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refugee update

Refugee News – August 2017

Global refugee news …

  • A new identification scheme in Pakistan will grant legal protections to up to a million undocumented Afghan refugees. Read more.
  • Italy has warned that it may have to close its ports to refugees if other EU member states do not offer more assistance. Read more.
  • A far-right group will go to sea to monitor Mediterranean rescue ships, which they claim are colluding with people smuggling rings to bring refugees to Europe. Read more.
  • The crowded conditions at an Indonesian immigration detention centre have been revealed. Read more.

Refugee news in Australia …

  • Candlelight vigils were held across Australia to protest offshore detention centres, which are now in their fourth year of operations. Read more.
  • About 1200 asylum seekers held on Manus Island will be resettled in the US in October. Read more.

Elizabeth Wright
BComn(Griffith), MHumRights(Curtin)

Refugee News – July 2017

Global

  • A loose definition of terrorism has prevented a Syrian activist from gaining refugee status in the United States. Read more.
  • A funding gap of US$1 billion within the UN Refugee Agency is threatening the welfare of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. Read more. 
  • Changing the 1951 Refugee Convention to protect climate change refugees could lead to its demise. Read more.

At Home

  • The Australian government will pay $70 million in damages to refugees and asylum seekers held on Manus Island. Read more.
  • The United States will decide whether it will resettle 70 men on Manus Island within six weeks. Read more.

Elizabeth Wright
BComn(Griffith), MHumRights(Curtin)

In the news – June 2017

Global

  • 300,000 child refugees travelled alone in 2015 and 2016. Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/world/americas/united-nations-children-refugees-migrants-trafficking.html
  • The Azraq refugee camp in Jordan is now largely powered by renewable energy, saving the UN refugee agency $1.5 million a year. Read more: http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/latest/2017/5/591bfdbb4/jordans-azraq-becomes-worlds-first-clean-energy-refugee-camp.html
    Poland continues to refuse to admit asylum seekers despite threats of legal action from the EU. Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/05/18/world/europe/18reuters-europe-migrants-eu-poland.html
  • A leaked audio recording suggests that Italian authorities allowed 268 Syrian refugees to drown in 2013. Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/05/09/italian-forces-ignored-a-sinking-ship-full-of-syrian-refugees-and-let-more-than-250-drown-says-leaked-audio/?utm_term=.69f2871b57b7

At Home

  • Two of the Head On Photo Festival’s winners were inspired by refugees. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/head-on-photo-festival-2017-winners-inspired-by-refugees-20170506-gvzjnt.html
  • Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has given 7,500 asylum seekers living in Australia until October 1 to complete their protection claims. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/immigration-minister-peter-dutton-sets-a-deadline-for-refugee-status-application-20170520-gw9iza.html
  • A young Iraqi woman who was captured and enslaved by the Islamic State hopes to obtain a protection visa to Australia by next year. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/nihad-was-an-islamic-state-sex-slave-and-is-desperate-for-a-new-life-in-australia-20170512-gw3ijm.html
  • Asylum seekers on Manus Island have been told to leave so the detention centre can be closed. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-16/asylum-seekers-on-manus-island-told-to-leave-before-closure/8528816

Elizabeth Wright
BComn(Griffith), MHumRights(Curtin)

In the news – April 2017

Global

  • The UN has praised Iran for hosting the fourth largest refugee population in the world and keeping its borders open. Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/03/16/un-praises-irans-exemplary-refugee-efforts
  • The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Hungary to pay €10,000 to two refugees who were detained unlawfully in a transit zone at the border with Serbia. Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/03/15/hungary-ordered-pay-asylum-seekers
  • More than 40 Somali asylum seekers were killed when a helicopter attacked their boat off the coast of Yemen. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-18/helicopter-attack-kills-somali-refugees-off-yemen-coast/8365934

