Asylum Seeker News & Issues

I'VE MOVED!

2007-03-15T07:33:00.001+11:00

Hi there,

from now onwards, my blog can be found at

http://probablynotinteresting.wordpress.com/

why have i moved??

it's prettier, and more user-friendly. that's good enough for me!

i hope you will keep reading :)

Electric Shock Therapy, Anyone...?

2007-03-15T02:45:00.000+11:00

Here's something fun for you. Note: 'DIAC' is the new acronym for the Immigration Department... Strap yourself in - here we go...

DIAC CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Authorising Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for mentally ill detainees.

Long term detainees in psychiatric hospitals whose mental state continues to deteriorate in detention are now being threatened with Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The treatment involves passing an electric current across part of the head, causing the brain to have a seizure (convulsion).

http://www.virtualpsychcentre.com/news.asp?artid=9017

ABSTRACT

“In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes permanent amnesia and permanent deficits in cognitive abilities, which affect individuals' ability to function.
This study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, and that they characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings," the study notes.”

The most important side-effect of ECT is its effect on memory. During the course of ECT most patients will experience forgetfulness and loss of short-term memory especially around the time of treatment. Many people will also notice that they can't remember certain things that have occurred in their lives for up to 6 or 12 months before treatment. This type of memory loss does not always return fully. People contemplating ECT should discuss potential memory effects with their doctor before proceeding.

“Asylum Seekers in their interrogation by Immigration Department (DIAC) officers are expected to remember every detail of their lives and the reasons why they fled their country. In order to validate their stories, they are expected to be able details such as how many people were in the room in which they were tortured, all physical details of the room, times, dates of events etc.” says Pamela Curr of the ASRC “If their memories have been obliterated by ECT, how can they validate their stories, how can they make DIAC and the Refugee Tribunal believe them if they can’t remember what happened.”
“DIAC’s role in authorising treatment which diminishes the capacity of an asylum seeker to make a claim for asylum is a direct conflict of interest.”

Patient 1 in Toowong Hospital was recommended for ECT until DIAC stopped it after advocates expressed their concern and dismay in November 2006. He is still in hospital awaiting a decision. His treating psychiatrist has stated that he is too sick to travel.

Patient 2. The Minister has refused his visa however DIAC have decided not to tell him because he is suicidal. He remains in hospital under close observation.

Patient 3. This man has had 6 ECT treatments and now cannot remember if he has a 417 before the Minister or at what stage his process is. He now has confusion and memory loss. Before detention he was a highly qualified IT technician.

Patient 4. This woman collapsed into unconsciousness in Port Augusta Housing because no one had noticed that she was so depressed that she had neither eaten nor drunk anything for ten days. She is currently threatened with ECT.

"These patients who were well, stable individuals until they were placed in long term detention centres are now terribly depressed. Psychiatrists have written reports indicating that recovery is not possible while their futures are insecure. They have also advised that these patients are not fit to travel. Rather than release them from detention, DIAC are choosing ECT. DIAC are approving a course of treatment which places at risk the mental faculties of people whose very survival depends on their capacity to remember and convince bureaucrats by the acuity of this faculty. They are killing their chances of being believed,” Curr continues.
_______________________________________________

Help the Tamil Asylum Seekers - URGENT!

2007-02-28T22:42:00.001+11:00

Points to make:
* These are young men, most of whom are aged 22 & 23 years, the oldest
is 28 years;
* Some have been held, tortured and beaten in Camps in Jaffna because
they are Tamil;
See http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2007/2/12541.html
* In reality many are computer and accounting students and at least
one is a high School student aged 17years;
* Their families raised the money to send them to safety in an attempt
to save their lives;
Sri Lanka is in civil conflict

See
http://www.amnesty.org.au/news_features/news/refugee/sri_lanka_560,000_displaced_people_suffer_effects_of_intensifying_violence

* It is too dangerous to send them to India because the Sri Lankan Navy
sinks Tamil boats on the basis that they are all Tamil Tigers - not all are;
See http://english.people.com.cn/200609/25/eng20060925_306127.html

and http://www.colombopage.com/archive_07/February16140946CH.html
* If they are captured they are forced to serve in the Sri Lankan
military fighting Tamils; Understandably they do not want to do this;
See http://www.tamilnation.org/indictment/genocide95/gen9560.htm
* They came to Australia legitimately seeking asylum. Under the Refugee
Convention to which we are signatory, Australia is obliged to receive them
and assess their claim.
* They should be provided with legal advice and counselling immediately.
* Many are traumatised from beatings and torture received in detention
camps in Sri Lanka they need counselling and legal advice.
Please ring Kevin Rudds office urgently:

Tel: (02) 6277 4022
Fax: (02) 6277 8495

Email: Kevin.Rudd.MP@aph.gov.au

Tel: (07) 3899 4031
Fax: (07) 3899 5755

Labor must stand up for the Refugee Convention and demand that Howard
allow these young men to make their claims and to properly assess those
claims.

End this secret incommunicado detention!

Pamela Curr
ASRC Melbourne.

TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PREVENT APPALLING TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS

2007-02-24T03:16:00.001+11:00

***TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PREVENT APPALLING TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS***

Hi there everyone,

We have a little bit of a situation which would benefit from 2 minutes of your time.

You may be aware that a few days ago, the Australian Navy intercepted a boatload of 83 Sri Lankan asylum seekers off the coast of Australia, just near Christmas Island.

In a massive contravention of customary international law, human rights law, humanitarian law and Australia's self-assumed treaty obligations, the Howard government has made secret arrangements with Indonesia to send the asylum seekers immediately back to Indonesia, from whence they will be sent back to Sri Lanka. (Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/deal-to-send-boat-people-packing/2007/02/23/1171734021096.html)

Howard has categorically refused to let the men so much as lodge their applications for asylum in Australia, which is their rights under the law of Australia AND international law. Remember, ***arriving in Australia unauthorised, by boat, even with no papers, is NOT illegal!

Sending people back to a place where they may suffer persecution is called 'refoulement', and it is strictly and unambiguously prohibited under international law as a fundamental principle aimed at protecting the rights and the lives of the world's most vulnerable people.

Let's also remember that the Government has just completed work on an 800-bed $360 million detention facility on Christmas Island. It is ready and waiting to receive these asylum seekers, and although i abhor the existence of such a facility, it is vastly preferable that it should be put to use while these men's claims are processed, rather than sending them back to a situation of grave danger.

It is a serious concern that our Government has decided that this kind of behaviour is OK, especially in light of the fact that it has been proven that at least 9 men and 3 children have been killed upon return from Australia to their homelands in recent years.

PLEASE TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO SEND A BRIEF EMAIL TO PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING THESE DECISIONS.

Here are a few points you may like to make:

* "Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution" Article 14, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
* Article 33 of the 1951 Refugees Convention *ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITS* sending people back to a country or territory where they may face danger. This is exactly what we're about to do!
* These 83 people are the first asylum seekers to arrive by boat in Australia in over a year. Some areas in Europe get 1500 asylum seekers A DAY!
* Some of the poorest countries in the world are the most generous hosts of asylum seekers. Ethiopia, Eritrea etc... Iran and Pakistan both hold over 2 million refugees each. Australia takes 0.05% of the world's refugee burden.
* Historically, asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australia are found to be genuine refugees in 92% of cases. Think about it like this: people don't uproot their lives, leave their families and get in a leaky boat for 10 days to travel to a strange country unless they are SERIOUS about the dangers that face them at home.

The Government:
PM John Howard - you'll have to contact him using this form: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm
Kevin.Andrews.MP@aph.gov.au - Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews.

AND your local member of the Liberal Party:
using this form... http://www.aec.gov.au/esearch/main.htm

And Labor:
Kevin.Rudd.MP@aph.gov.au - (Labor) Leader. Let him know that you do not support Howard's approach, and you'd be interested to see what his approach would be. Encourage him to OPPOSE this stunt and provide a strong, principled alternative.
Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au - (Labor) co-leader of Labor party.
Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au - (Labor) Shadow Immigration Spokesman. Would be immigration minister if Labor wins the election. He is generally very open to dialogue and reasonableness but we have yet to see what happens when the rubber hits the road! Encourage him, as well, to take a strong, vocal stand against this awful behaviour.

Thanks very much for reading. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me!

Jessie

Christmas Island: So Where the Bloody Hell Are You??

2007-02-18T09:30:00.000+11:00

I know I'm supposed to be waxing lyrical about the beauty of southern France (and I will, I promise!), but I'm afraid this is taking precedence at the moment! This evening something landed in my inbox which I feel compelled to share with you all.

You may know that the Australian Government has just spent $360million on a shiny new detention facility on Christmas Island. Its capacity is 800 people, and it has purpose built rooms designd to hold children. Does the idea of imprisoning innocent, already traumatised children not quite sit right, or is it just me...?

Also, the figure of $360million is particularly interesting when you consider that EIGHT people have arrived unauthorised in Australian territory by boat in the last 12 months. If we divide these 8 people into the $360m, we come up with the princely sum of $45million per head. Wowee. That is some hella expensive accommodation, even if it IS in the name of border protection! Do you think it's worth it?

In fact, if we generously divide the $360m by 12,000 (the number of unauthorised boat arrivals over the past TEN YEARS - the entire duration of Howard's term in office), we come up with the not-insignificant figure of $30,000 per head. That might be worthwhile (at a stretch) if the 12,000 were dodgey brothers or terrorists, but remember that upwards of 90% of them have been found to be genuine refugees, fleeing persecution and in desperate need of protection. For a government which prides itself on good economic management, I have to say I think a preschooler of less-than-average intelligence would do a better job.

Anyway, here is a photograph of said detention facility....

Can you imagine its isolation, and its separation from mainland Australia, legal assistance, community support, media, and the lifeline of visitors... This is a system purpose-built to traumatise and discourage people to the extent that they would rather risk torture and death at home, than wait out access to the rights they hold under Australian law, treaty law and customary international law. Deterrence has always factored highly in the government’s motivation. Julian Burnside QC often comments on this idea of deterrence, and his argument follows thus: "Mr. Ruddock and Mr. Howard have made it clear that the mandatory detention system, and the iniquitous Pacific Solution, are designed to "send a message". This decodes as: we treat innocent people harshly to deter others. The punishment of innocent people to shape the behaviour of others is impossible to justify. It is the philosophy of hostage-takers."

Although Burnside is accused from time to time of engaging in hyperbole, his rationale in this instance is difficult to fault. The Executive Committee of the UNHCR has also made a comment on the use of detention for anything other than a legitimate administrative purpose, concluding that "detention of asylum seekers which is applied… as part of a policy to deter future asylum seekers, or to dissuade those who have commenced their claims from pursuing them, is contrary to the norms of refugee law. It should not be used as a punitive or disciplinary measure for illegal entry or presence in the country".

What do we have to say about that, Messrs Howard & Ruddock...?

I'm in Europe at the moment, studying international humanitarian law, human rights and refugee law. More often that I care to mention, Australia is cited as an example of a country which drastically misinterprets an twists the meanings of the rights and obligations enshrined under international law in this field, and we are rapidly becoming a laughing stock and a worst-case-scenario when it comes to respecting human rights.

This is a Federal election year. Enough said. Let your ballot do the talking. This kind of (extremely expensive!) cruelty is not OK!

Shocking News from the High Court of Australia

2006-11-17T01:26:00.000+11:00

See article:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20763005-29277,00.html

Yesterday, the High Court of Australia decided that the Government is much more easily able to send home asylum seekers who have held TPVs. A couple of years ago, the Federal Court found that the it was the responsibility of the Government to prove that it is safe to send people home before doing so, but yesterday the High Court disagreed. Meaning that whensoever DIMA decides that the Taliban doesn't exist anymore (in spite of any overwhelming evidence to the contrary), they can just send people home. And this decision seems to have been made in complete disregard of the fact that this year the Taliban has made a major resurgence in the power vacuum left by the almost totally defunct government of Hamid Karzai.

As usual, Justice Michael Kirby dissented, and made a lot of sense. You can find a few (pretty damn valid) things which he said about this judgement in the article. " Justice Michael Kirby dissented, saying that in both cases Australian decision makers, safe in this country, might regard the beheading of 12 Hazaras as an unimportant or isolated incidents.

"But to a person whose experience had already invoked a well-founded fear of persecution, occasioning flight to Australia to seek refuge and official acceptance and recognition of refugee status, such an instance might be indicative of more widespread, systematic violent activity apt to occasion a well-founded fear of continuing persecution," he said."

This means that people on temporary protection visas have absolutely no guarantee of being given protection in Australia in future, further extending their period of displacement, uprooting and uncertainty. And decisions regarding their futures will be made by the Department of Immigration, which has approx a 50% margin of error for first-instance decisions on asylum cases, and a notorious level of hostility, suspicion and mistreatment of vulnerable people.

Just for fun, I feel like posting some photos of the extremely "safe" Kabul, seen here in the wake of the US attacks. Would you send your family here?

Let's remember all of this in the context of the Edmund Rice Centre report released in August citing at *least* 9 examples of people who have been sent home by Australia and killed almost immediately. These people were sent home when Australia considered it "safe". Are we willing to take that risk again? I - for one - am absolutely, categorically NOT.

When will the calculated, malicious, cruelty stop? How much more blood needs to be spilled? How many more lives need to be destroyed before our country will take up its obligations and honour them with the respect and observance they deserve?

If you are not yet convinced or aware of what the Taliban is capable of, click here for pictures of the massacre at Yakawlang (Hazarajat) in 2001. Warning: there are some extremely graphic images. Extremely graphic images which have comprised the lives, the memories and the trauma of people whom Australia locks up in desert prisons and then deports whenever it feels like it. You are in a position to choose whether or not to see this stuff - many thousands have no such luxury. http://www.rawa.org/yakw-hrw.htm

East Web Fundraiser - Funtimes for a Good Cause!

2006-11-10T00:00:00.000+11:00

OH MY GOODNESS!!

2006-10-16T03:23:00.000+10:00

Labor's big shift on refugees

Michael Gordon
October 16, 2006

THE Labor Party is set to abandon its policy of giving refugees who attempt to come to Australia by boat only temporary protection, in a fundamental shift in its attitude towards asylum seekers since the Tampa episode of 2001.

Opposition spokesman on migration Tony Burke is expected to announce today the shift to permanent protection — which represents a sharp contrast with government policy — after it is endorsed by the shadow cabinet.

The decision will mean Labor will go to next year's election opposing the two key aspects of the Government's policy — offshore processing in foreign countries, Nauru and Papua New Guinea, and temporary protection visas (TPVs).

More than 900 mainly Afghan and Iraqi refugees remain on the temporary visas after being found to have genuine fears of persecution if returned to their countries.

They are unable to leave Australia and return or seek to be reunited with immediate family members.

Labor's shift could also have implications for the small group of Burmese asylum seekers who were sent to Nauru for processing last month if their claims for protection are found to be genuine.

The decision will end several years of emotional internal debate within Labor on the visa system that was introduced in 1999 in a bid to deter unauthorised boat arrivals.

Mr Burke has refused to be drawn on the imminent shift, but gave a clue to his thinking at a Labor for Refugees dinner in July when he said: "If there is a reason for us to take a TPV policy to the next election, I am yet to hear it."

He declined to comment yesterday, confirming only that he had received a report from Labor's social policy committee. "I'll be responding to the report to the shadow ministry and will have more to say after that," he told The Age.

One of those rescued by the Tampa and living in Melbourne said yesterday the uncertainty about when he might be able to see his family had caused him to be treated for depression last year. The young man had suffered three years' offshore detention, been on a TPV for three years and has another two years before it expires.

Under the visa he has to pay full fees to study, with no certainty that he will eventually be granted permanency. "It's very hard," he said yesterday.

A push to end Labor's support for TPVs was defeated at Labor's last national conference by a vote of 226 to 164 after then leader Mark Latham put his authority on the line. Existing Labor policy provides for two-year temporary protection visas, with an expectation that permanent protection will then be granted.

The 14-page report of the policy committee, obtained by The Age, argues that TPVs should be abolished. "If an applicant is found to be a refugee that person should be given permanent protection immediately," it says.

The report challenges the Government's assertion that temporary protection visas are a deterrent to unauthorised boat arrivals, asserting the system encouraged women and children to risk their lives and follow their husbands and fathers.

The report also argues that uncertainty inherent in the temporary protection system has exacerbated mental health problems for many asylum seekers and that having to re-apply for protection when temporary visas expire forces the refugee to relive past trauma.

Sources say there is now a recognition on Labor's front bench that conditions have remained unsafe in Iraq and Afghanistan for several years, undercutting one of the Government's main justifications for the regime.

The Immigration Department's website justifies the system by asserting that recent experience of changing country situations shows the value of being able to reassess whether a person has a continuing need for protection before conferring permanent or continuing protection.

One source conceded that the policy shift was less radical than it would have been three years ago, when several thousand refugees were on TPVs. The source said Mr Burke had no plans to reconsider the other controversial plank of Labor's policy, support for the Government's excision of Christmas Island from Australia's migration zone.

As at October 6, 9875 temporary protection visas had been granted since 1999, an Immigration Department official said. In addition, 830 temporary humanitarian visas had been granted to unauthorised arrivals in Australia's offshore excised places, such as Ashmore Reef .

About 8450 of these TPV and temporary humanitarian visa holders have since been granted permanent protection.

The official estimated that about 1430 people still held temporary protection and temporary humanitarian visas.

Nauru makes it to Danny Katz's column!

2006-10-12T06:38:00.000+10:00

The Age Satirist Danny Katz has slammed Australia's detention policy! Katz was talking about the strange title of the comedy improvisation show 'Thank God You're Here', and decided on a few variations, including 'Thank Jehovah You're Here', 'Thank Buddha You're Here' and 'Thank Karl Marx You're Here'. The one i've taken an extract from here is the one I found interesting...!

Thank gods you're watching
By Danny Katz
October 12, 200
...
THANK ALLAH YOU'RE HERE
This zany new improvised TV show is staged in an Australian refugee detention centre, before a captive studio audience, who are locked behind 12-foot-high razor-wired cyclone fencing. Each week, a Muslim refugee enters the centre through a padlocked door, and is greeted by another Muslim refugee saying: "Thank Allah you're here! I don't know what horrors you're fl eeing from, but I'm telling you, it can't get any worse than this." Then the refugee must improvise their way through the rest of their stay at the centre, which can take anything up to seven years - and the winning refugee gets an all-expenses-paid longterm tropical holiday in Nauru.
...

Scathing! Gosh he's risque sometimes...!

A story about a friend...

2006-10-11T20:43:00.000+10:00

'Will This Man Lose the Will to Live?'
THE AGE - Opinion
By Michael Gordon
October 11, 2006

The funeral service for Olympian Peter Norman on Monday raised an intriguing question. Why is it that stories about some people capture the public imagination while others that may be just as compelling do not?

John Carlos, one of the black runners who shared the dais with Norman at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, observed that the sprinter should be as well known in Australia as Steve Irwin. Such, said Carlos, was the power of his role in their famous stand on human rights.

Yet while the image of the barefoot Tommie Smith and Carlos giving that black power salute is considered one of the most influential of the 20th century, the story of Norman's role in the protest is unknown to a great many Australians.

"You guys have lost of great soldier," remarked Carlos. "Go and tell your kids the story of Peter Norman."

A similar point can be made about Mohammed Sagar, an Iraqi refugee who has been detained offshore since he was rescued five years ago yesterday in the "children overboard" episode, and David Hicks.

While Hicks' detention without trial on Guantanamo Bay has, quite rightly, prompted expressions of outrage from a cross-section of Australians, from church leaders to former prime ministers, Sagar's situation has gone largely unremarked.

Of course, Sagar has not endured anything like the conditions that have been inflicted upon Hicks for 41/2 years and he is not an Australian. But his situation should alarm Australians who believe in notions of natural justice, the rule of law, compassion and a fair go.

After suffering physically and mentally under Saddam Hussein's rule and being found by Australian officials to have a genuine fear of persecution if he returned to Iraq, he has been held against his will on the tiny, near-bankrupt island of Nauru.

When I visited him on the island late last month, he told me how he wanted to have his life back, whether it be happy or sad. "I want to be alive, that's all, because now I'm feeling like a dead living thing."

Fran Kelly on the ABC's Radio National pursued the story for three days last week, culminating with an interview with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer about the $100,000-a-month visa fee Nauru has set for Sagar, to encourage Australia to find a solution for him.

When Kelly pressed Downer on Nauru's concern for Sagar and another Iraqi who had been held there, he displayed a singular indifference to their plight, observing that "one of them, I think, has been dealt with".

This was a euphemism for the decision several weeks ago to evacuate the second Iraqi, Mohammad Faisal, to a Brisbane hospital after his despair led him to become suicidal. He is said to be recovering well and may soon be released into a form of community-based care.

There are at least two explanations for the lack of pressure on the Howard Government to address the situation of Sagar on Nauru.

The first is that Nauru is a very long way away and communications are patchy at best. Sagar is out of sight and out of mind.

The second is that he, along with Faisal, received a negative security assessment from ASIO that meant Australia no longer had any obligation to offer him protection under the United Nations refugee convention.

While a lack of sympathy for a person considered a security threat by ASIO is understandable, neither man has ever been told what he is alleged to have done to warrant the assessment, so neither has had the opportunity to defend himself.

Neither Sagar nor Faisal had the benefit of any representation when they were interviewed on Nauru.

Both complain that an interviewing officer was very aggressive during the interview. Both are adamant they represent no threat to anyone.

And there is a bigger problem. There is no capacity for some outside authority, for instance a retired judge, to establish that ASIO's decision was soundly based.

Moreover, in their time on Nauru, neither man has caused any problems. On the contrary, both are highly regarded. Faisal was virtually adopted by a Nauruan family while Sagar has earned high praise for his voluntary work at the Nauru campus of the University of the South Pacific.

Indeed, while I was on Nauru he seemed to be regarded as a kind of voluntary help desk for the Nauruan Government and Australian officials working to tackle that country's considerable problems.

If there was a case to answer for some past deed or connection - and both men say there is not - their exemplary behaviour on Nauru surely should count for something.

Both men do have supporters in Australia who have been working hard on their behalf. Lawyer Julian Burnside, who characterises the treatment of both as "calculated cruelty", has launched a legal challenge to the ASIO assessments. But this is likely to be a very long process.

Susan Metcalfe, a researcher who has visited Nauru several times, has written letters to ministers pleading for some resolution and been a constant source of comfort. So have many others.

