EIGHT LONG YEARS OF TORMENT
July 19th 2021 will mark the shameful eighth anniversary of the Rudd
government’s declaration that any asylum seekers arriving in
Australia by boat after that date would be detained offshore
indefinitely and would never be permitted to settle in this country.
This, in
spite of the fact that, under Article 14 of the Universal
Declaration of Human
Rights: “everyone has the right to seek and
enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”
What is the current situation?
Some 870 refugees have been resettled in the US. Others, in
desperation, have been persuaded to return to danger in their home
countries. A small number have been privately sponsored to move to
Canada, and a few are attempting to resettle on Nauru or in PNG.
Others have been brought to Australia for medical treatment, with
many of them held in detention centres or in hotels in Brisbane and
Melbourne. They are not free, and they are expected by our
government to return to Nauru or PNG once they have been treated
for their medical conditions.
Many have not received any adequate treatment. Some 250 people
remain in limbo on Nauru and in PNG, where they face constant
danger and harassment. They suffer regular assaults at the hands
of local people, particularly in Port Moresby, PNG. They have
committed no crime, yet, unlike convicted criminals, there is no
end in sight for them. Their punishment is indefinite, and their
spirits are broken.
Eight years too long
These refugees have been subjected to almost eight years of
deliberate abuse in appalling conditions. Our government has
abrogated its responsibility to fulfil its obligations under the Refugee
Convention.
Father Giorgio Licini, a Catholic priest and community leader in Port
Moresby, is very fearful about the fate of the refugees stuck in his
city.
He states: “They survive because they are provided food and shelter.
But should the government support be withdrawn, they would be
dead.
It is time to close this chapter. A developed country, a rich country
that can spend billions on border protection should not reduce people
to his level of misery, marginalisation and humiliation.”
The inescapable conclusion is that the refugees continue to be held in
such completely unacceptable conditions for purely political reasons.
What should the government do?
• process all outstanding asylum claims without further delays
• accept the offer of the NZ government to resettle 150
refugees
annually
• evacuate all the remaining asylum seekers and refugees from
Nauru
and PNG to Australia, with a view to resettlement in the US, in NZ, in
other safe third countries, or in Australia
• release all medevac evacuees into the community, and ensure
that
they receive the medical and other support that they need.
• Sign up to receive our fortnightly news bulletin.
• Offer to join us in our campaigning activities to seek justice for
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