At Home

  • A new study shows that promoting entrepreneurship among refugees not only gets them off Centrelink payments, but can contribute millions of dollars to the economy. Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/03/23/refugee-entrepreneurs-bring-million-dollar-boost-australias-economy
  • The government is not currently negotiating with other countries for refugee resettlement deals. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/us-or-nothing-australia-not-negotiating-with-other-countries-for-refugee-resettlement-20170320-gv2jb7.html

Elizabeth Wright
BComn(Griffith), MHumRights(Curtin)

In the news – March 2017

Global

  • Kenya’s high court has ruled that the planned closure of the world’s largest refugee camp is illegal. Read more.
  • 160,000 people have demonstrated in support of refugees in Barcelona, Spain. Read more.
  • Uncertainty in the United States has driven asylum seekers to cross the border into Canada. Read more.
  • Reports of refugees assaulting women on New Year’s Eve in Frankfurt, Germany have been found to be baseless. Read more.

At Home

  • Malcolm Turnbull has again refused New Zealand’s offer to resettle refugees from Australia’s offshore detention centres. Read more.
  • An Iranian asylum seeker has been sent back to Manus Island after attempting to seek asylum in Fiji. Read more.
  • Amnesty International has released a report condemning Australia’s “abusive” and “inhumane” treatment of refugees. Read more.
  • Housing affordability continues to be a significant problem for refugees in Sydney. Read more.

Elizabeth Wright
BComn(Griffith), MHumRights(Curtin)

In the news – February 2017

Global

  • A Nigerian military jet mistakenly bombed a refugee settlement, killing more than one hundred people. Read more.
  • Italy will soon open its first LGBT refugee centre in Bologna. Read more.
  • Some Syrian refugees have been driven to sell their organs on the black market to afford passage to Europe. Read more.
  • Protests have erupted at airports across the United States following Donald Trump’s executive order to suspend the refugee program. Read more.

At Home

  • There will be a Senate investigation into the death of Sudanese refugee Faysal Ishak Ahmed, who was detained on Manus Island. Read more.
  • Donald Trump will honour the refugee resettlement deal negotiated under President Obama. Read more.
  • A Bhutanese refugee who took her own life before Christmas has sparked debate about refugees’ access to disability pensions. Read more.

Elizabeth Wright
BComn(Griffith), MHumRights(Curtin)

In the news – December 2016

Global

  • The UN Refugee Agency has begun to replace tents with prefabricated housing units in Greek refugee camps. Read more: http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/latest/2016/11/581c94c44/relieved-residents-swap-canvas-walls-greek-camp.html
  • An Italian chef has converted an old theatre into a fine dining establishment for refugees, using food that otherwise would have been thrown out. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-08/massimo-bottura’s-fight-against-food-waste-in-new-doco/8005054
  • The president of Turkey has threatened to open its borders, allowing a fresh tide of refugees into the EU. Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/11/26/erdogan-threatens-open-turkey-borders-migrants-after-eu-vote
  • One in three children from the Calais refugee camp are missing following its closure last month. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-24/one-in-three-child-migrants-missing-after-calais-jungle-closure/8053414

At Home

  • Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has come under fire for his remark that it was a mistake to allow Lebanese refugees to come to Australia in the 1970s. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-21/peter-dutton-fraser-made-mistake-resettling-lebanese-refugees/8043624
  • The New South Wales government has committed $27 million over four years to provide free job training to refugees. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-23/nsw-refugees-settlement-fund-from-government/8049144
  • The Unites States has agreed to a one-off intake of refugees from Manus Island and Nauru. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-13/australia-announces-refugee-resettlement-deal-with-us/8021120
  • Australia has embarked on its largest-ever peacetime maritime operation to block people smugglers following the announcement of the US deal. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-14/dozen-naval,-abf-ships-sent-off-to-block-people-smugglers/8023636

Elizabeth Wright
BComn(Griffith), MHumRights(Curtin)

The border force fallacy

RefugeesDiscussion focusing on refugee and asylum seeker policy

On October 10, 2017, Q&A aired an episode focusing on refugee and asylum seeker policy. Despite the divisiveness of the issue, a very productive conversation was had. Whilst in many Q&A episodes, panel members break out into huge arguments, both sides were extremely respectful and put forward their points in an intelligent and thoughtful manner. Most of the discussion was centred around three of the government’s policies; the boat turnback policy, offshore processing and temporary protection visas (TPVs).