But time is running out. Recently, Sagar quit his part-time job at the university and withdrew from his studies. He likened himself to a dish that had been cooked and, instead of being removed from the stove, had been subject to even greater heat. "I'm done," he said.

It is time for some hard questions to be asked of those who have for too long considered the ASIO assessments a reason to do nothing.

The bottom line is whether the intention is to wait until Sagar, like Faisal, loses his will to live before someone decides he should be "dealt with".

Take some action for the Lombok Asylum Seekers... 5 years and counting...

2006-10-10T04:31:00.000+10:00

Hi guys, this is from Felicia di Stefano, Rural Australians for Refugees... I will paste the text of the letter she mentions below, so that you can copy and paste it into your own document. If you want a copy of the petition, EMAIL ME!! put the petition in your work kitchen, or pass it around your small group, anything!! jessie@thejusticeproject.com.au

J x

Dear All,

Thank you for your support in writing letters to politicians and returning signed petitions to help the asylum seekers
trapped on Lombok. With your help we sent in almost 3,000 signatures in support of the Lombok asylum seekers to
Amanda Vanstone via Senator Bartlett. "Pease say thank you very much to all those people who are helping us poor refugees".
writes Mohammad, our friend from Lombok.

Now we have a similar petition, this time addressed to the House of Representatives to enable it to be tabled in Parliament.
We also have a new form letter. Please find them attached. We desperately need your help again. Thank you to the
people who have already sent singed petitions. We have about 500 signatures so far.

October 2006 marks the fifth anniversary of the time the Lombok asylum seekers were towed from Ashmore Reef
to Indonesian waters by our navy. The 45 or so Afghan women men and children have been living in the Lombok
camp without basic human rights, on charity provided by Australia, for five years. The years of detention have taken
their toll. The people feel frustrated and often depressed.

The married men have been denied the means to provide for their families, the single men feel stranded.
All feel powerless as their fate is decided by others. They do not know from day to day what will happen to them.
Yet their lives are in grave danger if they return to Afghanistan. Please help us make our government realise the
inhumanity of keeping these people imprisoned on Lombok. Send in signed petitions, send off form letters, or write your own.

Thank you,

Felicia Di Stefano, member South Gippsland RAR, 125 Bateson Road, Glen Forbes, Victoria, 3990, (03) 5678 3294

Print name:

Print address

Date:

Senator Amanda Vanstone
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Senator Vanstone,

I write to you in the hope that, in view of the recent increase of violence in Afghanistan, you will reconsider your policy towards the Afghan asylum seekers on Lombok. That you will allow them to return to Australia to live, work and study in our community while they are assessed for refugee status.

The 45 or so Afghan women, men and children remaining on Lombok, came to Australia to escape persecution and to save their and their children’s lives. October 2006 is the fifth anniversary of the time the Australian navy towed them back to Indonesian waters.

The five years the Afghan asylum seekers have lived in the Lombok compound on scant charity paid for by our government, without basic human rights of work, travel, family reunion or study, have taken their toll and the people are frustrated and often depressed. The married men have been denied the means to provide for their families, the single men feel stranded. All feel powerless as their fate is decided by others. They do not know from day to day what will happen to them.

I plead for compassion on behalf of the Afghan people trapped on Lombok. Their lives continue to be in grave danger if they return to Afghanistan, yet we cannot force these people to live in their present state of lack and uncertainty any longer. Please allow the Afghan asylum seekers to share their culture and work skills with the Australian society as they are assessed for refugee status and become valuable, contributing members of our community.

Sincerely yours,

Signature

'We Will Be Remembered For This'

2006-10-04T20:19:00.000+10:00

Coming soon...

Nauru has said "enough is enough"!

2006-10-04T01:24:00.000+10:00

Nauru sets record refugee visa fee

THE AGE
Michael Gordon
October 4, 2006

THE Nauru Government has told Australia it will have to pay a world record visa charge of more than $1.2 million a year to keep a refugee detained on the tiny, near-bankrupt island.

Nauru Foreign Minister David Adeang says the new visa fee is intended to encourage the Federal Government to find a solution for Mohammed Sagar, 30, who was rescued during the "children overboard" episode five years ago next Tuesday.

"We are doing this for humanitarian reasons," Mr Adeang said yesterday. "We continue to be concerned that there appears to be no resolution possible so far as I'm advised by the Australian Government, not in the near future anyway."

Mr Adeang declined to confirm the cost of the visa, saying the details were still a matter of negotiation. But sources said the Nauru cabinet had struck a figure of $100,000 a month, with the intention of increasing it if Mr Sagar was not resettled soon.

Mr Sagar was found to have a well-founded fear of persecution if he returned to Iraq, but received an adverse security assessment from ASIO in August last year.

He has never been told the basis of the finding and is adamant that he has done nothing to justify being considered a security threat. He has written to the Immigration Department, asking if it intends waiting until he becomes suicidal before offering a solution.

"I don't have any point to prove other than I'm a refugee. The rest is rubbish," Mr Sagar has told The Age.

In the past two weeks, many people on Nauru, including Mr Adeang, have told The Age they are baffled as to why Mr Sagar and another Iraqi, Mohammad Faisal, received adverse ASIO assessments.
Mr Faisal, 26, was evacuated to Brisbane last month because he was suicidal.

Mr Adeang said both men were well regarded by those who had contact with them on Nauru.

Nauru recently announced a new system of charging for visas for asylum seekers sent to the island by Australia for processing, with the stated aim of encouraging the swift resettlement or return of asylum seekers once their claims for refugee status have been assessed.

The charges for the seven Burmese asylum seekers who arrived last month are $2000 each for the first 90 days, with the fee increasing by $500 every subsequent 30 days.

Mr Adeang said the fee for Mr Sagar had been struck in the hope that it would prove a "circuit-breaker" in his case.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone declined to be drawn on the visa fee yesterday, saying it was a matter for discussion between the Australian and Nauru governments.

The United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, is continuing its efforts to find a resettlement country for Mr Sagar and Mr Faisal, but says finding any solution continues to prove difficult.

Conference Papers - Well Worth Reading!

2006-09-25T01:32:00.000+10:00

Hi there,

This is a bit random, but recently Monash University has published a bunch of very interesting, very accessible papers from the conference 'Seeking Asylum in Australia 1995-2005: Experiences & Policies'.

Papers from Julian Burnside, David Corlett, Michael Gordon, Spencer Zifcak and many others... (including me!)

http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/public-history-institute/assets/asylum-forms/asylum-papers.pdf

Have a look and download it! It's a good little read.

Cheers!

Jess x

A Date for your Diaries!

2006-09-21T23:51:00.000+10:00

Aww man! I wish I could be at this event. What a shame! It's going to be fantastic. Please go if you can! Cheers

JT x

For more info see: www.thejusticeproject.com.au

POSTCARD FROM LOMBOK, August 2006

2006-09-18T17:58:00.000+10:00

by Val Campbell, Melbourne, Australia

Also posted at http://www.safecom.org.au/lombok-campbell.htm

When writing about the Afghan Asylum Seekers stranded in Lombok, Indonesia, I am not referring to the past or providing detailed information about how they came to be there. This has all been covered in documents which are all available on the Internet (Search Engine + Lombok Refugees), especially the transcript of the Four Corners program and other progress reports on Australia s and IOM supervision of these people. Particularly graphic are the reports, which outline the failed attempts of these desperate people to reach asylum in Australia and their subsequent five-year detention in a camp/compound in Lombok. Whilst these people are not locked behind bars and razor wire, they are effectively economically imprisoned by their inability to leave the island and not being permitted to work. These background documents make fascinating and heart-rending reading and explain in detail the horrifying experiences that these people have survived. I write this as a refugee support activist and a volunteer at the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre in Melbourne where I teach English to people new to Australia who are on temporary protection visas and thus denied government funded English lessons. There are 55 Afghan, 43 Iraqi and 21 Vietnamese in Lombok at the time of writing. Of the 54 Afghans, are 15 children aged from 1 14 years. There are many more Afghan and Iraqi asylum seekers in Jakarta, plus 107 from Sri Lanka, 14 from Burma.

Lombok

I write this sitting outside my hotel room at Sengiggi, Lombok. Today I will go on a motorbike as a passenger to visit the Afghan Asylum Seekers at Mataram, which is around 20 k. from where I am staying. I go to meet Mohammad who is my contact. I have been emailing with him for a few months, and received an invitation to visit. I am hoping to talk with the Afghan people in the camp, to deliver a bag of toys and games for the children, to take photographs, and perhaps to bring messages from them back to their relatives in Australia. At least fifteen of the 55 Afghan asylum seekers have close family members who are already living in Australia, most who have received permanent residency.

Motorbike taxi is the cheapest way to get around Lombok, or most of South East Asia for that matter. Arriving at the address provided - I had been warned by the motorcycle driver that it was a "poor people's area", I was grateful to have the driver with me to translate, and to find the section of the compound when the Afghan people are housed. It didn't take long, and I found Mohammad easily. We talked in general terms about me and my two travelling companions (2 Melbourne women) making a longer visit the next day. I gave Mohammad a bag of toys for the children, and messages of goodwill and cash donations from two organizations in Melbourne. We made an arrangement that I would return with my party, my tape recorder and camera, and spend time in the camp in the afternoon, and to visit the Iraqi camp, a short distance away.

Next afternoon we hired a bemo (a cheap form of transport, like a covered ute with seats along each side) and were dropped at the camp. Mohammad took us to an empty room - no seats - but red carpet on the floor, so we all sat around on the red carpet. This room is the meeting room and learning room at the camp. Around twenty Afghan men came in to meet me, and my two companions. We started the pleasantries, and were joined by little Ali, 5 years old, and other small children came in and out to receive cuddles from their dads and to see what was going on.

These men told us that most of them had relatives in Australia - Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney. That is the major reason they want to seek asylum in Australia, to re-connect with family, and to life in a safe, stable place. All the time we were talking, little Ali was moving from man to man receiving cuddles and attention; it was not possible to work out who was his father all of these men were so loving towards him. These men said that their relatives in Australia are also working to get these Afghan refugees to Australia, and that they have regular communication by email. (Internet use is very cheap in Mataram, it is only expensive in tourist areas like Sengiggi). I asked them "what place would you like to go to" - and they replied Afghanistan, but they know that they cannot return there it is because it is too dangerous, and may be too precarious to re-enter for a long time for them. These asylum seekers are mostly Hazara ethnic group. It is now known that the few Afghans who were misled into taking the $2000 and returning there have been killed or never been heard of again. The Taliban is on the rise again, and these people would be immediately exterminated or incarcerated for becoming asylum seekers if they were forcibly returned or returned voluntarily. These men did indicate that they would go to any country that would have them, and had heard good reports about New Zealand, but expressed their ultimate goal as Australia because of the family reunion aspect.

Regarding life in Mataram, I was advised that the first year there was pretty awful, as the Lombokians although Muslim were quite hostile as they feared the asylum seekers, particularly I guess because of the shortage of work in Lombok. But over time they have come to recognize that these are good living, non-violent people, who cannot attempt to take jobs, the locals are pleasant and quite supportive of the camp people. Also the Afghans have learned the Indonesian language, and people in Lombok appreciate it if you converse with them in Indonesian. The camp is not far from the large Mataram market where the daily food is obtained, so there is some social interaction with locals in the market situation. People in the camp live mostly on rice, a little vegetable, and occasionally a little fish, chicken or meat. Some families make their own Afghan-type bread. Most families have a little gas cooker, some have an old refrigerator, and a little furniture, but mostly people sit and sleep on the floor.

After lengthy and detailed questions and answers and further discussion it became resoundingly clear that the major objective of these people IS TO OBTAIN WORK. Their work ethic is strong, as they want to obtain work and earn money so that they can give their families, especially their young children, adequate food, clothing and education. They are not particularly complaining about their living conditions in Mataram (although their conditions and food are very low level); they told us that they are becoming psychologically affected by the thwarted efforts to reach Australian shores in boats - being turned back 3 times - and having their cases decided. They are going stir-crazy not having work to do.

These people have skills to offer. Amongst them are cabinet maker, TV mechanic, drivers, shoe-maker, electro-mechanic, painter, body builder, pilot, computer operator, and most of the men seem to have cooking and child-care experience.

The women have skills also - dressmaker, cook, handicraft, hairdresser. Ironically Australia has just been reported as importing guest workers from the Philippines for hairdressing and restaurant work. All of the Afghan women of course have childcare and cooking experience, and have the capacity to manage on very small income to keep their families fed and clothed. Here are people wanting to enter Australia as permanent new citizens, who possess the skills Australia needs and they are denied asylum for who knows what reason. Many of these people speak a little English, and a few speak fluent English. Particularly poignant was meeting an older woman with the most beautiful expressive face who implored me to help her to get to Australia to be reunited with her son and her grandchildren who live in an outer suburb of Melbourne. "I want to see my son and my grandchildren before I die" she explained, and the tears welled in her eyes. She has not seen her son for over five years. In my view these people would make fantastic immigrants to Australia, with the added enhancement of family reunion possibilities.

How do these people live? International Organization of Migration (IOM) who is paid by the Australian Government provides the basic accommodation. The Afghan people receive a few large bottles of water per family each week (in Lombok purified water must be used). They receive a few $USD a week for food. However since it costs money for the children to go to school, this money is cut by those who make it a priority to send the kids to school; therefore the family budget suffers, and the diet is meagre and meat perhaps once per month, eggs one per week. They have two meals per day, mostly rice and a bit of vegetable, sometimes a little dried fish. They make their own roti bread, and drink weak black tea. They are not locked in, they can go to the local Mataram market for food, and it is very cheap but still their payment does not cover expenses. There is no money for new clothes for the adults. Some of the families have a rented TVs as their families in Australia send a little money to help with the children, or will send money to buy them an old TV, so that they have something to do. Their living conditions are one family to a large room, with no furniture and a bathroom behind the room with a squat toilet and mandi (bath) no hot water (no flush toilet). Some families have obtained mattresses - on the floor - a few had obtained beds with mattresses - and a few had a table and a few chairs, but mostly eating and family life means sitting in circles on the floor or the fence outside the compound. Most of the rooms are built around a square concrete area, and the families live next to each other. Mohammad - after arriving in Lombok at age 17, has taught himself to speak Indonesian and English. He runs English classes for the other Afghan refugees, two hours per day.

I asked to spend time with the women alone, to chat about their problems in raising children in the camp, and their day-to-day routines and experiences in the camp. They came to the room bringing tea for our refreshment. The atmosphere in the room changed, and the room was suddenly full of very gentle and friendly faces, very beautiful female faces framed by headscarves and soft folds of material.

We talked about life as an asylum seeker. They talked about their experiences on the failed freedom boat trips from Indonesia to Ashmore Reef, and the awful rejection and treatment they received at the hands of the Australian Navy personnel. They talked about their five years in detention, mothers of children dealing with everyday problems of illness, traumatized children and husbands, too little money to make appealing meals, no resources to make clothing or craft items, their despair about the worsening psychological being of their menfolk as they become increasingly affected by not being permitted to work. They talked about the kids crying to go out to walk and play; they can't afford to go on outings. The kids are scared to be out in the streets because of fear of the police, or any person in uniform.

These women think that Australia is full of optimism, wealth and human kindness. They know however that although there are many Afghan people in Australia, they mostly are not wealthy and cannot send much money. Their hope is to be admitted as asylum seekers awaiting family reunion. I kept seeing images of Minister Vanstone's face, and had to restrain myself from conveying any semblance of hope. Ashamedly, I had to tell these people that even if they were admitted to Australia, they could possibly be sent to detention centers, which would be worse than living in Mataram as they would not be free to go in and out. They said this would be worth it if eventually they would be given permanency and be allowed to work, and be reunited with family in Australia. These people wanted me to say to Australians "please help us". They pleaded: "please do not forget us". How could I, was my thought. These people and their warmth, poignant expressions on their faces, expressive eyes, their hope despite their circumstances, will be unforgettable.

Re the Iraqi and Vietnamese asylum seekers, and three Iranian refugees originally on Lombok. These three Iranians were moved to Lombok from Sitibonda (Java) by IOM. And the Iraqis apparently are soon to be moved to Jakarta, but the detention in Sitibonda is closed now, so their destination is not know. We were just about to visit the Iraqi camp in Mataram, a short distance away, when a huge 4Wdrive vehicle pulled up at the entrance of the school room where we were standing. There was one uniformed man, who stated he was from the (Lombok) Immigration Police, accompanied by two (Javanese) women officers from IOM who proceeded to interrogate me about our purpose in visiting the camp. This was an extraordinary experience, and quite intimidating for the women and children who had just been chatting with us. "Give me your passport" was the policeman's greeting. "Actually I don't have it with me", I replied, "it is at the hotel, but I'm more than happy to show it to you if you wish to accompany me to there". The women took over and explained that we had to have permission to visit the camp. "How would I know that" I replied, there is no notice at the entrance to the compound, and I had never been advised that permission is necessary. "What are you doing here" they asked, "we have had reports that you are holding meetings and giving lectures". (A spy in or near the camp?) I replied that I was simply a social visitor visiting a friend of a friend from Melbourne. They wanted to know what I was talking about with the Afghan people. I replied that we had been chatting with the women about caring for their children and food and recipes. One of my companions piped up and said "what is all the fuss about, we are just three grandmothers from Melbourne, visiting to deliver toys.". After some time the cross examination petered out and I think they concluded that we were pretty harmless. We were then offered a lift back to our hotel (a firm offer to leave immediately), which we gracefully accepted (me thinking, how pleased I was to "escape" without my backpack with notes, tape recorder, digital camera and etc. being searched).

On the drive back to our hotel in the huge vehicle, the two IOM officers talked in negative claims about how psychologically damaged, depressed and troublesome these refugees are, and how their job is to "look after them" and how they don't want visitors to come and raise expectations and hopes. Yes, yes I agreed, I fully understand. They even stated that my contact, M. was a troublemaker, and in fact had led a hunger strike two years previously. (My, my, I thought, good onya M. I'm sure you had good cause.) This is the organization paid by the Australian people to provide shelter and care to these refugees under the UN conventions. Cripes, I thought, with friends like these...! They were (I'm sure) pleased to ascertain that we were leaving the next morning to get the ferry back to Bali, and we were dropped inside the hotel gates with best wishes for a safe journey, and without bothering to look at my passport.

That evening, we just happened (!) to meet up with two of our Afghan friends, M & one of his mates, in the main street of Sengiggi. (We had previously agreed to take a parcel back to Australia - a gift from one of the families to his brother and family in Melbourne.) They had borrowed a motorbike and come across to Sengiggi. This was good as we were able to de-brief the afternoon's incident, and we found the IOM officers had not been completely honest. They had told us that they are at the camp every day to check on the welfare of the residents. In fact, they only visit there about once a month, and are generally not available at other times (unless a "spy" reports unauthorized visitors to the camp, of course). It was great to have a chat with these two guys away from the camp, and we said our farewells in good spirits.
Melbourne - Australia's most livable city?

A few weeks after returning from Indonesia, I phoned and made arrangements to visit the brother whose contact details I had been given. I wanted to deliver the parcel (which apparently didn't contain any sort of bomb, as it passed customs at both Denpasar and Melbourne).

Off I went to South Narre Warren, about outer, outer suburb of Melbourne, to search for M's brother's house. Down the Princes Highway, turning right at Hallam, miles and miles south, then winding roads, finally finding the street. Not been there before, couldn't believe the thousands of little houses on small blocks miles from anywhere. No place to survive without a car, unless you are a long distance walker, I thought. Narre Warren is Kath & Kim country isn't it? but these houses are definitely smaller than that shown in their TV show, and the blocks of land are so tiny. These were definitely low-income housing. Knocking on the door of a new-ish, house with an immaculate garden, I was immediately ushered in and was seated. I was in a small, spotless house, with a little furniture and a colourful carpet. The family said they were very happy to be living there. The man worked in a factory near Dandenong, and the children were doing well at their schools. Social activities were possible, as there are quite a few Afghan people living around the area. They were delighted to receive the parcel and looked at my photos. It transpired that this man at Narre Warren was the son of the older lady I mentioned before, and when seeing the photos the emotion on his face and the face of his lovely wife was very moving. I met all of their five children, and thought what wonderful Afghan-Australians they will be. So well mannered and pleasant, and beautiful faces. I also met the best friend of the brother at Lombok, who had come around to meet me and see the photos. On leaving, the wife gave me a little hand made tablemat as a gesture of appreciation of my visit, and I left them copies of the photographs I had taken in Lombok.

I've been thinking about these people ever since, and often look at the photographs. Whilst it is fine that I can keep in touch with M. and be updated about what is happening, it is so frustrating to not be able to offer any hope. Why, why does it have to be like this. The contradiction of shortages of labour in Australia, and these people wanting to join family here and WORK, what is the problem?? I know my analysis of this situation may be judged as unsophisticated, but I do know that these asylum seekers cannot return to Afghanistan. It is simply too dangerous, and these people would be killed or persecuted. They deserve better. They are not queue jumpers, there was no queue to join. They are genuine asylum seekers who have risked their lives more than once to find a safe and better place for themselves and their children. It is simply absurd that Australia continues to pay the IOM to keep these people out of Australia and even more disgusting that they would offer money to encourage them return to unsafe home countries. The Lombok asylum seekers must be supported to come to Australia to be with their families and other people who have fled intolerable situations in their home country.

Val Campbell
(received 17 September 2006

Burmese refugees flown to Nauru

2006-09-18T16:04:00.000+10:00

September 18, 2006 - 11:17AM

Seven Burmese asylum seekers have been flown to Australia's remote offshore detention centre on the Pacific island of Nauru.

A spokesman for Immigration minister Amanda Vanstone confirmed the group had been flown from Christmas Island yesterday.

The men left behind an eighth member of their group, who remains on Christmas Island receiving medical treatment.

The refugees were guarded on the flight by 19 security personnel, a force that an Immigration department spokesman said was "pretty well standard".

The refugees were taken to Christmas Island last month after being picked up by HMAS Darwin on the isolated Ashmore Reef.

They are deemed to not have reached Australian soil.

This leaves them in legal limbo without access to the Australian legal system and the appeals system afforded refugees who reach the mainland.

AAP

Where Have I Been?!

