestricted entry.
People who arrive without authorisation have
their claims for asylum scrutinised at length. Most are found to be
genuine refugees. There is zero evidence that any asylum seekers who
have arrived in Australia by boat have connections to terrorism.
Myth 11: Refugees
have no right to come here and expect us to help them.
Fact: "Everyone has the right to seek and
enjoy in other countries freedom from persecution" - Article 14,
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Australians are lucky to live in a
country where human rights are respected. Others are not so lucky. But
they still have the same human rights as we do and they have the right
to seek safety in a country that upholds human rights.
Myth 12: Refugees
are too “culturally different” to fit in with the Australian way of
life.
Fact: That has been said of just about
every immigrant minority group since white settlement in
Australia began. But Australian multiculturalism is
an obvious and demonstrable success.
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Summarised from "Myths
and Facts about Asylum Seekers" by the refugee advocacy group, A Just Australia.
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Some politicians and sectors of the media appear
once again to be seeking political and commercial advantage from the
desperate plight of people who risk everything including their lives to
escape persecution.
The myths need to be replaced by facts and, as so
aptly put by A
Just Australia, the solution lies in achieving "regional and
international co-operation to resolve conflicts
and to create durable solutions for refugees so that they no longer
need to undertake perilous journeys to find safety."
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