While panel members Frank Brennan, Jane McAdam and Shen Narayanasamy spoke about the detrimental effects of the policies and provided evidence to prove their points, Huy Truong provided a much needed personal aspect to the argument. Jim Molan, who was the architect behind the government’s ‘sovereign borders’ policy, unsurprisingly defended the government’s sovereign borders policies and claimed that the policy was something Australian’s should be ‘proud’ of.

Jim Molan claimed that Australia’s turnback policy has been hugely successful. This is easily refuted by the refugee advocates on the panel. Shen provided a fantastic response to this claim, “to say something has worked, it can’t include the institutional abuse of men, women and children.” Frank Brennan made the important point that it is impossible to safely and humanely turn boats back because if it is too dangerous for asylum seekers to make the journey by boat, it is obviously just as dangerous (if not more since it would be a longer journey) for people to be sent back. Shen pointed out that in 2013, 25,000 people arrived by boat, but 80,000 arrived by plane. Despite the numbers, policy makers seem to only be worried by those that arrive by boat. Huy Truong argues that there is no reason these days for people to have to get on to boats in the first place, since we should have agreements with Malaysia and Indonesia.

Important aspects of the discussion

One of the most important aspects of the discussion was about the economic impact of the current refugee policies in comparison to alternative policies. This was important because while people often discuss human rights issues and talk about the emotion and personal impacts on refugees that our current policies have, many of the voters have made a connection between refugees and their own personal economic problems. However, one thing that becomes clear from this discussion is that it is possible to have humane refugee policies and good economic outcomes for the country. In fact, offshore processing is actually far more expensive than it would be to settle the refugees within Australia in a timely manner, with the process taking place within Australian borders. Jane McAdam made the point that Australia spent more on refugees in 2013-2014 than the whole of the EU. The EU have much higher numbers of refugees, but also are more focussed on resettling refugees, rather than punishing them.

While offshore processing is far more expensive than onshore processing, the other important aspect of the economic impact refugees have once they are settled into the country is growth and diversity in the job market. Jane makes the important point that ‘the more people, the bigger the pie.’ In other words, with each extra person in the country, more growth and jobs are created, so the myth about refugees ‘taking peoples jobs’ is a fallacy. She also made the point that people who are second generation refugees, often are more successful than the general population, and are often more entrepreneurial. Huy is a perfect example of this, as he has started multiple businesses and hired many other people.

Temporary protection visas (TPVs)

The discussion also focussed on temporary protection visas (TPVs), and the mental effects that these visas can have on refugees. One questioner, Shukufa Tahiri, who was a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, asked a question about mental illness and suicide. She made the argument that many refugees once they have arrived in Australia suffer with mental illness and even commit suicide because of the vulnerability of being on a TPV. Refugees on TPV’s never know when they could be sent back to the country that they fled, and it is easy to see how this could adversely affect refugees. This would also make it incredibly difficult to plan for the future. Frank also made the point that with the TPV system, residents were essentially made to be ‘second order Australians’ without the same rights as the rest of Australians. The other point that he made was that there is no sense in having TPV’s as a deterrence method (which is supposedly their intended aim), since it is not affecting those planning on coming to Australia, only those who have already arrived.

Overall, a very convincing argument was made for an end to offshore processing, TPV’s and the boat turnback policy. However, as Shen said “why can’t we have the conversation about doing it better?” Most of the conversation was focussed on what we are doing wrong, and this is important, however it would be much better if there was a political climate whereby solutions could be proposed and talked about, rather than simply refuting misnomers about refugees and asylum seekers.

Megan Sturges
BCom/BArts (Macquarie)

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