2006-09-08T19:27:00.000+10:00

Ummm I'm in Sweden now... I've started a Masters. So I probably won't be posting here so much, as I'm not in Australia. But what i will do is post the stuff I'm learning / thinking about / doing at my other blog: http://probablynotinteresting.blogspot.com

Please come and visit! I'm sorry there won't be much action here for a long-ish while. I feel a little bit sad to be abandoning this page! But I'm sure I'll write from time to time :)

Love Jess x

We Will Be Remembered For This: A Film About Australia

2006-08-23T15:57:00.000+10:00

Hey There,

Have a look at the trailer for the film!!

http://www.myspace.com/wewillberemembered

Cheers

JT x

THE PRIME MINISTER HAS WITHDRAWN THE MIGRATION AMENDMENT BILL!!!

2006-08-14T13:10:00.000+10:00

The Federal Government decided to withdraw its controversial new immigration laws because a coalition senator had vowed to cross the floor to oppose them, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
"It was made very clear to me this morning that a government senator would cross the floor and vote against the legislation," Mr Howard told reporters.

"The intention of that government senator was communicated directly to me in a one-on-one discussion that we had."

theage.com.au understands Mr Howard took the decision this morning when he realised insurrection within Government ranks would lead to the defeat of the bill and his authority being challenged.

Liberal senator Judith Troeth has led coalition dissent against the legislation, under which all boatpeople would have been processed in offshore detention centres even if they reached the Australian mainland.

Critics of the legislation said it was designed to appease Indonesia, which protested strongly when Australia granted asylum to a group of Papuan refugees who landed on Cape York earlier this year.

Family First senator Steve Fielding had said he would vote against the bill, while maverick Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce had threatened to follow suit.

Last week, Liberal MPs Petro Georgiou, Russell Broadbent and Judi Moylan crossed the floor of the House of Representatives to vote against the legislation, while fellow moderate Bruce Baird and Nationals MP John Forrest abstained from voting.

Mr Howard admitted today some Coalition members had reservations about the legislation.

"Plainly, this particular approach was not going to muster parliament's support," Mr Howard said

"Yet me make it clear that the existing law, in relation to people who do not make the Australian mainland, that involves offshore processing, that law will be maintained and utilised to the full.

"Those people who arrive on excised islands will still be processed in Nauru.

"None of those changes will go ahead because the whole bill has been withdrawn.

"The whole bill is out ... there were a number of changes that were intended but they're all out.

"I believe in this bill, I still do, but I don't believe there are the numbers to pass it in the Senate.

"I believe in it very strongly and I believe the community believed in it."

When asked how Indonesia would respond, Mr Howard said: "I don't know, and frankly that is a secondary consideration.

"This bill was not designed to get a tick in Jakarta."

-----

BLOODY FANTASTIC!!! WELL DONE EVERYONE!!! :)

being an ethnic minority in my own environment

2006-08-12T16:21:00.000+10:00

one night this week i had a really strange experience. for a while i had been intending - with a few of my hazara friends (all seperately to eachother)- to go and have dinner at an afghan restaurant in dandenong. miraculously, we organised it.

after a lot of yes-i'm-coming-no-i'm-not-can-i-come-too etc, we finally got there. the party consisted of two friends of mine, a guy whom i'd never met before in my life who had kind of invited himself through a mutual friend, the wife of one of my other friends, and the 12 year old foster son of mutual friend! so - 5 hazaras and me, little aussie jess.

there were two women present - me, and my friend's wife. she and i had an odd sort of common link. all of the boys there - 4 of them - speak dari, hazaragi and english. my friend's wife, A, only speaks hazaragi and dari. of those languages, i only speak english (and i also know how to say "if you see a camel, don't *say* that you saw a camel" in dari - extremely helpful!). so, no matter which language the group was speaking, one of us was completely excluded from the conversation.

it was an eye-opener. i was in dandenong (which may as well be little Kabul sometimes!), and we were in a restaurant completely immersed in afghan culture. we were sitting on a carpet (me with my gammy, post-car crash dodgey knees, them cross legged like they've been doing it since birth), shoes off, ordering in dari, no worries. and it was really beautiful to see my friends in *their* environment, rather than mine, which is imposed on them by circumstance. it gave me a glimpse of the kind of massive cultural and environmental transplant that people have to undergo. on top of all the other trauma which goes along with being a refugee. yikes.

anyway, i just wanted to post about this.

most of my brainspace has been taken up by this stupid stupid stupid migration amendment, so i wanted to post about something which *didn't* involve writing to senators...!

cheers

jt x

Speech 7 August

2006-08-09T12:45:00.000+10:00

Hey Guys,

I spoke at a fundraiser for an Afghani family on Monday night at Melbourne Uni. I spoke about my experiences at the UN, then Julian Burnside QC spoke about the horror that is the Migration Amendment Bill. If you're interested in reading my speech, you can find it at www.julianburnside.com - click on the 'speeches' link under the heading 'human rights'.

Unfortunately, Julian's speech was off-the-cuff and therefore isn't available verbatim. But you'll find heaps of other great stuff on his site.

Cheers!!

Jess x

Migration Bill Passed in Lower House - ACT NOW TO STOP IT IN THE SENATE!

2006-08-08T13:21:00.000+10:00

The Migration Amendment Bill has passed in the House of
Representatives, so it is one giant step closer to becoming law.
BUT!!! The Bill can still be stopped in the Senate.

Please take the time to send emails and call the following people if
you haven't already. And if you have, let's go again.

If this law passes it will be the worst thing that's ever happened to
this country. This is our LAST CHANCE.

You should concentrate on 4 key senators who have not yet made up
their minds whether they will cross the floor and vote against the
amended Bill. Please contact these Senators this week and tell them
your opinion of the proposal in its latest amended form. Tell them it
is STILL not acceptable to the Australian people.

1. If you are a Christian, ring Steve Fielding, Family First Senator
Please passionately remind him that the Christian community is looking
to him to represent them and act on his convictions. He has made
plenty of noise on refugees but never acted so NOW is the crucial time
for him to act.

Tel: (03) 9802-1922
Info: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/s-e4r.htm
Email: senator.fielding@aph.gov.au

2. If you are a personal friend of refugees, ring Barnaby Joyce,
Nationals Senator
You should focus on how well your refugee friends have assimilated
into Australian society. This is a concern of his, "social upheaval"
(as he put it in an email to a ChilOut supporter), caused by
too-different-from-us people entering society. He needs reassurance
that there won't be social unrest as a result of new Australians'
presence!!!

Tel: (07) 4625-1500
Info: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/s-e5d.htm
Email: senator.joyce@aph.gov.au

3. Russell Trood, Liberal Senator
Also from QLD, he has shown a strong interest in human rights and
social justice but has not committed himself to voting against the
Bill. He needs encouragement – particularly if you are from QLD.

Tel: (07) 3372-4555
Info: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/s-e6a.htm
Email: senator.trood@aph.gov.au

4. Brett Mason, Liberal Senator
Another QLD Senator who hasn't made up his mind yet. Please ring him
and tell him why he should use his power as a Senator to stop children
being sent to Nauru ever again.

Tel: (07) 3422-1990
Info: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/s-84m.htm
Email: senator.mason@aph.gov.au

We mustn't let the Government get away with this.

COME ON PEOPLE!!!

Get a LOAD of this!

2006-08-04T10:15:00.000+10:00

==============================
Racial abuse victim awarded $25,000
==============================

Sydney Morning Herald
Tim Dick
August 4, 2006

MOHAMED ABDULRAHMAN'S first name was too difficult for his colleagues, so they called him "bombchucker" instead.

The Toll Express employees pretended to stumble over the public address system - calling him "Mokaakaakaahamed" - and found another tag they could pronounce: Osama bin Laden. Mr Abdulrahman, who drove forklifts and stacked
trucks, was told to change his name to John or David or "whatever".

In a meeting about a work injury, a union delegate told him: "f---ing bombchucker … what do you think, you want to go home with $1 million and chuck bombs around Australia?"

Everyone in the room laughed, except Mr Abdulrahman. Now, the Administrative Decisions Tribunal has awarded him damages of $25,000.

It upheld his complaint of illegal race discrimination this week, finding he was repeatedly mocked in his work because of his race.

Mr Abdulrahman was born in Australia to parents who migrated from Lebanon but, according to his evidence, that did not matter to his colleagues when Iraq was invaded.

Every time Iraq was mentioned, his manager, Troy Wallace, asked "What happened to your cousins?"

He did not lodge a discrimination complaint earlier because he had a mortgage, wife and three children to support and needed his job. However, after 2ฝ years, he could not take it any more.

When the Anti-Discrimination Board investigated, the company's state manager, Jamie Primmer, said the complaint was without foundation.

The workers involved also denied doing anything wrong, and said Mr Abdulrahman had acted inappropriately to another worker.

But the union delegate, Les Ponting, agreed under cross-examination that name-calling and racial slurs were common at the plant, and he heard some of the abuse of Mr Abdulrahman.

The tribunal said it was "comfortably satisfied" about the allegations. It found that the company through its employees had "endorsed and condoned" a discriminatory workplace that caused Mr Abdulrahman "a great deal of distress, humiliation and embarrassment".

It awarded $25,000 damages but did not order Toll Express to apologise because "there would be little value in an apology that was not genuine".

Mr Abdulrahman, who is not working at present, welcomed the decision. "I've worked everywhere in Australia, and it's never happened," he said.

The general manager of Toll Express, Neil Pollington, said the company would appeal against the decision.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/racial-abuse-victim-awarded-25000/2006/08/03/1154198272429.html

URGENT CALL TO ACTION: NEXT WEEK'S MIGRATION BILL

2006-08-03T09:17:00.000+10:00

Parliament resumes on 8 August and the Government will try to push through the amended Pacific Solution expansion bill on that day. That is next Tuesday. The Liberal MPs who have opposed the Bill have done so with the support of the community and they need it to continue, now more crucially than ever before.

You should concentrate on 4 key senators who have not yet made up their minds whether they will cross the floor and vote against the amended Bill. Please contact these Senators this week and tell them your opinion of the proposal in its latest amended form. Tell them it is STILL not acceptable to the Australian people.

1. If you are a Christian, ring Steve Fielding, Family First Senator
Please passionately remind him that the Christian community is looking to him to represent them and act on his convictions. He has made plenty of noise on refugees but never acted so NOW is the crucial time for him to act.

Tel: (03) 9802-1922
Info: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/s-e4r.htm
Email: senator.fielding@aph.gov.au

2. If you are a personal friend of refugees, ring Barnaby Joyce, Nationals Senator
You should focus on how well your refugee friends have assimilated into Australian society. This is a concern of his, "social upheaval" (as he put it in an email to a ChilOut supporter), caused by too-different-from-us people entering society. He needs reassurance that there won’t be social unrest as a result of new Australians’ presence!!!

Tel: (07) 4625-1500
Info: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/s-e5d.htm
Email: senator.joyce@aph.gov.au

3. Russell Trood, Liberal Senator
Also from QLD, he has shown a strong interest in human rights and social justice but has not committed himself to voting against the Bill. He needs encouragement – particularly if you are from QLD.

Tel: (07) 3372-4555
Info: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/s-e6a.htm
Email: senator.trood@aph.gov.au

4. Brett Mason, Liberal Senator
Another QLD Senator who hasn't made up his mind yet. Please ring him and tell him why he should use his power as a Senator to stop children being sent to Nauru ever again.

Tel: (07) 3422-1990
Info: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/s-84m.htm
Email: senator.mason@aph.gov.au

We mustn't let the Government get away with this. We must remind the politicians that despite it being the winter recess, we have not forgotten the amended Bill and they are being very closely watched.

COME ON PEOPLE!!!

Here a Detention Centre, There a Detention Centre, Everywhere a Detention Centre

2006-08-02T17:44:00.000+10:00

I love this cartoon. It's genuis.

It refers to the fact that they're currently building an 800-bed detention facility on Christmas Island at the bargain cost of only $300 million dollars!!

Pretty amazing stuff, considering the one and only boat we've had in ages had 43 West Papuans in it, every single one of whom has now been recognised as a refugee.

Ten out of ten for being desperately cruel and economically promiscuous for no reason except political point-scoring.

(see below for suggestions re better ways to spend $300 million)

Um, Pardon Me?!

2006-08-02T10:02:00.000+10:00

$17 million dollars?! fitness centre?! MACHINE GUNS?!?

For crying out loud. Get a load of this:
---

Govt wants private boat to patrol northern waters

ABC Online News
Tuesday, August 1, 2006. 6:44pm (AEST)

The Federal Government has has decided to hire a private patrol boat to search for illegal fishing boats in Australia's northern waters.

The Government says the boat will act as a mother ship, detaining suspected illegal fishermen.

It is advertising a $17 million contract for a private boat that will be fitted with machine guns and used to patrol the waters off the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

The Government wants a boat and a civilian crew, who will be accompanied by up to 30 customs and defence personnel and be able to take to the water in January next year.

The Government says the boat has to also be able to hold up to 30 suspected illegal fishermen, and be fast enough to chase and catch foreign boats, even into international waters.

The tender says it would be desirable if the patrol boat had a fitness centre for 30 people.

---

Why don't they spend this amount of money on getting rid of the tens of thousands (yes, that's right, tens of thousands) of Brits, Americans and Europeans who overstay their visas each year?! OR (call me crazy) on schools, hospitals, aged care, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and alleviating debt in the developing world.

geez i must be an irrational hippy. that's some crazy talk, isn't it? haha! hospitals! aged care! alleviating debt! oh stop, you're killing me.

hmm.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED TO STOP REMOVAL OF SERIOUSLY ILL ASYLUM SEEKER CHILD

2006-07-31T09:54:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone,

The Immigration department is up to its usual trickery once again. We need your help to save the life of a seriously ill, nine year old Afghan boy in Brisbane, who the Immigration department is proposing to send to Christmas Island, far from specialist medical care. Here is some more information about the child from Campaign Director at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre - Pamela Curr.

I am requesting your assistance to stop the removal of a seriously ill, nine year old Afghan child and his parents to Christmas Island. The reason for this is that the child has Hereditary Spherocytosis. http://www2.texaschildrenshospital.org/internetarticles/uploadedfiles/85.pdf

Hereditary Spherocytosis results is an over production of red cells with severe anaemia, splenomegaly and jaundice as these break down. This child has had both his spleen and his gall bladder removed in the past month to alleviate the condition. The condition can not be cured but with good medical care can be controlled. Without a spleen this child is highly susceptible to infection. He must remain on daily antibiotics and be watched for any sign of infection as this could become life threatening within hours.

This family is awaiting a decision on their protection visa application. They arrived on Saibai Island around the 22nd May. They came to Australia seeking asylum and in desperation, medical care for their child who was at this time desperately ill. The family was taken to the Royal Brisbane Children’s Hospital for urgent care. They are now in community detention under guard somewhere in Brisbane.

The Immigration department is now proposing to send the family to Christmas Island which is 2,600 kms from Perth and the nearest specialist medical facility. Currently there is no doctor on Christmas Island although the doctor will return in a few weeks. Normally there is one doctor on the island and one on circuit through the other islands. The Medical facilities for a child with a life-threatening condition are dangerously inadequate.

Recently a West Papuan child on Christmas Island required two trips back and forth from Christmas Island to Perth for medical care. This necessitated flights with her father and two guards at enormous cost and great stress. In 2002 Fatima a 27-year-old Afghan woman died as a result of high blood pressure which caused a brain haemmorrhage. She had been given Panadol for 3 days before collapsing.

The child's doctors have stated that he must remain close to specialist medical facilities. The practicalities are that if the child developed an infection, it could take at least 24 -36 hours to authorise a plane and then to organise a flight to Perth. This proved too long for Fatima. We must not allow this child to be placed at risk of a similar fate.

Please intervene to save this child’s life.

Yours Sincerely
Pamela Curr

SO... WORTHY OF ACTION?

If you think so, please contact your local MP's office and the offices of your state or territory senators to raise the matter of this child urgently. Just drop them an email - it doesn't have to be too shiny or sophisticated. Just let them know you're not happy.

* Contact details for Federal MPs
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/index.htm
* Find your electorate
http://www.aec.gov.au/esearch/main.htm
* Contact details for Senators
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/index.htm

Also - if you haven't yet, sign the petition at www.getup.org.au

All the best,

Jess x

(the pic is from wikipedia)

Human Rights Act: Melbourne Launch

2006-07-27T22:09:00.000+10:00

Life These Days

2006-07-24T22:44:00.000+10:00

Hi there,

Well I've just returned from a lovely evening. A friend who got out of detention recently exercised his more-than-a-bit-fantastic cooking skills and cooked up a big feast for a bunch of his friends tonight. It was absolutely beautiful! So I have a tummy full of hearty, warm Afghan food. Yummo.

The photo above is a picture of my father's house in the Grampians, a mountain range about 3 hours from Melbourne. My dad LIVES there. PERMANENTLY. Lucky bastard. Incidentally, the opening sequence of the Refugee film is all this house, and the beautiful mountain range behind it. The last time I was there was on the way to Baxter a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I had food poisoning so it wasn't the *most* fun I've ever had...!

Anyway, on Sunday I am going to spend the week there, going hardcore bootcamp on my thesis. I hereby declare that I want to have finished writing the damned thing by the time I get back. Ouch. Now that I've said it out loud, it makes it a bit scarier. But I want to have 14,000 words on the page. They don't all gotta be brilliant, but they gotta BE there.

I have been looking forward to this sejour to the mountains for a long time. Dad will be at work for most of the time, but I will take my dog with me. Those of you who know me will know that I love my dog quite a lot, so we will have some quality time of snoozing and walking and tummy scratching before I go overseas. This week I had a coffee with a Monash academic who supervised my Honours in 2004, and with whom I've worked closely since, and when I told him about my plan to escape and write, he raised an eyebrow and dared me to leave my mobile in Melbourne. Oh my goodness. So tempting.

Anyway it is lots past my bedtime. I just thought I'd post this picture to make everyone feel maybe the tiniest bit jealous. I am so looking forward to it...! You should HEAR the birds singing in the morning...!

J x

Being "Mohammed" in Australia

2006-07-20T18:44:00.000+10:00

This afternoon I had a coffee with a friend of mine who recently got out of detention. After 5 long years, he is finally free and wandering around in this wide brown land wondering what happens next. I often love that conversation - the first proper catch up after a month's craziness after detention. But sometimes - and this has happened a few times recently - the person I'm speaking to doesn't have the look of freedom in their eye.

This guy I saw today looked so tired and drained. I begrudgingly told him that he didn't look any better than when he was in detention. He confessed that he'd been running himself into the ground a bit, but then he began talking about the fact that he has had quite a few unpleasant incidents of people being completely racist towards him. Bouncers not letting him into bars, potential employers expressing reservations at his name (the dreaded "M" word), people looking at him funny.

If he were the only person who said this stuff to me it mightn't concern me, but it's happened a lot recently. The last guy was an african guy who's on a bridging visa, who was just about in tears because he had experienced such blatant discrimination.

When will these guys be able to get on with their damn lives?!

It also brings to mind the story of a friend of mine whose family is Lebanese. She was once the proud owner of the name Fatima Abdulatif. UNTIL her brother started applying for jobs, didn't get any, and was told by his temp agency that it was because his name has 'Abdul' in it. So, their ENTIRE family has changed its surname to Latif. They got rid of that nasty 'Abdul' business. And not only that, Fatima has become Tina. By deed poll. Her entire middle eastern heritage and her family's nationality, origin, religion and identity have been sanitised into oblivion because we DON'T LIKE IT. (reminiscent of anyone you know....??)

How embarrassing for white Australians, and how devastating for thousands of new Australians, that we as a nation cannot see past a name. I think that's about enough!

Fair Dublin

2006-07-19T09:51:00.000+10:00

Hi there,

I feel I must apologise for my serious lack of blog updates recently. I've got a lot of things on my mind in the last few weeks before I go overseas. One of the main things I'm worrying about is finding accommodation in Dublin! It is UNBELIEVABLY hard to find a room in that place! I keep getting rejection emails (mostly because of the time-period of my stay) from people called Eoghan, Fearghal, Siobhaun, Connell, Davey, Declan and Aisling. It's very demoralising!

Anyway I'm sure I will overcome this hurdle but I just thought I'd write to say hi, because I can see that a few people are still logging on to see whazzup. Oooh, by the way, the banner across the top of this post is the logo from University College Dublin - the esteemed institution from which I will be receiving my Masters. Interestingly though, the Masters program is run by the School of Biology and Environmental Science, Agri and Food Science Centre, and from what I can tell I'm getting a Masters in Agricultural Science....! MSc(Agr) HA - there's a reason for the HA on the end there: not only does it stand for Humanitarian Action, it also nicely begins the phrase HAHAHAHA!!! oh dear :S

Very soon, there will be more info about the *FILM* available here. It's looking great! I'm very excited :)

See you all soon.

JT x

REUNITING A FAMILY SEPARATED FOR HALF A DECADE

2006-07-13T10:49:00.000+10:00

Julian Burnside QC & Jessie Taylor
speak to raise funds for Jarnil Khan Hashimi & family
When: Monday 7 August 2006
Time: 6.00-7.00 pm. Proceedings will begin at 6.00 sharp.
Where: Main Dining Room, University House, University of Melbourne
Parking: Parking is available on campus from 4.00 pm for $4 (coins only)
Cost: $20 minimum per person
Refreshments: Nibbles will be provided after the talk. Drinks available from the Bar.
RSVP: Bookings with payment by 3 August essential. Numbers limited.
Please send cheques (no credit card payment) payable to The Brigidine
Asylum Seeker Project to: Juliet Flesch, History Department, University of Melbourne

Jarnil Khan Hashimi
In his native Afghanistan, Jarnil, who had protested against the Taliban practice of selling women and girls, lost his right leg and the sight of one eye in Taliban reprisals. He fled, and after a long and dangerous voyage, arrived in Australian waters and claimed asylum. He was detained on Nauru for two and a half years.
Jarnil was granted a Temporary Protection Visa in 2004 and went to live and work in regional Victoria. His wife and four children under thirteen remained trapped in Pakistan, unable to join him. In April 2006, however, Jarnil was granted a permanent Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa, which will allow him to travel to and from Pakistan and bring his family here. But there is a catch. Jarnil, who works in a Castlemaine supermarket, is entitled to no financial assistance. This fundraiser is to pay for him to go to Peshawar and bring his family home.

Julian Burnside QC needs no introduction to those engaged in refugee matters. He has worked tirelessly and productively in individual cases and in attempting to change punitive Government policy. He acted for the Ok Tedi natives against BHP, and for the Maritime Union of Australia in the 1998 waterfront dispute against Patrick Stevedores. He was elected a National Living Treasure in 2004.

Jessie Taylor was Castan Centre Global Intern to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, 2006 and will talk of her experience with the Australian Delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

I Had A Dream Last Night

2006-07-05T09:45:00.000+10:00

Well, truth be told, it was not so much a dream as a nightmare. I dreamed that I was somewhere that was supposed to be safe - a camp, or a holiday or something, but things felt a little bit tense. It was in a jungle tree-house log-cabin sort of setting, and there were lots of people there that I knew, either well or just as an acquaintance. There was a kind of tower with rooms in it, and a spiralled ramp that led to the top.

Before long, things slid from mildly tense to all-out violent. A number of the people at the camp place began to kill the others. They were targetting people depending on who they were (ethnically / religiously / politically) and what they believed in. The killers had got dressed up in camouflage gear and were rampaging through the place machine gunning down people who admitted to holding certain beliefs. I saw people killed before my eyes, and I was shocked by how specifically they were targetting individual people.

I was with a few other people and we just spent the whole time stealthily creeping around trying not to get shot, although most of us did. The people were running up and down the ramp in the tower trying to find people. Eventually - I don't know how - I got into a car and started to drive away very fast, but even then they were still shooting at the car.

I woke up absolutely terrified and it took me a while to relax enough to get back to sleep.

In my country, that nightmare has never be anything more than a nightmare. Probably if you're reading this in Australia, you are imagining some kind of video game! But when I thought about it, I realised that that EXACT scenario happens on a daily basis in so many countries in the world.

I know this all sounds rather obvious, but I have never had the idea of persecution rammed home to me quite so strongly as this. For me - for most Aussies - it's all so theoretical that it may as well be a fairy tale. But it's not! Innocent people find themselves in a situation where someone wants them to die simply because of who they are or what they believe in, and unfortunately, they can't be safe simply by waking up from their sleep. Man, I'm so lucky to be almost 24 years old and never have had to think about this before.

Making Our Fillum...

2006-07-02T23:02:00.000+10:00

Well hey there. If you know me and / or read this blog semi-regularly, you'll know that I am currently in the midst of making a film about refugee stuff (with - of course - the assistance of some mighty talented other people without whom I would probably try and do the whole thing in claymation. and that would just take AGES).

Well, we're making our film! We've done most of the shooting during the trip to Baxter, and we've done interviews with the former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, and with Julian Burnside, and an ex-guard who worked at Maribyrnong and Baxter. It's coming together wonderfully, thanks to the talents of Mr Adam Arkapaw (cinematographer and cameraman extraordinaire) and David 'Big Man Hands' Schmidt, cameraman and editor, pictured above right).

I just wanted to post this little update because I don't want you to think that nothing is happening! In reality LOTS of stuff is happening and it's great. I'm very excited and can't wait for you all to see it :)

ALSO - little update... In case you haven't caught up with the goss, the Migration Amendment Bill was basically stomped on at this session of Parliament, having been fundamentally rejected by a number of members of Howard's own party. He may try to pull a swifty and reintroduce it into Parliament in August but hopefully as a nation we'll be ALL OVER IT and not let him try anything tricky.

If you haven't already signed the Getup petition (or implored everyone you know to sign it too), go to http://www.getup.org.au/campaign.asp?campaign_id=30 and sign that puppy. The initial goal was 35,000, but that was blitzed. Then it rose to 50,000, then to 75,000, and now they've pumped it up to 100,000! It would be AMAZING if we could pull that off, and at the time of writing it was at 84% (83,715 people!), so let's DO IT!

Cheers

:) Jess x

PS if you can think of a cool name for our film let me know. I may come up with some kind of prize... ;)

A Few Of My Favourite Things

2006-06-28T17:05:00.001+10:00

Hey there,

So I haven't written since Baxter... I always do this! Get home and can't quite bring myself to write about it. This time was really not much different to the other two times I've been, except that we had the camera crew there, and I got food poisoning (great!). Whoopty doo!

The title of this post, however, is not intended sarcastically, because while we were away, I got a FANTASTIC phonecall! I found out that the two Hazara boys in Maribyrnong had finally been released from detention, which was very exciting news, even if they did ring me at 8am to tell me. My yelps of joy woke up everyone sleeping in my little room at the Port Augusta Big 4 Holiday Caravan Park!

We got home from Baxter on Wednesday night, and on Thursday night I went over for dinner to the house that the 2 lads are staying at with a friend. One of them was a chef before he was detained, and he had been promising for ages that as soon as he got out he would cook me a massive Afghani feast... Well, let's just say he wasn't kidding!! He made 4 amazing dishes and this beautiful special spiced rice and we all sat on the floor with our shoes off eating until top buttons were popping all over the shop.

It was so great watching him in the kitchen - he knew exactly what he was doing, and he was damn good at it, and I realised how crappy it must be to be in detention with no possible way of distinguishing yourself from the next guy. Regardless of who you are outside detention, your personality, experiences, talents, foibles or favourite past-times, you are just a face on a list of ID numbers. So it makes sense that as soon as people get out of detention they often want to reassert themselves - reactivate their characters and the things that make them THEM, rather than just another detainee in a system. I love watching people coming back to life again :)

J x

Ad Nauseum

2006-06-13T12:09:00.000+10:00

I had thought that the message of asylum seekers NOT being illegal was beginning to seep into the Australian understanding, but apparently I was wrong! This morning The Age Online published an article written by AAP called "Joyce Joins Fray over Asylum Laws". I couldn't believe my eyes when I read it!! Here is the letter I typed and sent in record time to every person with the word 'editor' anywhere near their name in the 'Contact Us' section:

Dear Editors,

I have just seen the article on The Age Online entitled 'Joyce Joins
Fray Over Asylum Laws' and was surprised to read the following...

"Under the government's legislation, all asylum seekers who come to
Australia illegally will be processed offshore."

I would respectfully ask that you change the word 'illegally'
immediately, as there is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker!
Asylum seekers have every right to come to Australia (even on leaky
boats, even with no documentation) under the Refugees Convention, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and perhaps most importantly
under s36 of Australia's own Migration Act.

It is particularly important to use accurate terminology at this point
in time when the Government is proposing (by the changes in the law)
to strip refugees of all rights in Australia.

Please do not facilitate the spread of malicious and incorrect
messages that asylum seekers are "illegal" by making such editorial
slips.

Otherwise, thank you for your coverage of this Bill and I look forward
to reading more following the Senate report due today.

Respectfully yours,

Jessie Taylor

Heavens. I can't believe they made that mistake! Calling asylum seekers illegals is like, SO five years ago!! However, I can see the problem. The label given to asylum seekers by the government is 'unlawful' (meaning, without officially designated status under the law - but NOT illegal), which is OF COURSE misinterpreted as 'illegal'. So then people just forget about the distinction (which is pretty easy to do - it seems such a fussy point of semantics) and suddenly people who simply don't have any officially designated status under the law are illegal. Scary. But oh-so-smooth. Our government is a clever bunch and they know how to play with language.

Just remember that on the plan for the Baxter Detention Centre, a massive, glinting, steel, razor-wire covered electric fence is referred to as an "energised courtesy fence". Oh my goodness. The moral of the story? Don't be fooled by seductive words, empty meanings and convenient definitions. That includes you, AAP and The Age Online...

(above pic of Baxter's lovely 'energised courtesy fence' from ronny restrepo. thank you!)

Baxter: The Brick In My Belly

2006-06-11T19:19:00.000+10:00

It's just a few days until we will pack into a minibus and zoom off towards the South Australian desert. The visit to Baxter is looming, and I am experiencing a little gnawing feeling of unease at the prospect of returning to that place.

I am looking forward to seeing the people I know, but I can't believe it's been a whole year since I first met them there. I think about how much has happened in my life in that time, and feel ill at the thought that for them, every single one of the last 365 days have been identical, except for those punctuated with visa rejections, suicide attempts and visits to psychiatric hospitals.

I fear the depth of their sorrow, and I fear my powerlessness to penetrate it.

I dread arriving, I dread being there, and I dread leaving.

I wonder at my capacity to help navigate the turbulent journeys of the 9 other people who are visiting with me.

I question whether 4 years' experience will be a benefit or a hindrance. Will I have become accustomed to it, or will I be nearing saturation point?

I recall something I wrote a while ago:

"As with so many things in life, the experience of visiting people in immigration detention centres can be expressed on the parallel planes of the mundane and the profound.

On one level, it’s taking a few hours out of a Sunday morning to spend what can be a slightly awkward visit session sitting in a plastic chair, passive smoking and crumpling up a used plastic cup, before leaving again, slightly relieved that another visit is over. On another level, that same exercise is a foray into the human face of injustice. The awkward silence is actually a massive void. It is steeped in unspeakable apology for the gulf between my life, and yours. The powerlessness of knowing that there are only so many times I can shake my head in dismay and regret for what is happening to you. The strange reality that outside of the context of detention, we probably would never have been friends. The knowledge that hearing the explanation once again of why and how you came to be in detention in Australia won’t suddenly make everything clear to me".

I know I will be flying only by the seat of my pants and by the grace of God, and I just hope I'm up for the challenge. Yikes.

Why Don't They Get It??

2006-06-09T15:21:00.000+10:00

In the past 24 hours, a couple of things have happened to me that have been quite powerful in the context of each other.

Last night I went to a party thrown by Anne Horrigan-Dixon to celebrate a few different things:
1. Julian Burnside's birthday
2. Michael Gordon's award as Australian Journalist of the Year
3. One year since Ali Mullaie and Aslam Kazimi arrived in Australia from Nauru.

There were former Nauru detainees as far as the eye could see. I think there must have been at least 30, most of them Afghans, most of them Hazara. This party was so beautiful because it signified a period of time passing since their detention in Nauru, and most of them are doing really well. These are the people whose perseverence and strength has allowed them to make it to life and freedom in Australia in spite of the best efforts of a Government which has acted in a singularly cold-hearted and cruel way towards each and every one of them.

I love watching the interactions between those men who have been through so much together. As a group, these Hazara men are so respectful, dignified and composed, and the affection that they demonstrate toward each other is very moving. I love listening to them speak to each other in their beautiful language, joking and laughing and doing their utmost to find solutions to each other's problems, large and small.

In common this group shares so much. They have all suffered horrifically at the hands of the Taliban. Most, if not all, of them have seen their friends and family members murdered simply because they are Hazara, and the Hazara are (I quote) "dogs", "bastards", "dirty", "useless", "not human", "like garbage" and "below the animals". They have all been taught to believe those things about themselves since they were children. They have all made it out of Afghanistan. They have all made it to Australia, but because we - just like the Taliban - saw them as a scourge, a problem, a plague, we took them away to a desert island and did our very best to ensure that they could not make it to our country.

On that island, people have died. A young man – the night his visa was rejected yet again – cried out in his sleep and then just died. A young mother suffering a simple illness was unable to access timely medical treatment, and hospitalization was just too little, too late. The number of people who have tried to end their own lives is beyond counting. People have suffered crushing isolation, torment, uncertainty, sadness, separation, immense physical and psychological trauma, NOT at the hands of the Taliban, or by Saddam Hussein, not by the barrel of a gun or the blade of a machete, but by a policy that our Government concocted in 2001 in order to break spirits and force people to go home. To make this “problem” go away.

Now, they are trying to do it again.

I got a letter today from the Immigration Department, in response to a letter I wrote expressing my concerns about the new changes to the law. I can’t really write much about it because it made me so angry that I cried in a café (how fitting that Bob Dylan’s ‘Tears of Rage’ has just popped up in my iTunes shuffle)! Here are some (directly quoted) dot points from the nice, helpful letter they sent me. They must think the Australian people are gullible, brainless fools:
• “The Government’s approach to unauthorized boat arrivals will continue to reflect a strong commitment to its international protection obligations”…
• BUT! “People found to be refugees will remain offshore until their resettlement in a third country is arranged” (ie until we can get rid of them)
• “The proposed new measures emphasise the government’s strong commitment to effective border control while ensuring that its international obligations are fully met” (How exactly is this being ensured?!)
• “The total operational cost for Offshore Processing Centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru since their establishment in September 2001 to 31 December 2005 is estimated at $243.8 million. If the rate of arrivals immediately prior to the introduction of the Pacific Strategy had continued, processing costs would have been over $400 million in 2001/02 alone” (Yes but how much LESS would it have cost to just process them fairly, quickly, and give them their damn visas!)
• “I can assure you that Australia is committed to ensuring that an appropriate humanitarian response is provided to those seeking Australia’s protection” (what?!)
• “Australia has an excellent record in helping reduce refugee and humanitarian problems around the world. This includes is well-regarded humanitarian program and domestic processes for asylum seekers”. (Offshore processing?! Bridging Visa E!? They are completely deluded!)

How can they even WRITE such total bulldust when they know full well what the human impact of the policy is? The impact upon those men I saw last night who have survived so much, only to get to Australia and suffer through more and more and more...

I just had to write about that. I am so angry I probably should stop now. Oh my goodness.

Start praying that they don’t get away with this abhorrent idea yet again…

TV and Radio Fun

2006-06-07T10:28:00.000+10:00

Hi There,

I've done a few fun things recently and I thought I might put the links here for your perusal, if you're interested!

The first thing was an appearance on a show called "Visions" on Channel 31. Please excuse the rather over-dramatic intro music! But it's a good little show and they cover all sorts of interesting issues. In this episode the topic is an overview of the new refugee law changes. You can see the video here:

http://www.davidmcl.id.au/video/JessieTaylor.wmv or if that doesn't work, go to www.visions-stories.com and you'll see it.

The second thing was an interesting run in with Triple J's Sunday Night Safran program. Here I thought they wanted to interview me about visiting detention, and the proposed changes to the refugee law, but they just wanted to hassle me about being a christian! It was fun, anyway. Hmm. You can download and listen here:

http://abc.net.au/triplej/safran/podcast/safran_20060521.mp3

Pantene for Life

2006-06-04T12:34:00.000+10:00

Today I was in the pharmacy buying shampoo for one of my friends in detention. He had asked me for a particular brand, but couldn't remember which exact type of shampoo it was (dry, oily, curly, straight, normal etc) so I started to have a look at the little by-lines on all the shampoo bottles.

Doing this made me wish that I was buying shampoo for his whole self, not just his hair. The shampoo claimed the following:

"Boosts flat, lifeless hair"
"Protects dry, damaged hair"
"Leaves hair strong, shiny and healthy looking"

If only it could boost flat, lifeless people. Protect dry, damaged people. Leave people strong, shiny and healthy looking.

Instead we have a bunch of people sitting in detention centres, flat, lifeless, dry, damaged, weak, broken and sick, but with great looking shiny hair.

Weird.

Advance Australia... Fair?

2006-05-30T23:38:00.000+10:00

Tonight I was looking around, and found a verse of the National Anthem that I didn't know existed. It's from this website, which is vaguely obsessed with the origins and evolution of Advance Australia Fair: http://www.hamilton.net.au/advance.html

Of course, we all know about THIS little white lie in the National Anthem...

"For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share..."

But how's THIS for a little bit defensive? It particularly reminds me of the current friendly Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill...

"Shou'd foreign foe e'er sight our coast,
Or dare a foot to land,
We'll rouse to arms like sires of yore
To guard our native strand;
Brittannia then shall surely know,
Beyond wide ocean's roll,
Her sons in fair Australia's land
Still keep a British soul.
In joyful strains the let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"

And how's THIS for up ourselves? Gee whizz.

"While other nations of the globe
Behold us from afar,
We'll rise to high renown and shine
Like our glorious southern star;
From England, Scotia, Erin's Isle,
Who come our lot to share,
Let all combine with heart and hand
To advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing
Advance Australia fair!"

So people from England, Scotia and Erin's Isle are welcome (ie we can all combine with heart and hand, whatever that means), but should FOREIGN foe e'er sight our coast or dare a foot to land, we'll clobber them. Awww. How sweet.

A friend of mine (British) recently wrote to me an email wherein he suggested that the Australian Tourism Bureau should consider the slogan "Australia: It's alright if you're white!"

I think he speaks the truth. Blergh.

Detention & Music: Uncomfortable Bedfellows

2006-05-14T10:55:00.000+10:00

Well, after a couple of weeks of flat-chat lobbying, writing, emailing, talking, interviewing, explaining, praying and general preparation for the reforms to go to Parliament this week, I thought I would re-devote this page to the purpose for which it was created... My thoughts about detentiony stuff.

Tuesday night saw me and 2 of my friends - James and Paul - arriving at Maribyrnong with 2 guitars and a little Peavey amp. We went through a rather rigourous security check involving the X-ray machine, the guitars, Paul's belt and a lot of loose change, but finally made it through to the centre. We set up on some plastic chairs sort of in front of the wall they use as a projector screen, plugged in, the detainees arrived and we started to play.

The guy who's in charge of keeping the detainees entertained switched out the lights, and brought out an electric disco ball. It was just plain strange. There we were, in the dark, in a detention centre, coloured lights playing brightly on the walls, with 25 or so miserable, bored, depressed, lonely and scared individuals, all sitting around wearing their stupid standard-issue detention tracksuits, folded awkwardly into plastic chairs and remembering the times when they were free to hear music played in their own space, in their own time, on their own terms- in freedom.

The boys (and I, from time to time) sang and played a lot of favourites, but towards the end of the set someone requested Kasey Chambers. I don't really know much Kasey Chambers, but Paul began to play True Colours, and I started to sing. We had never done that song before, but it just WORKED. Pretty soon, I was finding it quite emotional. I had been at Maribyrnong on Saturday and Sunday, and was back again on the Tuesday night. I'd been talking a lot to those guys, they've all been struggling recently, and I had just spent a day at "work" dealing a guy whose child had been killed last year, having him sitting in the office, crying and raging against the horror of what has happened in his life.

As I was singing, I couldn't help but think of the words, and their power in that situation. I had to hold back a tear. I can't bear to think of what we are doing to these people. And if the changes to the law pass... I don't know what I will do... I'm speechless just thinking about it...

JT x

TRUE COLOURS

You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh I realize it's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small

But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful,
Like a rainbow

Show me a smile then,
Don't be unhappy, can't remember
When I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
You call me up, because you know I'll be there

And I'll see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful,
Like a rainbow

KEEP WRITING LETTERS: IT'S WORKING!!!

2006-05-11T15:16:00.000+10:00

Hi Everyone,

You may be aware that there has been such a stink kicked up in the Liberal party room that the debate and vote on the Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Act has been delayed! I'm not exactly sure what the timeline is, but if the thing were going to pass without any fuss whatsoever, things would be looking quite different.

DO NOT GIVE UP! KEEP WRITING!!!

Here is an example of a letter I have written to about 30 politicians over the past couple of days. I will put another massive pile of addresses at the bottom of this email - USE THEM! We just have to convince Liberal Senators and Members to vote against it. It's such a massive issue of conscience that that shouldn't be hard!

Dear Elected Representative of the Australian Population:

I write to you as a final year Arts (Hons) / Law (Hons) student, a Christian, a recently returned intern with the Australian delegation to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, and a weekly visitor to Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre for the past almost 4 years.

The migration law amendments being proposed this week are very worrying. They are a perversion of international law, of basic human right standards, a multi-faceted breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Refugees Convention. They are contrary to principles of burden sharing, humanitarianism and the rule of law. They are unbelievably EXPENSIVE! Imagine the benefits of reallocating the funding that these measures will consume. These laws are also a
direct break of the Government's promise to keep children out of detention.

In Australia, the only circumstance in which there is a recorded scourge of pre-adolescent suicidal ideation is in immigration
detention. Children as young as 5 have tried to end their lives by hanging themselves with bedsheets, belts and electrical cords. They have slashed their throats, wrists and chests with knives, razor blades and broken glass. THIS IS NOT A LEGITIMATE MEANS TO ANY POLICY OBJECTIVE. The trauma experienced by children in detention is not news to anybody, and I have attached a drawing done by a child after witnessing a self-harm incident. Imagine your horror if you saw such a picture come from your child or grandchild... We, as a nation, CANNOT have this blood on our hands.

Last year the government agreed no child should be in detention, let alone indefinitely, let alone on Nauru, let alone stripped of all recourse to the Australian legal system.

I beg you not to let this happen on YOUR watch. Today may be the day that I one day must explain to my grandchildren. We are facing the creation of tomorrow's shame and you are in the driver's seat, accountable before God and in the eyes of this country.

Yours sincerely,

Jessie Taylor

WRITE TO THESE PEOPLE:

senator.payne@aph.gov.au, Bruce.Baird.MP@aph.gov.au,
P.Georgiou.MP@aph.gov.au, J.Moylan.MP@aph.gov.au,
Russell.Broadbent.MP@aph.gov.au, Steven.Ciobo.MP@aph.gov.au,
P.Secker@aph.gov.au, j.forrest.mp@aph.gov.au, kay.hull.mp@aph.gov.au,
senator.joyce@aph.gov.au, Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au,
Kim.Beazley.MP@aph.gov.au, "Bartlett, Andrew (Senator)"
, "Nettle, Kerry (Senator)"
, senator.allison@aph.gov.au,
senator.vanstone@aph.gov.au, P.Ruddock.MP@aph.gov.au,
Bronwyn.Bishop.MP@aph.gov.au, tony@tonyabbott.com.au,
B.Billson.MP@aph.gov.au, julie.bishop.mp@aph.gov.au,
Kevin.Rudd.MP@aph.gov.au, P.Costello.MP@aph.gov.au,
Ann.Corcoran.MP@aph.gov.au, Anna.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au,
Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au, Julia.Irwin.MP@aph.gov.au,
Dennis.Jensen.MP@aph.gov.au, Kevin.Andrews.MP@aph.gov.au,
Fran.Bailey.MP@aph.gov.au, Mark.Baker.MP@aph.gov.au,
Bob.Baldwin.MP@aph.gov.au, Phil.Barresi.MP@aph.gov.au,
Kerry.Bartlett.MP@aph.gov.au, Julie.Bishop.MP@aph.gov.au,
Mal.Brough.MP@aph.gov.au, A.Cadman.MP@aph.gov.au,
A.Downer.MP@aph.gov.au, T.Draper.MP@aph.gov.au,
Peter.Dutton.MP@aph.gov.au, K.Elson.MP@aph.gov.au,
Warren.Entsch.MP@aph.gov.au, Pat.Farmer.MP@aph.gov.au,
David.Fawcett.MP@aph.gov.au, Michael.Ferguson.MP@aph.gov.au,
T.Gambaro.MP@aph.gov.au, Joanna.Gash.MP@aph.gov.au,
Barry.Haase.MP@aph.gov.au, Gary.Hardgrave.MP@aph.gov.au,
David.Hawker.MP@aph.gov.au, Stuart.Henry.MP@aph.gov.au,
J.Hockey.MP@aph.gov.au, Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au,
Michael.Johnson.MP@aph.gov.au, David.Jull.MP@aph.gov.au,
Sophie.Panopoulos.MP@aph.gov.au, Peter.Slipper.MP@aph.gov.au,
S.Stone.MP@aph.gov.au, Malcolm.Turnbull.MP@aph.gov.au,
Danna.Vale.MP@aph.gov.au, Barry.Wakelin.MP@aph.gov.au,
Andrew.Robb.mp@aph.gov.au, senator.fielding@aph.gov.au

Taking Last-Minute Action on the Proposed Reforms

2006-05-04T17:33:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone,

Well Parliament is due to sit on Monday, and we have the promise of the proposed changes going through as soon as possible

BUT IT'S NOT TOO LATE! There is still time to do your bit and ask our representatives to VOTE AGAINST THE BILL.

First, go to www.getup.org.au and sign the Petition there.

Second, email some or all of the following people (as well as your local Labor member), asking them to vote against the bill:

Liberals:
Marise Payne senator.payne@aph.gov.au
Bruce Baird Bruce.Baird.MP@aph.gov.au
Petro Georgiou P.Georgiou.MP@aph.gov.au
Judi Moylan J.Moylan.MP@aph.gov.au
Russell Broadbent Russell.Broadbent.MP@aph.gov.au
Steven Ciobo Steven.Ciobo.MP@aph.gov.au
Patrick Secker P.Secker@aph.gov.au

John Forrest j.forrest.mp@aph.gov.au (National)
Kay Hull kay.hull.mp@aph.gov.au (National)
Barnaby Joyce senator.joyce@aph.gov.au (National)

Tony Burke Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au (Labor)
Kim Beazley Kim.Beazley.MP@aph.gov.au (Labor)

Steve Fielding senator.fielding@aph.gov.au (Family First)

This thing is going to hit the table on MONDAY MAY 8th. There will no doubt still be MPs who have not yet decided which way to vote. NOW IS THE TIME TO APPLY PRESSURE!

(thanks to www.envirotruth.com for the image)

Want to see what Amanda Vanstone has to say about the proposed reforms...?

2006-05-04T16:32:00.000+10:00

Click on this link, go to the Vanstone interview, watch it and weep!

http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/index.php?page=archive&artmon=05&fyear=2006#

*** PLEASE NOTE! Under its Memorandum of Understanding with Nauru, it is the Australian Government which dictates the conditions of the detention of asylum seekers in Nauru. Nauruan sovereignty has nothing to do with it. Senator Vanstone's assertion that "We can influence them but we can't make rules" is a joke - the detention of asylum seekers on Nauru is under Australia's direction. DO NOT LET HER MUDDLE YOU UP!

Also - an "unlawful arrival" is simply someone who arrives without a designated legal status. It does NOT mean illegal! Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Refugees Convention and s36 of Australia's Migration Act, IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO ARRIVE IN AUSTRALIA BY BOAT AND SEEK ASYLUM! (just remember that. i'm sorry to shout...)

Here is a transcript of the interview if you can't watch it:

THE GETUP AD:

CHILD: One, two, three, four.

VOICEOVER: Five years, five months and 20 days - the time an innocent child has spent in detention. Australians said, "This is wrong!" Together we decided no child fleeing persecution would be locked up. As you watch this, our Government has promised Indonesia it will change that law. Log on to: getup.org.au and tell our Government no child belongs in detention. Authorised B Solomon, GetUp, Sydney.

GEORGE NEGUS: Senator, I presume that the GetUp commercial has been brought your attention which talks about the proposed changes to the Government's refugee policy. What do you think of it?

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE, MINISTER OF IMMIGRATION: Not much actually, but I am always grateful to live in a free country where everyone can express their views and in whatever fashion may choose, so fair enough.

GEORGE NEGUS: As I understand it we spoke to the GetUp people and they've had 10,000 hits already on their website so they reckon that their campaign against what you are proposing is going pretty well. 10,000 is not to be sniffed at.

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: No, that's right. One person's view is not to be sniffed at. Everybody is entitled to have their view and people are entitled to have a different view from the view the Government has arrived at and they're entitled to express their view. I'm quite relaxed about that. That's the sort of country we live in.

GEORGE NEGUS: That is true. What they seem to be upset about is they thought there was last July an agreement that no children in particular will be placed in detention under your policies, now they say that this is reneging on the deal.

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Those arrangements related to Australian detention which includes of course Christmas Island and we live up to that. Those arrangements also indicated that we could make these sort of changes because the boats have stopped coming and that if there were a further influx, we may have to look at it, so as I say…

GEORGE NEGUS: These are the 42 refugees from West Papua that fall into that category, as a reason for considering. -

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: No I don’t say it in that context, I simply say that at the time I think was clear that it related to Australian detention facilities. We can't make rules in relation to facilities and other countries. We can influence them but we can't make rules. We changed the rules in Australia.

GEORGE NEGUS: What are you saying here? I think that earlier in the day, you said that this means that Christmas Island is somewhere where you could not send children but Nauru is somewhere where you could. In other words we can lock up children, if you like, in detention centres on Nauru but not in Christmas Island or Western Australia, what are you saying?

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Well I am saying that in Australian territory the arrangements we made last year apply and that of course includes Christmas Island. It is a part of Australia’s territory, but Nauru is another country.

GEORGE NEGUS: In moral terms, let's take the politics out of it, even the legality out of it. Isn't that a breathtaking display ever hair-splitting? Why is it okay to put children in detention in Nauru but not in Christmas Island?

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Well we would prefer that there were no people in detention, that would clearly be my preference, but it is another country. I do not think that is spitting hairs, Australia is one country and Nauru is another, there is a fundamental difference.

GEORGE NEGUS: This is the Pacific solution plus one.

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: You can describe it that way but can I put this proposition to you, we hope that we don't have to re-use Nauru. That’s what I very much hope and I think people who are considering the situation of women and children are quite entitled to do that - we of course want to have the best arrangements we can worked out with Nauru on Nauru if another boat arrives. But the whole purpose of this change is to ensure that Australia is not plagued with people arriving unlawfully and at the same time that if people do arrive unlawfully and they have an asylum claim that it is properly heard according to the rules.

GEORGE NEGUS: Offshore - not on Australian territory?

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: People do not have a right to say where their claim will be heard. They have a right for their claim to be heard and they have a right if their claim is in the yes to protection, and we will live up to that.

GEORGE NEGUS: And are you absolutely sure that the UNHCR would agree with you that the spirit of the whole refugee agreement throughout the world is that if people come to Australia seeking political asylum, they expect their case to be heard in Australia not Nauru.

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Oh people want and expect things to be heard in Australia, I have no doubt about that. I have equally no doubt that the UNHCR is not in favour of our policy of off shore processing. They do not however put the proposition forward that we do not have people properly processed on Nauru.
In fact the outcome rates on Nauru for people processed by Australian officials and by the UNHCR case load, were roughly the same and those outcome rates for extremely high - in other words, on Nauru when we do the processing, it is of a very very fair application of the UNHCR guidelines.

GEORGE NEGUS: Let’s say that next week we get another 40 unauthorised people arriving, what happens?

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Well if people come without a visa, by boat, they could expect to be processed in Nauru if they had an asylum card.

GEORGE NEGUS: In Nauru, immediately?

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: As quickly as possible, yes. We would want the process to be dealt with as quickly as possible so that anyone that was entitled to protection and therefore got a yes on their protection visa claim, could be as quickly as possible found protection.

GEORGE NEGUS: What if they came here with the same claim as the people that you did grant those protection visas to, the 42. People who claimed they were fearful of persecution in West Papua at hands of the Indonesian military. You’ve suggested that these people are using Australia as a, I forget the term that you used..a point where they can actually make their protest?

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: I will make a couple of points in response to that. First of all, each claim is dealt with individually. The decision on the 42 were not made on a blanket claim at all.

GEORGE NEGUS: What basis were they made?

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Individual claims by a individual people based on individual circumstances. Simply because someone makes a protest you can't say “that’s a stunt, they are just protesters”. They may well have a valid visa claim, as was the case with these 42 people. But equally because you decide that their visa claim is valid does not mean that you agree that everything they have said publicly is true.

GEORGE NEGUS: My understanding is that they all claimed, they feared persecution in the form of obituary arrest and detention, imprisonment, physical assault, torture or possible execution at the hands of Indonesian authorities in West Papua, what other reason would they come here for? That’s why they came here.

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Well I am not going to go into each of the individual claims partly because I haven't gone through each claim but also because the point that I have made to you is, I think the proper way to describe the manner in which these claims are decided.

GEORGE NEGUS: What if one of those 42 said that they wanted asylum here because they feared persecution, even death at their hands of Indonesian authorities in West Papua, isn't that Australia giving tacit agreement to their reason and therefore acknowledging what is going on there.

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Anyone who makes an asylum claim that is a valid claim and if it is decided in the yes, will get protection.

GEORGE NEGUS: But you see my point? If you signed off on their application for a protection visa, on the grounds that they claimed, that they feared persecution at hands of Indonesian military in West Papua, you are saying, “that must be going on.”

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: You are trying to take an individual case and say therefore it must be happening across the board and that anyone that comes here is likely to have a successful claim, now that isn’t true.

GEORGE NEGUS: Senator can I ask you this, do you, as a politician of the Australian Parliament, do you believe that there are people in West Papua who are being persecuted but Indonesian military on political grounds and that is why some of them are wanting to come to this country?

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Well as I said the Indonesian government acknowledges that through their own human rights body that is in West Papua, that there are circumstances that caused concern but I am very keen for your listeners to understand that the acceptance of an individual claim or the acceptance that things can happen but shouldn't is not a judgment that they happen across the board in a state or territory or government at large. It comes back on each occasion to the individual claim. That is what is important. Each case is treated individually on its merits.

GEORGE NEGUS: Senator, thank you very much for talking to us.

SENATOR AMANDA VANSTONE: Pleasure.

Mea Culpa

2006-05-01T13:04:00.000+10:00

Wow I am having a shocker of a day today! It seems to be the day that a few things I've written have come back to bite me.

So instead of pretending nothing has happened, I am going to correct - right here - two points that I have written about recently which I have since discovered are incorrect.

The first is: The comment published earlier and then sent to the Project Safecom mailing list today regarding medication on Nauru is incorrect.

The second is: Legislation excising the maternity ward at the Adelaide Hospital from the Migration Zone was NOT passed in direct response to the birth of one specific child in 2003. Rather, legislation was passed a number of years ago stripping children of asylum seekers of any birthright they may have by virtue of being born in Australia.

I am really sorry if any of this has been problematic. It is so hard dealing with this area because so much is anecdotal, so much is shrouded in DIMA-enforced secrecy, smoke and mirrors, and of course some is with-held for the protection of confidentiality.

Please excuse my errors.

JT

Maribyrnong Today...

2006-04-22T22:40:00.000+10:00

well, it's saturday evening and I find myself sitting on my couch after a hectic week. today, i went to maribyrnong to see some people there - one guy whose case I've taken on as part of my internship / volunteer stuff in the legal department at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, and a few other guys who I've been visiting for a while.

I saw my friend S in detention today. He looked absolutely terrible. He's pale and drawn, and he looks... shocking.

He's not eating, he's not sleeping. He's on medication but it doesn't help. He has really no reason to get out of bed.

I said to him, "wow... you look terrible... is there anything i can do for you?". he looked away and his eyes reddened and filled with tears. he didn't answer me for a while, just shook his head and tried to hold it together. eventually he looked back at me and repeated the question... "what can you do for me...?" he said "i don't know, jess. just keep coming to see me. that's all that matters".

he's a young guy - in his 20s. he used to look kind of ok, he used to be alright, but my goodness. today he was just really, really bad. i'm going to burn him some music, and see him again in a few days. outside of that, i'm completely powerless. i hate it.

i don't really know what the point of this post is except for if anyone is reading this who wonders what is the POINT is of visiting. well... there is one! please, if you want to visit, just let me know and i would LOVE you to come and visit the detention centre.

sometimes it completely scares me how slack i can be. can't be bothered visiting sometimes, hardly ever ring during the week... but every time i visit i get a stronger and stronger desire to visit more often. but then that desire gets lost in the mess of the week, and i just get too busy. sometimes i even get too distracted with the theoretical and conceptual (campaigns, writing, law reform etc) and place a lower emphasis on the grass roots, hands-dirty, real human people who are locked up. it's crazy! it's definitely not that i don't care. i think i just underestimate the value of visiting, the value of sitting with someone and talking with them for a couple of hours in a place where nobody else will listen. i must remind myself that my ears represent a lifeline, and a conduit through which their voices may be heard beyond the 15-foot steel pickets of the detention centre.

this is the point where policy doesn't matter any more. i have never experienced anything LESS 'political' than visiting a detention centre. they don't want to hear about how upset i am about what's happening to them (do i really think i could be more upset about it than they are?!). i leave my anger towards the Government, my frustration at the system, my understanding of the issues, ideas for improving the policy and all of that other superfluous stuff at the door to the visits centre. for a few hours, it's completely irrelevant. the visit is a time to touch base with the completely human side of the whole disastrous mess, meet people exactly where they are at, and it's the time when i'm reminded of the reasons that it's important to keep fighting until every last asylum seeker is out of detention. i very much look forward to the day that i never walk through those stinking gates again, but until there is nobody left to visit, that day is not yet on the horizon.

sometimes i think i shouldn't post when i'm feeling reflective...! but i just hate hate HATE visiting detention centres. and i'm so MAD that some clueless, bigoted suits in in their plush offices in Canberra have arranged things so that my friends' lives are wasting away to nothing while i sit on an uncomfortable plastic chair - utterly powerless - drinking bad coffee and watching my friends slowly lose their will to live.

Last Week's Law Reforms... Oh... My Goodness...

2006-04-18T23:49:00.000+10:00

The Newly Proposed Refugee Laws: A Continuation of John Howard’s Pacific Solution**
Jessie Taylor

By now, you may have heard of the reforms to the Refugee Law that were announced the week before Easter.

These changes have come as a surprise to many refugee advocates and lawyers, as recently the Government had been softening its line on asylum seekers, acknowledging that most boatpeople (around 93%) who apply for refugee status in Australia are eventually accepted as legitimate refugees.

Arriving in Australia without documents, in a boat, uninvited, is not illegal under International or Australian domestic law. In fact, this exact situation is provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Refugees Convention, and in section 36 of Australia’s own Migration Act. But since 1992, the Australian policy has been to detain such people mandatorily and indefinitely – until they are granted a visa or removed. The nature of Australia’s refugee determination process is such, however, that thousands of people (including many hundreds of children) have been jailed for years while their applications are processed, and mostly eventually found to be legitimate.

Recently, particularly following the Cornelia Rau episode and Petro Georgiou’s proposed Private Members Bill in 2005, the Howard Government has been softening its line. It admitted that it was not morally sustainable to detain children, and it rolled back the ‘Pacific Solution’. This does not constitute a relaxing of Australia’s border protection policy, as all entrants into Australia still undergo rigorous identity, health, security and ‘public interest’ checks. ASIO has also stated on a number of occasions that never in history has an asylum seeker posed a security risk to Australia.

I had believed - hoped beyond all hope - that all of this indicated that the Government’s very harsh treatment of refugees was sort of coming to an end, but now suddenly the Government has regressed by about 5 years, straight back into the Tampa days - from the 'change of culture' and 'softer approach to asylum seekers' straight back into the Pacific Solution of 2001 - the 'sending a strong message to people smugglers' and other extremely harsh ideas that resulted in the 2001 Howard election victory.

There are some very serious consequences to the policy changes that have been announced. This is the most drastic amendment to the Migration Law since the introduction of the mandatory detention provisions in 1992. I will outline a few of the changes and their consequences here...

ASYLUM SEEKERS WILL BE PROCESSED OFFSHORE
Asylum seekers will not be able to wait in mainland detention centres while their claims are processed. They will be sent to Christmas Island, Manus Island, and the tiny, bankrupt heap of an island - Nauru. It will be here - out of sight and out of reach of the media, lawyers and the Australian public - that their cases will be determined. The Pacific Solution is economically unjustifiable. It currently costs the government $1.8 million annually to maintain Manus Island with no detainees. The transportation of 43 West Papuan asylum seekers to Christmas Island in January cost more than $700,000. (These figures do not include the more than $1 billion dollars already spent on detention, transportation and deportation). It costs over $1 million per month to keep two young Iraqi men (both assessed as refugees by Australia AND the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) detained on Nauru. Last week I received an email from one of them, which stated the following: “Every thing is terrible here and the situation is becoming more unbearable day after day or let me say hour after hour. I hope you had nice dreams last night. As for me, I'm only having nightmares and no matter while I'm asleep or awake… it's all the same”
The Pacific Solution is very, very costly, both in financial terms, and in human terms.

AUSTRALIA WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING ANY ‘BOATPEOPLE’ AS REFUGEES
By deciding only to take asylum seekers as a very, very last resort, Australia has reneged from its obligations and responsibilities under International Law. It has crossed a line that indicates a disregard for principles of international burden sharing and responsibility for some of the world's most needy individuals. This policy breaches the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention Against all forms of Racial Discrimination, the Refugees Convention, the Convention Against Torture, and a few others. This is not something we should be proud of. Remember that all of these Conventions were drafted as a reaction to the horror of the Holocaust, and the conviction of the international community that it is our global responsibility never to let such a thing happen again. By making these changes Australia is indicating that we don’t see that as being much of a priority anymore, and opening the door for other countries to disregard those documents too. This is very dangerous territory

CHILDREN WILL BE DETAINED AGAIN- MANDATORILY & INDEFINITELY
The long-lasting and horrific impacts of immigration detention on children are very well documented. In Australia, the only documented incidents of pre-adolescent suicide attempts are in Immigration Detention. And there have been many. Previously-healthy children as young as 5 have deeply cut themselves, starved themselves, hanged themselves with bed sheets and drunk cleaning fluids to try and end their own lives in detention. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Report of the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration states that “children in immigration detention for long periods of time are at high risk of serious mental harm. The Commonwealth' s failure to implement the repeated recommendations by mental health professionals that certain children be removed from the detention environment with their parents amounted to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of those children in detention”. But in order to send its 'strong message', the government has decided that the suffering and permanent damage of children is a legitimate means to achieving a policy objective. This is obviously unacceptable, and must not be allowed to creep back into Australian law.

FOREIGN POLICY CONSIDERATIONS WILL NOW TRUMP AUSTRALIA'S OBLIGATIONS TO REFUGEES
By asking countries of origin to comment on the legitimacy of refugee claims, a number of unsatisfactory things are occurring:
- Australia is pandering to its own domestic interests - a factor which is never supposed to come into consideration in the refugee determination process. International Human Rights Law is supposed to transcend nationalistic foreign affairs issues and objectives.
- The recent suggestion that the Indonesian military be allowed to assess the refugee claims of West Papuan applicants is quite absurd. It's like asking Saddam Hussein's regime to review Iraqi asylum claims. Or the Taliban to look at Afghan Hazara claims. Or the Nazis to look at 1940s Jewish claims. Or the Dark Lord Sauron to assess Frodo Baggins’ claim. We are looking at a Government that clearly has very little concept of what the realities of persecution look like. This is an idea which is either shortsighted, or willfully cruel.
- We are making a mockery of ourselves on the world stage. The International community has not looked at Australia with such contempt and incredulity since we threatened to seize the MV Tampa and its cargo, and charge its Norwegian captain Arne Rinnan with the crime of people smuggling! This posturing caused a major international incident, which was diffused only by the extremely generous attitude of the Norwegian government. Australian-Norwegian relations are only just recovering. We are not doing ourselves any favours by turning away from widely recognised international standards of Human Rights.

THE AUSTRALIAN MAINLAND IS BEING EXCISED FROM THE ‘MIGRATION ZONE’
During the Pacific Solution, Australia took the extraordinary step of ‘excising’ thousands of Australia’s islands from the ‘migration zone’. This set up an extraordinary distinction between Australia’s sovereign territory, and its migration zone. This meant that anyone arriving on those islands was not arriving in Australia’s ‘migration zone’, therefore had no rights in Australian law, and no recourse to the Australian legal system. This idea was slammed from many angles, not least of all because it was enacted retroactively – that is, it stripped the rights of people who had landed on the islands even before the law was passed.

Under the proposed changes, the entirety of Australia will be excised from the Australian ‘migration zone’. People arriving in Australia will not be able to avail themselves of Australia’s protection, which it promised by signing and ratifying the UN Refugees Convention. It is not difficult to see why this is highly problematic and unfair.

In summary, this stuff is huge. We are backing away from our obligations under International Law. Re-activating a policy that has been slammed by the International community, the United Nations, welfare groups, human rights groups, psychiatrists and other nations. Adjusting things so that children can be detained again. We will be shopping around trying to make other countries take refugees who have landed on our soil. And it will happen - remember that the Howard Government has control of both houses of the Parliament, and Parliament is due to debate this bill in the first week of May. If you voted for John Howard at the last election, you should write to him and TELL him that, and then tell him that this proposed change is untenable. Let him have it. Even if only for the fact that there is no way that it is acceptable to lock up innocent, already traumatised children on a desert island indefinitely.

Imagine if every country behaved in the way Australia is behaving at the moment. There would be literally nowhere in the entire world where it would be possible for refugees to go and finally find some peace, safety and security.

DON’T GET MAD, GET ACTIVE!
If after reading all of this you feel like having a tantrum and throwing something, here is what you can do instead. On the next page you will find some points you can use to write letters to some politicians.

We need a dozen Liberal and National MP's in Parliament to become confident enough to Cross the Floor and block this legislation; and we need two Senators to Cross the Floor and block the passage of this Bill.

I know a lot of you will be nervous about doing this because you feel like you don’t know the issue well enough and you don’t know fancy-pants language to express yourself in. But some of the BEST letters I’ve ever seen are written by people who are just unhappy with what they are seeing happen. They’re not lawyers, they’re not politicians, they’re just Australian citizens who hate injustice. So get into it!

And tell all your friends to do the same! If we sit back and take no action on this reversion to the Pacific Solution Episode II, before long we will be kicking ourselves. Hard.

**The Pacific Solution was the name given to the Australian government policy of diverting asylum seekers to detention camps on small island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland. There were a number of pieces of legislation supporting this policy, including the controversial excising of thousands of islands from Australia’s migration zone or Australian territory.
Asylum seekers were intercepted at sea while sailing from Indonesia and moved using Australian naval vessels. Detention camps were set up on Christmas Island, Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, and on the tiny island nation of Nauru.
All costs associated with running the centres and processing the asylum applications were met by Australia.
Criticism of the Pacific Solution: The policy received criticism from a number of areas, with Amnesty International, refugee rights groups and other NGOs claiming that Australia was failing to meet its international obligations. The ad-hoc nature in which the policy evolved was also criticised, as it resulted in people being moved to Manus Island and Nauru before facilities were ready.
As of May 29, 2005, 1,229 asylum seekers had been processed on Nauru. Most of those detained were eventually found to be legitimate refugees, sometimes after more than three years in detention. As of October 15, 2005 all but two remaining asylum seekers had been transferred to mainland Australia with the majority of these entering the community with temporary protection visas. As of April 23, 2006, the centre continues to hold just two inmates, at an estimated $1 million AUD per month. (Thanks Wikipedia.org!)

The Perils of Dressing Like a Lawyer

2006-04-14T15:38:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I made an interesting 'mistake'. I had a meeting early in the morning, spent some time with a couple of friends and then we all popped off to the newly renovated and oh-so-shiny Maribyrnong Detention Centre for a bit of a fun visit. For the meeting, I was wearing what was basically a suit. Skirt, jacket, and heels. I looked all official and lawyery, as I do from time to time. I spent the couple of hours we were at the detention centre answering questions about people's cases and the patterns in the law and prospects for appeal and all sorts of things. There were two other visitors there who just sort of... ASSUMED i was a lawyer by virtue of the fact that I knew a bit of stuff, and I was dressed like that. Because of this, they simply deferred to what I said, even AFTER I told them I am not a lawyer! Really, it was very strange.

The upshot of it was that I was able to come in handy. Obviously I didn't pretend to be a something I'm not, but i was able to offer some help and advice and give people phone numbers and ideas for who to contact and what to do. I was also privy to one man's case which really, really broke my heart. His story includes the rape and beating of his wife and child, and other details that I will not go into because they are too awful to recount.

Needless to say, the privilege of sitting beside someone pouring their heart out like that is something quite extraordinary. We had just met, and in his desperation he just grabbed on to me and took hold of my outward appearance of professionalism, my familiarity with the system, the simple fact that I was sitting next to him in the visits area of Maribyrnong. He saw all of these things as a good enough reason to trust me, and to place his faith in me.

He handed me his record of decision from the RRT (he's been refused...), and as I was flicking through it I realised that he has only a few days left before his time to appeal lapses. I saw that he was running seriously out of options, so made a snap decision to take his case and find him a good lawyer, right now. Keep in mind that it was 3.30pm on the Thursday before the Easter Weekend, so there remained approximately an hour and a half to get him into the system. So I politely excused myself, we said goodbye to the other guys we were visiting, and high-tailed it outta there. I made a beeline for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and within 45 minutes an experienced refugee lawyer had taken on his case. I am now confident that he is in the best hands possible, given his circumstances.

All of this got me thinking. Not only was it a sobering reminder of the responsibility of my chosen profession (it's full on have someone meet you, and then almost immediately entrust you with their life...), but it also convinced me (if I still need convincing...!) of the importance of "being there". There are few phrases more cliched than that, but in the context of immigration detention I think it is especially important. When you're in a country that's not your own, alone, terrified, and at the mercy of an incredibly hostile system, the sight of a person who is there for no reason other than to hear what you have to say must be a relief.

It makes me rue each and every one of the visits that I *haven't* made - whether I've been too busy or too tired or the timing has just been that little bit 'inconvenient'.

It also makes me so incredibly thankful for the resources I have been given - my education, skills, opportunities, my God-given heart, even my CAR, and the freedom to use those things in a way that is so very meaningful to me. I literally thank God for choosing to use me for this stuff. I find it an honour far beyond words.

I was talking to my friend Kim today about the whole ridiculous West Papua debacle, and he actually made a comment which I found very poignant. He said that through their treatment of asylum seekers (particularly the new suggestions to send EVERY boat arrival into offshore detention...oh my goodness..), the Government is *depriving* Australians of the *opportunity* to welcome refugees. He said with real conviction that he really WANTS to be able to welcome newly arrived refugees into his home, give them a cup of tea, sit down and talk to them, to learn from their experiences, and do whatever he can to help them settle in. I loved what he said because it was a recognition of the concept of the 'privilege' and honour of being used to welcome people who have suffered so much. It was an acknowledgement that the loss of compassion in our society is the loss of a truly beautiful thing, and without it we are ALL the poorer.

No Work, No Income, No Medicare- The Bridging Visa E Regime

2006-04-12T21:37:00.001+10:00

Very exciting news! This week there was an article published in a journal called 'People and Place' called "No Work, No Income, No Medicare - The Bridging Visa E Regime". It was writting by m'good self, and Prof Andrew Markus at Monash Uni. It has been almost immediately picked up by the Herald Sun! See the article below...

If you are interested in reading the article you can find at this link: http://elecpress.monash.edu.au/pnp/view/abstract/?article=0000010322

Here is a little abstract: A number of asylum seekers in Australia who are living in the community and do not meet certain criteria specified by the Government are given a Bridging Visa E (BE) while their cases are reviewed. The BVE denies them the right to work or to access education, health services or welfare. They are therefore dependent on friends, family or non-Government organisations, sometimes for considerable periods.

No work, no benefits for asylum-seekers

John Masanauskas
12apr06

MORE than 1000 asylum-seekers in Melbourne are living in poverty because the Federal Government won't allow them to work or provide them with benefits, a report says.

The Monash University report said that they were being penalised because they lodged late asylum claims or had appealed against decisions in their cases.

Many of the asylum-seekers are being supported by charities, which are finding it hard to cope with limited resources.
"From the perspectives of the support and advocacy groups, an injustice of great magnitude has been perpetrated in Australia," the report said.

"A regime is in place which should never have been tolerated in a prosperous, moral, democratic society."

Written by Andrew Markus and Jessie Taylor, the report is published in People and Place, the journal of Monash's Centre for Population and Urban Research.

The report said payments of up to $380 a fortnight were available to eligible asylum-seekers unable to meet basic needs for food, accommodation and health care.

But an unknown number of people seeking refuge were ineligible for the Immigration Department scheme.

Prof Markus said that, based on data from charities, there were more than 1000 asylum-seekers in Melbourne who were without working rights.

"This is a major challenge for our society," Prof Markus said

Justice for West Papua - Information Night

2006-04-12T18:38:00.000+10:00

Justice for West Papua – Information Night

St Hilary’s Anglican Church
14 John Street, Kew (Melways 45H7)

Hear
Professor Peter King, University of Sydney
Co-author of “Genocide in West Papua?”

Rev Peter Woods
Recent Visitor to and former CMS Missionary in West Papua

Ask Questions

Also –
• West Papuan Dancers
• Asylum Seekers
• Prayers for persecuted Christians
• Interviews with West Papuan leaders

7.45pm -10pm
Thursday 8 June 2006

Gold Coin Donation for booklets and information DVD

Sponsored by Shac Community Mission and Social Justice Board
and West Papua Fund Inc

Technorati Tags: West Papua

Australia, West Papua & Indonesia: What the HECK is going on?!?!

2006-04-09T22:58:00.000+10:00

OK there's been rather a lot of crazy stuff zooming around lately regarding Australia's fun new plans for dealing with West Papuan asylum seekers. Up to this point, the government's actually treated the West Papuans quite well - a number of applicants have been granted temporary protection visas** and have thereby been acknowledged as genuine refugees from the horrendous persecution that is often suffered by West Papuans under the sovereignty of Indonesia. But now the Prime Minister has suggested some reforms to the way in which WP asylum claims are assessed, which are OFFICIALLY THE WORST IDEA I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE.

Let me tell you why they've been proposed, and why they are dog-gone ridiculous.

Australia is a little bit jumpy about our Muslim neighbours to the North. For a few reasons, Australia really just wants to suck up to Indonesia, stay on its good side, and keep everything peachy-keen and friendly. This is for various reasons pertaining mainy to trade and regional stability. The impression that can pretty easily be gleaned from Indonesia is that they really don't give a fat rat's about Australia, and in fact the recent cartoons depicting Howard and Downer as dingos going at it like, er, rabbits (??) gives you a pretty good idea of how much respect our country has in the eyes of Indonesia. They don't really seem terribly concerned about playing nice.

When the first boatload of West Papuan asylum seekers put-putted into Australian water a few months ago, almost immediately high-level officials from within the Indonesian government were on the blower to Howard and Downer warning them of the implications of accepting the refugee claims of the 40-or-so West Papuans in the boat. Basically, the WPs had arrived with overwhelming video and documentary evidence of their atrocious treatment at the hands of the Indonesians. West Papua is an area very much like East Timor - a 'province' (basically the western half of New Guinea) which was annexed by Indonesia in 1969. Since then it has been under Indonesian rule, and they have been fighting fiercely for their independence. (If you are interested you can read a Wikipedia article about it here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Papua)

Indonesia is still a teeeensy bit annoyed with Australia for supporting the East Timorese independence movement, which certainly explains to some extent why they're extra touchy about Australia recognising the validity of WP asylum claims - it basically says to West Papua, "we believe that you are being treated badly by the Indonesians who govern your homeland". Australia has even been accused of pushing for West Papuan independence - a move which would SERIOUSLY piss off the Indo government (as it would constitute an undermining of their sovereignty), and which Australia has been feverishly denying.

When the asylum seekers lodged their claims, there were some tense times when we were all waiting to hear the government's verdict - they were being pulled in a few directions by many different influences, and nobody knew what the decision would be. Surprisingly and, I must say, admirably, the Australian government recognised the claims for the WPs and granted a number of them visas. This was a fantastic step forward for them - it seemed a tacit recognition of the fact that in international law, domestic / nationalistic concerns should have nothing AT ALL to do with the refugee determination process. However, since then, and since the arrival of some more WP boat people, things are getting a little hairy. We all know that John Howard LOVES to be able to take a "strong stance on border protection", but it seems that this time (unlike the Federal Election 2001), the electorate is not necessarily behind him. The media have all been burned by the untruths, half-truths, and not-quite-truths of the Tampa, Children Overboard and SIEV-X incidents, and as such are being much, much more thoughtful, careful and inquisitive in their treatment of the boatpeople this time around. So perhaps Little Johnny PM won't get away so easy this time.

In order to placate the Indonesians and reaffirm Australia's belief in Indonesia's sovereignty over West Papua, Howard has suggested that Australia should reassess the way that WP asylum claims are reviewed. In fact, he has suggested that perhaps Indonesia would like to review the claims and give Australia THEIR verdict on whether the applicants should be granted asylum!!!! OH MY GOODNESS.

This is like asking Goering, Heydrich and Himmler to assess Jews' claims for asylum during WWII. It's like asking the Taliban to sit on a committee assessing Hazara refugee claims. It's like asking John Howard for tips on eyebrow maintenance and being a nice guy. IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT. THESE PEOPLE ARE EXACTLY THE PERPETRATORS OF THE EVIL THAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM!

Not only is this idea really, really stoopid, it also has a few major problems legally. First, as I said before, nothing about Australia's refugee determination process should take into account domestic or nationalistic interests. The ideals and obligations that arise under the refugees convention *should* transcend domestic law, foreign affairs and inter-national relations by a significant margin. So, Australia should not be pandering to the requirements of Indonesia just so we can all play nice.

Secondly, how very idiotic it is to hand the persecutors dossiers of information about the people who are accusing them. This means that IF the WP asylum seekers are refouled (sent back to a country where they would not be safe from persecution) back to West Papua, their risk of trouble has increased by a factor of fifty because the Indonesians would know exactly the claims being made against them, and they MAY not like it! Perhaps this would act in a sort of ironic Catch-22, whereby the Australians WOULD accept their refugee claims because the knowledge of the Indo officials would increase the risk of persecution! But who knows. And frankly I'm not that excited about testing the theorum.

Anyway I'm exhausted and possibly rambling, but if you have any comments or anything to add to this I'd love to hear it!

Cheers

Jess x

** OK so TPVs are a terrible, terrible idea, but at least it's recognition of their claims...

West Papua and the recent Asylum Seekers to Australia

2006-03-27T23:40:00.000+11:00

I haven't posted here before, up until this point I was just helpful because I set it up, but I've been meaning to do this for a while.

If you haven't heard and investigated into what's been going on in West Papua since 1969 then it's time to do so. Here's a bunch of links to get you started ...

http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/centres/cpacs/WestPapuaGenocideRpt.05.pdf
http://www.fkmcpr.nl/?page=1&lang=2
http://www.zulenet.com/awpa/
http://lists.topica.com/lists/WestPapua/read?start=5745&sort=d

And then here's some news links from the BBC that will help you get up to speed on more recent events ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3815909.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4163300.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4676470.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4835788.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4837360.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4839762.stm

If you've gotten that far then as Ali G would say "respect".

This evening I left some feedback for the Immigration Department to encourage them in their recent decision to grant asylum to the West Papuans who recently arrived in Australia. Below is a link to their feedback page if you are interested in doing so yourself.

http://www.immi.gov.au/feedback/services/index.htm

Issues like these are never black and white, they are always messy, but that shouldn't stop us from getting involved and speaking out for others when we see injustice.

Update:
This is the response I received 3 days after giving feedback via this web address.

Dear Mr Jeffries

Thank you for your positive comments made via email on 28 March 2006 to the
Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) about the recent
granting of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) to the 42 Indonesians from
West Papua who arrived in Australia in January.

As is always the case, these decisions were made by experienced
decision-makers, in accordance with international legal obligations and
Australian domestic law, on a case by case basis on the individual merits.

Thank you for taking the time to provide this positive feedback.

Regards
Kath Dunham
Director
Protection Delivery Section

Technorati Tags: West Papua

Ali's Story: A Letter from Lombok

2006-03-27T09:55:00.000+11:00

This is a statement by one of the people who have been kept on the tiny Indonesian island of Lombok for almost 5 years. Read his account of how he got where he is, and see what you think about the fact that he's still there... Enjoy. JT

My father worked for the communist party. When the Communist Government fell Mujahedin came in the city. On the first day a Toyota came in front of my house, stopped and armed men came in my house and hit my father with their guns in a way that he was not able to talk, all of his face was full of blood. They shackled his hands behind his back then they loot our house and throw my father in the Toyota. After two days we could find my father’s body in the desert. After that we could not live peacefully. Every day people were insulting and accusing us. They were calling us the children of the pagan. I was threatened with death and beaten several times and stabbed with a knife below my stomach with the purpose of killing me.

This brought about and compelled me to leave my homeland and family and seek for shelter. I don’t have any other way.

I cannot return home because I will face death persecution. I am Hazara Shiite and live in Helmand where Pashtun dominate. The party and person who persecute me are the Pashtun and Sunni sect who are strong and rule the province.

How did we go to Australia?

We Afghan Migrants are living in Mataram, Lombok, Indonesia around five years. During this time we had traveled two to three times to Australia but could not get there because the boats were crowded, and break down. This nearly cause death for passengers but accidentally we remained alive. Each time we come back to Indonesia with psychological disappointment and physical illness.

Most of us have experienced from one to three times such deadly sea trips to reach to the land of people who claim themselves the main human rights supporters in the world (we mean Australia).

On the last trip on 3rd October 2001, we were 240 migrants departed for the purpose of seeking asylum in Australia.

On the 9 days trip we lost one baby because of hot weather and having no food and water. And another baby was born in Australian water near Ashmore Reef.

Due to extreme happiness the tears were coming from the eyes of all passengers because all of us believed that we finally reached Australia alive. It was 2 O'clock in the morning on 12th October 2001. The navy forces stopped us at nine O'clock the same day. We thought that it was the end of all calamities of our trip and we forgot all the past problems which we had during many times travel on the ocean.

We believed that now it is the time to explain for the world the fright and terrorism of Taliban Malitia and sorrowful condition of the oppression of the Afghan nation. Especially for most of the passengers who are from Hazara tribe who had been the victims of racial and religious discrimination and fanatic policies of all governments in Afghanistan.

Unfortunately it was the beginning of another unexpected tragedy in our life. This is a sad story of human suffering.

The navy forces of Australia kept us in the small and smelly boat on the ocean beside Ashmore Reef under the unbearable hot sunshine for eight days. The passengers had infected skin disease due to much perspiration and dirt in the boat.

After 8 days the navy people came in our boat and said “we are taking you to the refugee camp”(but they deceived us) They separated the families from singles and transferred families to their navy ship.

Then asked all the singles to come down inside the boat. We requested them it is not possible for 160 persons to come together in a place, which is enough only for 40 persons. They said only for five minutes we want to tell some thing to you. So all the 160 passengers came down inside the boat, some sat on each other, some were standing.

They kept us down by force for two days where the people cannot breathe, eat or sleep because there was not enough oxygen and a there was much smoke of engine.

Many people fainted. Each who fainted was taken to upside of the boat like a dead body then navy people poured water on his face or injected him to become conscious and after he was conscious threw him down in the same tight and smelly place.

After two days in early morning the officer shouted: “you are returned back and now you are in Indonesian water."

This sentence was like thunder which hit the passengers' mind. We shocked and asked them “if you did not accept us why did you not submit us to UN and why have you deceived us and why… and why ………!!?? But there was no ear to hear! The navy people instead of logical reason replied to us with electrical sticks, which they had with them.

Then they take the families back to our small boat by force. Because no one was ready to come out of the navy ship the navy people were bringing the children in our boat and beating the men, and women so badly if they did not want to come out of navy ship.

By observing this scene some of the navy people were weeping, one even hit his head to the wall of the boat. Then they broke the engine of the boat, took the oil and generator so we cannot go back to Australia and went by speed boat to the navy ship which had brought the families, and sailed away.

We remained on the ocean with broken engine and no oil and generator to evacuate the water from our boat.

If after some hours the fishermen of Indonesia did not come to save us, 240 passengers would likely be drowning in the ocean.

After living 40 days at Kupang Island in dirty and cramped barrack, with not sufficient water to take a bath or wash our faces, we were taken to an Island named Lombok. It has been four years we are staying in the Lombok Afghan Refugee Camp.

It has been four years that we live in the world of ambiguity. We cannot go back to our country because of the problems of racial, political and religious discrimination, which we had and still we have.
The refugee assessment process by the UNHCR in Indonesia was full of errors and unfairness.

Afghanistan’s condition is dark. No one can predict and be hopeful of its future. The UN knows it is too dangerous for us to go back and has given us Temporary Protection in Indonesia. When we ask for how much longer must we stay, they respond that they are waiting for change in unstable condition of Afghanistan then the destiny of every one would be clear.

We Afghani asylum seekers, have already experienced that in 27 years of civil war and massacres the condition in Afghanistan became worse and worse. Now according to UN we must waste our life here and wait many years again to know what will happen in Afghanistan. In this case we will suffer from life imprisonment unendingly. .
________________________________________________________________________
Our present condition in Indonesia

In the camp in the day, some spend time with their lessons of English Language and Computer programs, and some has no activity.

I am teaching two English classes six days a week. I have the same timetable for every day.

I am suffering in such suffocating situation and being Stateless with unknown future, that these issues are hurting me very much.

We had attempted to find a shelter to save our life and make a safe life and better future especially for our children, but here in Lombok we Afghan Refugees are suffering from an intolerable and unimaginable condition. We lost our hope, our family, friends, relatives and our own life.

We Afghan Refugees living in Lombok, kindly request from all the wise men of the world to comprehend our condition and to help us.

We request Australian Immigration to be responsible for the Lombok refugees who were returned from Australian water, and to treat us in the same way as the Nauru refugees, that have been interviewed by Australian Immigration.

We are Australia's responsibility. We came to Australia and asked for asylum and Australia knows this because it pays International Organisation for Migration to provide us with food and shelter.

Many asylum seekers in Lombok are on the threshold of erosion physically and psychologically because of disappointments and endless obscurity in our life. We do not know how long we will remain here and this causes tension in every individual’s mind.

I hope that humanitarian communities pay attention to our problems and do not let us to be kept in isolation and be forgotten.

It is a brief story about our terrible travel to Australia for seeking asylum in your country. We wish that no other humans have to face this kind of catastrophe.

Thank you for your kindness in listening to our story.

Best regards,
Ali
Afghan Asylum seeker
Mataram, Lombok, Indonesia.

Have you ever thought about what it means to be "boat people"?

2006-03-20T07:00:00.000+11:00

Wow. I really have a head full tonight. Today, everything in Geneva was closed. Apparently Sundays are a bit of a no-go! So I took my book to a café (ok ok it was Starbucks – but everything else was closed!), and sat there reading for more than 2 hours. As you may recall from recent posts, I’m reading ‘Dark Victory’. I’m almost finished, but it’s a hell of a read and quite detailed, so it’s taking me a while.

Anyway, after posting about the passing of Amal Basri just this morning, I reached the section of ‘DV’ that deals with the SIEV-X tragedy. Of course, her name came up, as did her account of the horror of that vessel sinking, and taking with it 353 people, including many, many children. I was sitting in Starbucks on the Rue de Rive with tears rolling down my cheeks as I read about people losing their entire families in one fell swoop, then the politicking that went on in the wake of that absolutely horrendous tragedy. It’s just so, so sad.

If you don’t know anything about the SIEV-X, there’s a website devoted to it – www.sievx.com - which you should read if you’re curious. There are many conspiracy theories about the SIEV-X, that the Australian government sort of accidentally-on-purpose let it sink, then accidentally-on-purpose forgot to rescue the hundreds of people who were on board the boat. I am not a subscriber to those theories, because I don’t know enough to make an informed judgement call, but if you are interested in that aspect of it, you may want to read a book by Tony Kevin called ‘A Certain Maritime Incident’. The evidence is actually remarkably compelling, particularly in conjunction with Ruddock’s suggestions after Tampa that perhaps the navy could ‘interfere’ with vessels, and the clear, unabashed attitude of the government that deterrence and repulsion, NOT search and rescue, is the objective of Operation Relex and the policies surrounding it.

Anyway, I read about that, but then I got to the account of SIEV-10. As you may be able to guess, the SIEVs (Suspected Illegal Entry Vessels) were numbered as they arrived after September 2001. SIEV-10 is the given to the boat on which my good friend (also a friend to many of you who will be reading this), Ali Mullaie. Well, I was not expecting this. Of course, I have heard him tell the story many times. I have heard him talk about his friend, a young 18 year old woman who was 4 months’ pregnant, who drowned. I have heard him talk about the reaction of that woman’s husband when he was told she was dead. But I had never read naval officers’ reports of finding her lifeless body in the water. How her body was kept in the shower block on the HMS Wollongong before the soldiers brought themselves to telling her husband she was dead. The absolute horror of the account, which is not an abstract narrative, but a factual event. An historical incident.

So today I realised that although I have had so much to do with people who arrived on boats – so many of them demonised like hell for the benefit of the 2001 election campaign – I have never really come face to face with the reality of the tag ‘boat people’. I am sort of ‘ok’ with their push factors – whether it’s persecution by the Iranian secret police or the Taliban or the regime of Saddam Hussein – and of course I’m quite familiar with their lives in detention. But the part in between – the terrifying ordeal of selling everything they own to get on a boat they KNOW is unseaworthy, overloaded and unsafe… Watching in terror as their captain panics when the engine fails… The understanding that would dawn as the men started bailing water out of the boat with a bucket… Then watching as the boat sinks, children and adults alike flail in the water because there’s no such thing as learning to swim in Afghanistan… And all of this because it’s better than the alternative. That concept is quite unknown to me.

I remember the night Edriess arrived in Melbourne from the Baxter Detention Centre after almost 6 years in detention. We were talking, and he spoke of how his boat broke down and they were just rolling in the swell somewhere in the Indian Ocean for 9 days when their engine broke down. He said to me, “if you offered me ten million dollars, I would never do that voyage again”. Hearing Amin’s story, or Ali’s, or Khairy and Houda Al-Massaudi’s, or the story of ANYONE who has made that horrific voyage from Indonesia is an absolute shock. I used to get sick on my grandfather’s fishing boat on a river, for heavens sake! It’s unimaginable.

And there is one particularly important thing to remember when thinking about all of this. Remember that the government (and, for that matter, the Opposition) was espousing the wonders of its policy to keep the pesky boat people at bay, and punish those who did arrive with Temporary Protection Visas. Remember that they were purportedly doing this to prevent women and children from getting on leaky boats. Well have a chew on this: almost ALL the women and children on the SIEV-X, and indeed many who arrive on other boats, are doing so by that method because their husbands and fathers are already in Australia. They are in Australia on a Temporary Protection Visa, which allows no right of family reunion. In other words, there is NO other option for these families, if they want to be together, than for the mum and kids to pay some bastard people smuggler and get on that leaky boat.

IF the government introduced a humane visa system for boat arrivals (who are – I repeat – not illegal), allowing family reunion, there would be virtually NO NEED for SIEVs. There would be no need for people smugglers, or Operation Relex, or the multi multi multi multi million dollar Pacific Solution (the name of which, incidentally, was changed to ‘Pacific Strategy’, because they were concerned that it sounded a bit too much like ‘Final Solution’. A cosmetic adjustment at best, wouldn’t you say??)

OK I’m getting worked up. I should go. Breathe deep.

Oh, and I can never listen to Damien Rice’s ‘Cold Water’ without thinking of sinking SIEVs. It’s ruined that song for me, but made it a hundred times more poignant...

Hmmm.

Jess x

Amal's Speech at the 3rd Anniversary of SIEV X

2006-03-19T20:33:00.001+11:00

I AM STILL IN THE WATER WITH THE DYING OF SIEVX
by AMAL BASRY

(THIS IS AMAL’S STORY IN HER OWN WORDS AS TOLD TO MARY DAGMAR DAVIES. AT THE TIME OF WRITING THE TWO WOMEN HAD NEVER MET BUT HAD CONVERSED REGULARLY OVER THE PHONE FOR THE BEST PART OF A YEAR. AMAL IS A PATRON OF JANNAH.)

Amal means hope in Arabic. That was why my father gave me that name and maybe it was why I survived SIEVX. 146 children, 142 women and 45 men died in the tragedy of SIEVX. I was one of the 45 survivors I saw it all. I saw so many people die and I have to tell the story.

It has been three years since the sinking of SIEVX but I am still in the water. I can still feel the dead woman whose body I clung to so I could keep afloat. I never saw her face, it was in the water but I talked to her all night. I prayed for her soul and she saved my life.

I still see what I saw when I first opened my eyes under the water. I saw children dying. I can taste the oil and the salt of the sea, I feel my fear and I smell death. Little children, dead babies, desperate parents, families dying one by one and I was alone believing all the while my own son was dead.

I was in the water for 22 hours waiting for my death. I was like a camera I saw everything. When the sharks circled I prayed for my death and suddenly a whale rose up beside me it was as big as an apartment block it blew water from it's blow-hole all over me and I thought it would suck me and the woman I clung to into the deep. But the whale also saved me. It saved me from the sharks.

Sometimes when the pain wakes me in the night, in that moment between frightening dreams and the shock of reality, I think the sharks are feeding on my body, tearing parts of me away, and ripping at my soul.

On the second anniversary of the sinking of SIEVX I knew I was ill. On October 27, 2003 I lost my left breast to cancer and now the cancer is in my bones and is eating away at me.

The cancer eats like a shark. My doctors are kind and try to manage the pain but there is a deeper pain, the pain of loss, the pain of rejection. In those hours when I cannot sleep l see the lights that were shone on us as we fought to live in the water.

The lights came from ships, I could hear the voices of the men on board so safe and so dry but I could not make out the language they were speaking. I screamed to them to help, we all cried from the sea but they went away. The pain of SIEVX will not go away.

I cry so often. I cried and cried when I saw the Australian families in Bali mourning their friends and relatives, I knew how each of them felt. That is how I feel. I cry when I see the families of the American soldiers who have died in Iraq. That is how I feel. And like them I need to talk about the things that have happened to my life and my family because of tragedy.

I cry when I think of my beloved Iraq the land of my birth reduced to rubble and my people dying and I cry when I think of my father who is still in Baghdad so ill and so poor. When I was a child we spoke English in our house and my father took me round the world and I learnt so much and met such wonderful people.

Our family was torn apart by Saddam Hussein. My mother died hungry. My husband and I were forced to flee to Iran with our children. But we knew we could not stay there and we believed in Australia so my husband went ahead. He was waiting for us for when SIEVX sunk.

When we were rescued I spoke English again. I said "I want to go to Australia and learn very good English and then I want to go on Larry King and tell the world what happened to us."

In all the months we waited in Indonesia and were questioned over and over I still believed in Australia. And I still believe in Australians because they do care about us and they are kind and loving friends. But none of us from SIEVX feel safe; we cannot be safe until we know we belong, until we can be citizens.

I may not have long now but I speak English well enough to give evidence for Australia in a court of law without a translator. And I can speak in public without notes and I want to tell my story. The Australians who have spoken up for us are my angels and I thank God for them. And now I want to spend what time I have left telling people what it was like to be there, awaiting my death, there in the water being kept afloat by the body of a dead woman and seeing it all happen.

We still need help. All of us from SIEVX still need your help. On the eve of the third anniversary of the sinking of SIEVX I pray to God for the people who died and for all the people who loved them and I pray too for the survivors. We are all in different places and our lives will never be the same but now I know Australians will never forget. I don't have time to write a book but I want to talk and I want to talk now.

My name is Amal. It means hope. And I will not give up hope until the day I die.

Copyright © Amal Basry October 16, 2004

VALE Amal Basry

2006-03-19T20:33:00.000+11:00

(courtesy of sievx.com) by Marg Hutton 19 March 2006
Less than five years after surviving the horrific sinking of SIEVX, Amal Basry lost her three year battle with breast cancer. She passed away on Saturday afternoon 18 March in Melbourne's St Vincent's Public Hospital in the presence of her son Rami and daughter-in-law Daniella. She was fifty-two.
Amal and Rami were rescued from the Indian Ocean on 20 October 2001 after spending nearly twenty four hours in the water fighting for their lives. Amal and Rami defeated the odds - only about one in ten passengers aboard SIEVX survived and most of the 353 who drowned were women and children. Unlike most of the other survivors they did not lose any immediate family members, although they did lose cousins, nieces and nephews.
In June 2002, eight months after the sinking, Amal and Rami were finally permitted to come to Australia on temporary protection visas (TPVs) because they had proven family connections here. Amal's husband Abbass Akram had made the journey to Australia on an earlier boat arriving on the north-west coast in January 2000. He spent 8 months in Woomera Detention Centre before settling in Melbourne on a TPV. Only seven survivors of the sinking were permitted to settle in Australia; the remaining 38 were resettled in other countries where they were very quickly granted permanent residency. Unlike the 38 who went to other countries, Amal and Rami had to endure an inexplicably cruel three year wait before being granted permanent protection visas. It is difficult to imagine how this needless bureaucratic obstructionism affected these already deeply traumatised people. They wanted nothing more than security and were forced to wait for years never knowing if they would be allowed to put down roots and make their home here. It was not until the middle of last year (2005) that they were finally granted permanency.
I never met Amal but I did hear her speak once.
On the first anniversary of the sinking - only days after the first Bali bombing - I attended a memorial service at Edwardes Lake Park in Reservoir. At exactly 3.10pm, a year to the minute since SIEVX sank and 353 people perished, Amal bravely took the stage supported by Gabrielle Fakhri of the Thornbury Asylum Seekers Resource Centre and recounted, first in Arabic and then in English, the story of the sinking.
To hear Amal speak was an unforgettable experience. She had a powerful presence - strong, courageous, poetic, dramatic. Speaking haltingly in English but with conviction she moved the audience to tears as she told of her son kissing her goodbye for what they both believed would be the final time.
I taped Amal's speech. Although the sound recording is very rough and some of the words are indistinct, the tape provides a glimpse of an exceptional woman. Below is a transcript:
Good afternoon. I would like to welcome you all. It means a lot to me. It gives me hope .... because this time last year I was fighting for my life, fighting like many others who were with me last year. When our boat sank we felt we were going to die. Everyone... screamed - 'God, God, please help us, save us please'... I can never forget the unbelievable pictures in front of my eyes. Some people... in the water, some swallowing the water and choking and choking. I will never forget the bodies lying on the sea. And the moment that pushed me into... the....water and... I saw my son fighting for his life as well... finding a piece of wood, my son started to scream 'Mum, Mum, we will choke, we will die. God please save us.' At this point I was anxious to get where my son was but I saw a dead woman's body beside me. And with my heart burning I feeling very scared and try to hold the hand of the dead body to support myself to swim to my son's side. Thank God I could arrive near my son. We kissed each other. [sobbing] Then he said 'Give me a kiss mum, we are going to die'... where some other people were still fighting for their lives. The screaming still rings in my ears. And one man screams 'All my family drown' and my friend who was holding onto a piece of wood had all her children's dead bodies floating around her. Next morning while we were still waiting for death the Indonesian fishermen help us and save us. And now I am living in Australia and all my dreams come true. Thank you.
One thing Amal did not mention in this speech was her role in saving the life of her son. When she was rescued by the Indonesian fishermen her son was not among the survivors. Amal prevailed on the captain to turn his boat around and continue the search and her son and ten others were eventually found clinging to a small piece of wood.
Amal believed she had survived for another purpose as well - to tell her story. She wanted the world to know what had happened to the people of SIEVX. As she said to Geoff Parish of SBS Dateline, the story of SIEVX is 'a disaster that deserves to be written down by someone. People bought death in seeking freedom'.
During her four years in Australia, Amal recounted the story of SIEVX many times. In August 2002 she told her story to Michael Gordon of the Age:

At her new home in Broadmeadows this week... [Amal Basry described] in near forensic detail how almost 400 people were coerced into boarding a small, unsafe and ill-equipped boat: the trip in five buses with curtains drawn to the apartments where they prepared for the voyage; the demand that the women and children board first, apparently to ensure the men followed; the refusal to return mobile phones surrendered the previous week; the attempt to plug a hole with material from a pair of jeans; the decision of the men not to let on that the engine had failed and could not be repaired; the sound of women screaming as the boat sank; the two mysterious lights in the distance as she clung on to the body of a drowned women; the rescue by Indonesian fishermen alerted when they saw floating luggage and bodies.
After saying all this through an interpreter, she looks at me intensely and says in English: "I was like a camera. I remember everything."
Amal's story travelled far and touched many. I don't know if she ever knew that the harrowing account of her survival as retold by Arnold Zable in an essay in Eureka Street was incorporated into a London production of Pericles - a joint production of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Cardboard Citizens. The Australian folk singer Suzette Herft also credits Amal as being the inspiration for her song 'Journey on the Wind'.
Amal was a patron of Jannah the SIEVX memorial, an online condolence book established by Mary Dagmar Davies - the first memorial of any kind to the SIEVX dead. Amal was also involved in the national SIEV X memorial project begun by author and psychologist Steve Biddulph and Uniting Church Minister Rod Horsfield.
She attended the opening of the Memorial Exhibition in Sydney in October 2004 where she gave the most remarkable speech. Mary Dagmar Davies described the occasion:

When [Amal] reached the lectern she started with the words 'I am still in the water with the dying' and then she looked across the room and suddenly saw Sondos Ismail the mother who lost her three little girls... Seeing Sondos with her little daughter Allaa who was born in Australia and looks so much like her three little sisters that she will never meet overwhelmed Amal and she broke down in tears. For a moment it looked as though she could not go on. But Amal, who is fighting cancer, is an exceptionally strong woman and she knew she must speak for Sondos as well. And Amal continued with tears rolling from her eyes. She was so articulate her voice rang out loud and clear... She spoke for less than four minutes. She spoke of her cancer and her experience on SIEVX and in the water. She told us more about SIEVX than any of us knew because she was there. She was poetic. She was compelling. She was the truth. People listened intently, some cried, and in the packed church a pin dropping would have sounded like a thunder clap.
Amal was haunted by the SIEVX tragedy. In an interview with Helen Lobato in 2002 for 3CR radio's 'Women on the Line' she spoke of how SIEVX had diminished her, how difficult it was for her to do normal every day things and how afraid she felt. She told Lobato : 'I lost something in myself in this accident'.
But Amal didn't let her fears or her illness prevent her from bearing witness to what she had endured. In 2004 she made the long journey to Brisbane to give evidence at the committal hearing of Khaleed Daoed, one of the organisers of the SIEVX voyage.
Amal was always prepared to stand up and speak about SIEVX on behalf of the survivors despite her illness and the fears she carried with her from the trauma of SIEVX. In many ways she was the public face of SIEVX.
More than 140 women lost their lives on SIEVX. We don't know their names and cannot mourn them as individuals. But over the last four years many of us have come to know Amal and she will be deeply mourned both as the warm courageous person she was and as a symbol of all the nameless women who drowned on SIEVX while seeking sanctuary and a better life in Australia.
Our thoughts are with her family both here and overseas.

Gotta watch what you say (or read!) in cafes in Geneva!

2006-03-18T03:02:00.000+11:00

So I'm here in Geneva at the moment, doing an internship in the United Nations with the Australian Permanent Mission. Yesterday afternoon, one of the other interns and I were sitting in a cafe, having a chat about what was happening, how everything was going etc. On the table in front of me, I had a copy of 'Colloquial Persian', a notebook I'm using to practise my horrible Persian handwriting, and a copy of David Marr & Marian Wilkinson's book 'Dark Victory'. We were mid sentence, when a man in a dark pinstripe suit came up to us and said "I'm going to be presumptuous and ask if you two are interns with the Australian Permanent Mission??". Of course, we were, and he was one of the head honchos in the Mission. He spotted that I was reading 'Dark Victory', and commented that he was on Jane Halton's Tampa Taskforce as a bureaucrat, which placed him at the very core of the source of the shocking shocking terrible horrid bad awful legislation that came out of Tampa! He ALSO assisted in drafting the Migration Act amendments which were enacted to introduce mandatory detention in 1991-2! A very interesting conversation ensued, discussions of the "unofficial" opinions on Tampa of many of the bureaucrats in that particular room, and the current state of the refugee law. Haha how hilarious that at the time I had on the desk that particular book. I mean, really, it could have been ANYTHING else!

If you haven't read Dark Victory, get your hands on it like right now. It's amazing. Here's a link to it... http://www.allenandunwin.com/Shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?ISBN=1741144477

And don't forget to go to Left on Nauru... link in the taskbar ----->

Cheers!

J x

Two Lost Boys Still on Nauru...

2006-03-14T09:09:00.000+11:00

Hi,

I've just got an email from Mohammad Sagar, one of the last 2 refugees remaining on Nauru. He asked me to put a link to the website that he and the other man - Mohammad Faisal - are maintaining. It is www.leftonnauru.com

There are photos, stories, journal-style thoughts, links etc. You can even drop them a line to give them a word of support. Please go and have a look. I will put the link in the toolbar on this page, as well. Meanwhile, I will paste below an article written by Michael Gordon in The Age this past week. It's long, and I'm sorry for that, but if you read it, you may begin to understand the deperation faced by these two poor guys who have already been assessed as genuine refugees by the UNHCR *and* DIMIA....

'Living hell' built for two

Michael Gordon - March 11, 2006

MUHAMMAD Faisal calls his life a living hell. He suffers from high anxiety and poor vision, takes medication three times a day, and recently, in an act of desperation, tried to take his life.
Faisal, 26, is one of the last two asylum seekers left on Nauru under the Howard Government's Pacific Solution. The other, Mohammad Sagar, 29, became concerned last month when he knocked on Faisal's door and there was no reply.
He called the security people and a nurse at the camp and, when they opened the door, he saw Faisal, semi-conscious, bleeding from cuts to his chest, arms and stomach. Faisal was taken to the clinic that once served several hundred mainly Afghan and Iraqi asylum seekers on the tiny, impoverished island.
He later said he had been "pushed to the edge" by the isolation and uncertainty of his situation and a sense of desperation.
"In Nauru life is black," he told the The Age this week. "I feel I am in hell. When I came to Nauru I was 21. My age now is 26. Everything is negative."
Now, almost 4½ years after being sent to Nauru, two of the world's loneliest asylum seekers are now preparing for a new existence outside the camp.
While the camp will be maintained, at a cost to Australian taxpayers of $1 million a month, those employed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) who have been responsible for the welfare of the two men, including a psychiatrist, are pulling out.
In the coming weeks, the two Iraqis will have to adapt to new "independent living" arrangements where they will have their own accommodation, complete with a television, DVD player, telephone and internet access.
There will also be an allowance to buy their own food and a pushbike, complete with helmet and padlock, for each to travel around the once phosphate-rich but now near-bankrupt 21-square-kilometre island, where power failures and water shortages are daily occurrences.
The shift is portrayed by the Immigration Department as an opportunity for the men to make their own choices. The men see it differently. "I feel that this step means that they want to keep me on Nauru forever," Faisal wrote in a recent letter to Neill Wright, the regional representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Both men have been found to be refugees, with genuine fears of persecution if they returned to Iraq, but both were deemed to be a security threat to Australia after extensive interviews with ASIO last year.

The finding has left the two men, and parties such as the UNHCR who are trying to find another country willing to resettle them, in an invidious, almost impossible position. They have not been told the basis of the finding and there is no provision for an appeal or a review by an independent authority.
Not knowing the allegation against them is a constant worry. As Faisal puts it: "I am not doing anything wrong to other countries, or in my own country, or on Nauru. Why am I rejected? I am not dangerous to anyone."
When The Age became the first media organisation to be given unfettered access to the camp almost 12 months ago, both complained about the way the ASIO interviews had been conducted.
Back then, Sagar said he was struggling to cope with the anxiety. "I'm living in limbo. To think there is a possibility, even 1 per cent, to get a rejection, makes me feel very, very bad."
Both said then that they had been accused of being uncooperative in the interviews, but emphatically denied this. It was not until many months later that they were told of the ruling, around the same time that the other 25 asylum seekers still on Nauru were given visas to come to Australia.
Susan Metcalfe, a researcher who has visited the men twice on Nauru and has provided support to many of those who have since left the island to begin new lives in Australia, was distressed, but not surprised, that Faisal had resorted to self-harm.
Only days before the episode, she had written to Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone voicing her concern about his mental condition.
"I am deeply concerned that he will not cope when the psychiatrist leaves this weekend," she told The Age yesterday. "The departure of the last Arabic-speaking staff member in January had a very negative impact on Faisal and contributed to his distress."
Ms Metcalfe also shares the men's concern that the new arrangements are a first step towards the Australian Government washing its hands of any responsibility for them, despite the commitment when Nauru agreed to set up the camps that "no persons will be left behind on Nauru". She finds the adverse security assessment hard to understand. "Both men are very human and not at all threatening. I don't believe that anyone has ever had a problem with them and I know that their friends in Australia find the ongoing situation incredibly distressing," she said.
"It is an absurd situation and a complete waste of all our time, energy and money. I doubt that Muhammad Faisal could have coherently answered questions in his ASIO interviews without psychological assistance, so I do have concerns about the basis for the decisions.

"I know that the lack of explanation for the decisions causes ongoing despair for both men. They can't even defend themselves because they don't know what they are being accused of."
Migration agent Marion Le, who met both men on Nauru, finds their situation "incomprehensible", suggesting there may have been a different outcome if the men had advocates present during their ASIO interviews.
Another who is surprised is Maarten Dormaar, a psychiatrist, who worked for the IOM at the camp until 2003. He says Sagar worked as a voluntary interpreter when required and performed the job well. "He was very respectful and unbiased as far as I could guess from the way the patients behaved during the interviews ," he said in an email to Ms Metcalfe.
Sagar has several concerns about the new arrangements, which were set out in a document prepared by the Immigration Department and presented to the two men. They include questions of health care, transport and security.
On transport, for instance, the document notes the IOM's commitment to provide "safe and dignified" transport for camp residents, with as little public exposure as possible. Under the new arrangements, this obligation would be met by the provision of pushbikes and helmets "for their exclusive use".
"I don't think it's a very wise idea, giving us bikes," Sagar told The Age. "Faisal is extremely short-sighted and taking medication three times a day. I don't think he would be able at all to ride a bike."
But their greater fear is that they have been forgotten. "We are afraid of that one day we would find ourselves abandoned on this tiny island and have to beg for the food," Sagar said in a letter to Mr Wright.
While Sagar has improved his English and computer skills on the island, Faisal is struggling. He says he thinks constantly of the friends who have left Nauru and is distressed that the department will no longer provide an interpreter.
In his letter to the UNHCR, Faisal said he was dying a slow death. "The only solution to my problem is that I get a country to live (like) a human being without being humiliated. My wish is to feel, even for once, that I'm alive."

(NB - cheers to Tandberg for the cartoon above)

freedom is a gradual process

2006-02-17T16:33:00.000+11:00

hi there.

i've just got back from speaking at Carey Grammar on the topic of "Be the change you want to see in the world" (Gandhi). It was fun, good, the kids asked good questions etc. But it made me reflect on something. I've written before about the tendency to oversimplify issues surrounding refugee policy. If you tell a story about a person or a family in detention, kids will say, "where are they now?", and then if I say they've been released into the community, you can see the relief on the kids' faces, as if to say "oh, then why are you telling us that?? it's over now, if they're free". But it's really not so. The conditions of the visas that people get released onto are - frankly - the polar opposite of freedom. Temporary Protection Visas, Bridging Visas E and Return Pending Bridging Visas are basically DESIGNED to keep people from feeling comfortable, relaxed, or - God forbid - at home in Australia. I'll write more about these soon, hopefully.

And that's just the visas. There is no prison more secure than the human mind. Some ex-detainees are so completely traumatised by their experiences in and before detention that they have lost the capacity to behave normally. They are strange in social situations, many abuse alcohol, most are chain smokers, and don't even TALK to me about dependence on sleeping tablets and anti-depressants. One friend of mine has become LESS good at speaking English since he was released from detention. He is LESS coherent now than he was three years ago. I don't know if that means he gave up the will to learn, or whether his brain is working against him, but it's symptomatic that somethin' ain't right.

And then there are the people who really can't cope, to the extent that they are requesting to be put back in detention because they don't know what to do with themselves in the community. What madness would drive them to do such a thing?! This should *NOT* be seen as a reason for the government to be smug about how great and "safe" its detention centre are. It should be a searing indictment against their policy of fairly actively causing people to become emotionally and socially handicapped through their long periods of incarceration.

It's terrible :(

Something Lovely Happened Yesterday...

2006-02-13T09:29:00.000+11:00

It was Bahram's birthday yesterday, and he had a party at his place. It was so much fun! There were heaps of people, more food than you could possibly imagine, the music was pumping persian techno (haha... oh dear) and a good time was had by all. I met a friend of B's, an Iranian woman named N, who had two beautiful little children with her. Her two sons are named M & R and they are absolutely gorgeous- black hair and chocolate eyes and they're both cheeky and mischievous and sweet. When I was talking to N, she told me that she thinks she remembers me from the detention centre. I didn't remember meeting her at Maribyrnong, but she said no, not Maribyrnong, but Baxter! And in a moment I had a flashback to a woman at Baxter, pale, drawn and anxious, and her two little boys in blue and red tracksuits slumped listlessly on the ground in the outdoor visit area. They were both very very sick, the littlest one coughing so much that he was vomiting phlegm. Their state of illness and depression made a sardonic joke of the play equipment standing a few metres away from where they were. To be honest, theirs is the picture I get in my mind every time I think of the horror of children in immigration detention.

Anyway, yesterday I met those two children and their mother again, in my friend's living room in Footscray. We blew up balloons together, scratched the dog's tummy, and when nobody was looking I snuck spoonfuls of leftover cake from the fridge and gave them to the boys who were beside themselves with conspiratorial glee!

It was so beautiful to see them free and happy and carefree, running around a party terrorising the guests with the energy, vitality and giggles that kids that age should have every day.

As I was leaving the party, N said to me, "since the day I met you at Baxter, I always hoped that one day I would meet this beautiful girl again, and now here we meet again". We hugged, and I flat-out nearly cried in the kitchen.

x

Get informed & Get involved!

2006-02-09T17:22:00.000+11:00

Today I spoke at Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School (my old stomping ground!) to a group of Year 11 students. I spoke a bit about Australia's obligations under international law, the fact that ARRIVING IN AUSTRALIA AND SEEKING ASYLUM IS NOT A CRIME (UNDERLINE!), conditions in detention, children in detention, the asylum seekers still on Lombok, and the fact that it falls to these guys and other young people to get moving, make some noise, call their pollies to account, and make sure this stuff can't happen again in the future. It was great - they responded very well and were really keen to get informed. I love seeing people get fired up! LOVE IT! So I put my email address on the whiteboard in their centre, and I really hope to get some emails with their questions etc! I think the best way to answer those is to post the Q&As on this site so they're readily available.... So, girls, if you're reading this... hit me!

For anyone who wants to get some more info / read some more stories etc, I'd recommend getting your hands on these books:

Freeing Ali : The Human Face of the Pacific Solution (Michael Gordon - $16.95)
From Nothing to Zero : Letters from Refugees in Australia's Detention Centres (Julian Burnside QC (ed.) - Lonely Planet)

You can also get on all sorts of websites:

The Justice Project: http://www.thejusticeproject.com.au
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre: http://www.asrc.org.au/
Fitzroy Learning Network: http://www.fitzroylearningnetwork.org.au/
A Just Australia: http://www.ajustaustralia.com/home.php
ChilOut: http://www.chilout.org/
Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project: http://www.hothammission.org.au/

That should keep you busy!

Cheers

Jess

Important sections of the Migration Act (woohoo!!)

2006-02-08T18:51:00.000+11:00

Thought it might be handy to put up a little summary of some of the important sections of the Migration Act. I'll put up sections which are important to refugees, sections which point out Australia's acceptance of the fact that it should take refugees, as well as the rather controversial provisions that make detention mandatory etc...

s36 - Protection Visas (http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s36.html)
This is fairly self-explanatory, and adopts part of the refugee convention into Australian law. You will notice that NOWHERE in this provision does it make it even REMOTELY illegal to come to Australia on a boat or without a passport to seek refugee status!

s189 - Detention of Unlawful Non-Citizens (http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s189.html)
Gee this provision is nasty, because it uses the term 'unlawful'. This basically just means people who are not Australian citizens, who are in the country in a way that doesn't recognise them as having any legal 'status'. They're not on a legal visa at the time, so they're unlawful. But they're not illegal. See how it splits hairs?? This is the provision that constitutes Australia's mandatory detention policy, because it says that an officer of the Commonwealth MUST detain an unlawful non-citizen - there's no room to move here, no wiggle-space, even if that person is half dead, an unaccompanied child, in a coma and / or 8.5 months pregnant. Very, very bad.

s198 - Removal from Australia of unlawful non-citizens (http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s198.html)
This is the provision that governs the deportation of people once their visa applications have been rejected. Fair enough I suppose. But this provision strikes terror into the hearts of lots of people, and according to Dave Corlett in his book 'Following them Home: The Fate of Returned Asylum Seekers', many people who shouldn't have been deported have been, sometimes with dire consequences.

s417 - Minister may substitute more favourable decision (http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s417.html)
This provision is unfortunately rather underused. It says that any time during the refugee determination process, the Minister for Immigration can say "OK, let the poor blighter out". It's amazing that one person should hold all that power over all those lives, and yet exercise it so seldom!

Anyway that'll do for today I think!

J x

Eid Celebration with the Hazara Association of Victoria

2006-01-19T00:05:00.000+11:00

This past weekend, I went to a huge-scale celebration of the festival of Eid ul-Adha. On Saturday afternoon I was doing a talk at a youth festival in Belgrave, then my friend Ali came to meet me in Belgrave and together we drove to Dandenong. After his explanation of what the plan was, I was expecting to turn up to someone's house and have a cup of tea and perhaps a cucumber sandwich. But when we rolled up and there were small armies of children running around in traditional dress, swarms of beautiful dark-eyed women in head-dress, and hoards of men greeting eachother with a warm embrace, I knew this was no ordinary Aussie Saturday night barbie!! We made our way into the church hall, to be greeted with the sight of literally HUNDREDS of hazaras! It was bedlam! And for a good half hour I was literally the only Aussie in the room! It was a beautiful night. Traditional Afghan music played by some teenagers - it was great actually, they were all a bit cool for school, had Chapel street mullet / mohawks, and were playing the drums and the sitar and the synthesiser. It was an Afghan teen garage band! A bit like watching a completely warped early-days silverchair gig. Weird. It was quite cool though.

It came time for dinner, which I was a bit nervous about because i was STARVING, and by this time there were at least five or six hundred people in the hall. I wondered, how can they POSSIBLY feed this many people? How can they a) make enough food in one little Catholic church hall kitchen and b) serve it before the food gets cold and the evening slowly melts into early next week? But, lo and behold, it turns out I was wrong to worry. The cooks enlisted 20-30 men, who all stood in a long, flexible line, spaced a couple of metres apart across the entire hall. The cooks then began handing plates of steaming hot food (oh my GOODNESS it was good) to the first guy in the queue, who would then hand it along the line, and slowly but surely, each person in the room got a tummy full of delicious warm home-made Afghan fare. It was fantastic! I'll try to write a little bit more about this, because it was really quite a special night. There was a comedy sketch at the end, and because it was all in Persian I understood approximately squat. But i took great delight in looking backwards, over my shoulder, to the hundreds of smiling, laughing faces. Eyebrows raised in expectation of the next joke, faces already half laughing before the punchline arrives. The Hazara people look so distinctive, yet there's such diversity, and in those I've had the privilege to meet, I have seen an incredible capacity for laughter and joy.

The man organising this event was Mohammad Arif - president of the Hazara Association of Victoria, and best friend to Ali Sarwari. On Monday night, his 7-year wait for permanent residency (thus the ability to travel to visit his family, and head to New Zealand to visit Ali) ended, with his receipt of a long-awaited letter from DIMIA. Half an hour later, he received a phonecall informing him that Ali had died. The cruelty of this timing is just horrible. I'm told he's going to New Zealand tomorrow, to farewell his best friend's body, and comfort his grieving family. God be with them all...

Farewell to Ali Sarwari

2006-01-18T16:04:00.000+11:00

Yesterday morning, friends of Ali Sarwari awoke to the news that he had been killed in a car accident while returning from a camping trip with his family.
Ali Sarwari's wife Sediqa and 7 year old daughter Sakina were held on Nauru for 3 years, while he was in detention on the Australian mainland for around 7 months. Australia refused to reunite them. It was eventually New Zealand who came to the rescue, offering the young family the opportunity to live together in safety. Late in 2005, Ali and Sediqa's 11 year old son Mahmood was brought to Hamilton, NZ, and the family was finally together again.
News of Ali's death has been devastating for the Afghan refugee community in Melbourne, many of whom knew and respected Ali greatly. His legacy lingers in Michael Gordon's book 'Freeing Ali: The Human Face of the Pacific Solution', where he is lauded as a gentleman, a great craftsman, a loyal friend and a loving father. May he rest in peace.

My Paper at the Conference...

2006-01-04T13:20:00.000+11:00

For a little touch of reading if you want it! My paper at the Seeking Asylum in Australia Conference... little bits may be familiar :)

TITLE: Culture Shock: Australian youth responding to refugees

From a distance, the Baxter detention centre looks like an oasis. Against a backdrop of desert, it reflects the grey-green of the gum trees that fringe the centre’s perimeter. As you draw closer to it, you will see a huge piece of white graffiti, spray-painted on the road, a remnant from protests past. As you drive over it, the words ‘SHAME AUSTRALIA’ will disappear under your wheels. You’re almost there.
We were a motley crew who went to visit. A handful of law students, two young school teachers, a girl with six part-time jobs, and a recent recipient of a temporary protection visa, Bahram, who had until recently been detained at Maribyrnong Detention Centre in Melbourne’s inner-western suburbs where many of the group are regular visitors. The thread that we all have in common is that somehow, somewhere along the line, we have been sewn into the lives of some people living in detention, and in some small way, we will never quite be the same again. We were on a mission to visit a friend who has been relocated to Baxter from Maribyrnong. We had arrived in Port Augusta late on a Monday night. After a fitful night’s sleep we were ready to seek out Baxter and embark on the first of our visits.

On the day of our visit, it was a beautiful sunny day with bright blue sky and cotton-wool clouds. Leaving town, we drove north over a long, sweeping bridge that curves above the sparkling ocean. Just after the bridge, we took a left, and promptly drove over what seemed to be the threshold of civilisation. At first, we were driving down a nondescript suburban street - house, house, tree, car, house – then suddenly, there was nothing. Nothing in front of us except a long, narrow road, snaking its way through the dusty red desert that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The bright, noisy chatter subsided. For the next 20 minutes the car was almost silent.
As we arrived at the front of the detention centre, the huge metal gates squealed open to allow a truck to enter. We watched – lost and small as children observing the secret business of grown-ups – as the gates clanged shut, swallowing the truck between the two massive steel barriers marking the entrance. Somebody commented on what it must be like for detainees to be driven through those gates, not knowing where they are, what awaits them, or when they’ll be coming out again. We tried to imagine what it would be like to arrive here, to be dumped and forgotten in the middle of nowhere. It really is the middle of nowhere.

On that beautiful Tuesday morning, we emerged from the car, feeling very, very far beyond our comfort zones. It was, for all of us, our first visit to the infamous place where Cornelia Rau was, in the words of her sister Christine, “locked up in isolation… treated like a caged animal”. What were we thinking, spending a week of our holidays in a place like this?
We went through the rigorous security checks, had our IDs checked, our bags locked away, our jackets X-rayed and our bodies metal-detected (twice), before being funnelled through various cages and locked doors and, finally, spat out into the Visits Centre. Baxter’s Visits Centre is portable classroom chic: fluorescent lighting, plastic tables and chairs, and a kitchenette. We wandered outside to a grassy area with metal tables and chairs in a strange sort of mock-picnic area set-up, with a brightly coloured set of children’s play equipment stuck awkwardly in the middle of it. We sat on some plastic chairs for a while, staring at our shoes and wondering what to do with ourselves, until we heard the click of the doors opening, and the detainees emerged into the courtyard.

The next few hours, indeed the next few days, are hard to describe. We heard stories, we witnessed the obvious physical and mental deterioration of our friends, and we were all infused with the sense of black despair and hopelessness that sits like a heavy fug over the entire place.
Many of the people we met just shook their heads in disbelief, saying “what am I doing here?” and, “I don’t understand” and, “this wasn’t supposed to happen”… We met a heavily pregnant woman who chain-smoked and drank far, far too much coffee. Her whole body trembled and shook violently, betraying her extreme anxiety and depression. Two weeks after we saw her, she was moved to a psychiatric ward. I hope her baby will be OK.
A Cambodian man performed a card trick. His sleight of hand was remarkable, and I could find no possible explanation as to how he had done it. I said “how did you do that?!” He walked away grinning, and threw an enigmatic glance over his shoulder to where he had left me, protesting cross-legged and befuddled on the grass. A moment passed, and another young detainee stubbed out his cigarette and walked over to me. He crouched down on the ground and mechanically explained the trick to me, his eyes mute, devoid of sparkle and magic. After 5 years in detention, there is no space in his life for mischief, silliness or laughter.

At the end of each visit, the guards hand back each detainee’s ID tag, a gaudy yellow plastic card which reduces each person to a washed-out mugshot, a barcode and a Baxter ID Number. Our friends’ reactions to this ritual are difficult to watch. Some dismissively throw it aside, while others clip it back onto their clothes, resigned to this plastic summary of who they are in detention. As we said goodbye on our last day, a 23-year old man stood, in a plastic room surrounded by plastic furniture, staring at the little plastic card that bears witness to his plastic identity.
Over the course of the few days we were there, the boys we were visiting admitted that they rarely eat more than a bowl of cereal a day. They each puff through two or three packs of cigarettes and typically crawl into bed at dawn for a few hours of blank, shallow rest. Pale and listless, they appear to enjoy neither appetite nor energy, happiness nor hope. And those are just the physical symptoms…
T housands of pages have been written about the psychological effects of long-term detention. The suicide rate in Australia’s immigration detention centres is 10 times the community average. In Australia, there is no other known situation where pre-pubescent children regularly attempt suicide. Thankfully, since the end of July 2005, there are no more children in detention centres. But let it never be forgotten that in our detention centres, children as young as seven have slashed their own throats, starved themselves, deeply cut their wrists, thrown themselves onto razor wire, hanged themselves with bed sheets, drunk cleaning products, and more. This is what our nation’s system of mandatory immigration detention can do.
And yet, this is not a political issue, because the policy has had bipartisan support since its inception in 1992.
As we sat at the Visitors’ Centre at Baxter, we certainly didn’t talk about politics. We didn’t talk about the Migration Act, or the legislative amendments that have deliberately disallowed our friends access to judicial review of their cases. We didn’t talk about the tactics of fear, alienation and propaganda that have been employed to win votes over the past decade, at the expense of hundreds of suicidal children and damaged adults. We talked about our friends’ lives. Their lives in the past, their hopes for the future, how much they miss their families. And how they really, truly fear for their lives if they are returned to their mother countries, so much so that they are willing to spend months, maybe years, in a place like Baxter, despite it making them crazy.
One month after we returned from Baxter, it was my birthday. I received a little parcel from my friend in the detention centre. Inside the envelope was a smaller envelope, and inside that envelope were some flowers. This friend had often said that he wanted to send me flowers, and, lacking all power to do so, he had found a flower patch inside Baxter, picked some beautiful, colourful flowers, put them in an envelope and posted them to me. It was a simple, beautiful gesture of love and thanks, and it broke my heart.

Statistically, most of our friends will be found to be genuine refugees. But at what cost? Why must our policy take so many years to work, strip people of their dignity and humanity, and damage so many lives in the process of trying to help them??

As with so many things in life, the experience of visiting people in immigration detention centres can be expressed on the parallel planes of the mundane and the profound.

On one level, it’s taking a few hours out of a Sunday morning to spend what can be a slightly awkward visit session sitting in a plastic chair, passive smoking and crumpling up a used plastic cup, before leaving again, slightly relieved that another visit is over. On another level, that same exercise is a foray into the human face of injustice. The awkward silence is actually a massive void. It is steeped in unspeakable apology for the gulf between my life, and yours. The powerlessness of knowing that there are only so many times I can shake my head in dismay and regret for what is happening to you. The strange reality that outside of the context of detention, we probably would never have been friends. The knowledge that hearing the explanation once again of why and how you came to be in detention in Australia won’t suddenly make everything clear to me.

In this past year particularly, my understanding of the clouded mess of refugee policy has deepened quite a lot. But I don't mean it's become any less clouded or messy. Actually, as I have got to know more people, learnt about the twists and turns of their cases and become more intimately involved in their lives, things have certainly become more complex, more difficult and a lot less clear-cut.

An important lesson to learn is to expect humanity. Fallibility, weakness, confusion and brokenness, as well as good hearts belonging to good people. Because aren't we ALL a mixture of those things…

In attempting to broaden young Australians’ engagement with this issue, there are a number of problems to be faced. The first is the lack of any material or ideological hunger – generally speaking, there doesn’t seem to be a strongly focused striving for justice amongst Australian youth. The second is a simple want for exposure to the issues. People simply are not aware of what has been behind the razor wire of detention centres here and in the Pacific. There is not much less sexy than the slings and arrows of administrative law, under which a large portion of the refugee issue falls. Nobody wants to hear about our obligations under international law, or how the Migration Act doesn’t REALLY make arriving in a leaky boat ‘illegal’. But as soon as they’re at a party, or a barbecue with a beer in their hand talking face-to-face with a refugee about their experiences in detention, you can bet good money that they change their tunes pretty fast. Those turn-arounds are the stuff I live for. I want to say thank you again to Bahram and Ali, for telling their stories here this morning. It is only by their willingness to speak about what has happened to them and their friends that our children and our children’s children will ensure that Tampa, SIEV-X, Children Overboard and Cornelia Rau can NEVER happen again. Thank you.

Just A Little Something

2006-01-03T21:58:00.000+11:00

Well Hi. I haven't written for a while - I'm sorry! The night the Seeking Asylum in Australia conference finished I hopped a plane to Sydney, where I was working for a few weeks, then it was Christmas and now it's January. And that brings us to now! Happy New Year :) I had a beautiful Christmas. It was a little bit of a period of transition, too! I was planning to spend Christmas with a few of my reffo boys but a lot of them had plans with new friends, other families, and were too busy / cool for me! It was so good though - seeing them put down roots and build their lives is so great. It makes me happy! But still, even though they are moving on (renting houses, getting jobs, winning scholarships...!), there is always the uncertainty of Temporary Protection. What if they're not accepted come review time? What if they have to go back to Iran / Afghanistan / Iraq and start their lives all over again, AGAIN? Even though most of them are a shoe-in and they should be completely fine, there is still that doubt, and I think it takes a massive toll. It's very unsettling, and a huge psychological barrier to freedom and real closure.

There are some other things I want to write about, which I won't do now.

** DIMIA has decided it's no longer responsible for the 2 detainees left on Nauru - this is interesting news, and I'm following it up.

** There are still 92 people on the Indonesian island of Lombok, who have been there for FOUR YEARS. Will write more about this in the next week or so.

Happy 2006 everybody!

After Three Years...

2005-11-17T19:29:00.000+11:00

This past year particularly, my understanding of the clouded mess of refugee policy has deepened quite a lot. But I don't mean it's become any less clouded or messy. Actually, as I have got to know more people, learnt about the twists and turns of their cases and become more intimately involved in their lives, things have certainly become more complex, more difficult and a lot less clear-cut. I think an common trap for young players (by players I mean visitors / advocates etc) is to see an asylum seeker as 100% right at all times, and DIMIA or the centre guards or anyone else 100% wrong at all times. It's very easy to side with someone so categorically and so blindly that you can't really look at the picture objectively or with fresh eyes, so when something unexpected happens (a confrontation, an argument, a revelation of a side of a person which is not as pure & earnest as you'd thought it to be), often there'll be a sense of shock, followed (possibly!) by pretending it never happened! But this is crazy! Just because a person is a refugee or in detention doesn't wipe out everything they've done before. An important lesson to learn is to expect humanity. Fallibility, weakness, confusion and brokenness, as well as good hearts belonging to good people. Because aren't we ALL a mixture of those things...

I find it extremely difficult to watch people experiencing regret. Sometimes, when I'm at a detention centre and someone is talking about the choices they've made in their lives (be it someone who has escaped from a centre before, or not been completely honest, or something they've done to put themselves or their families at risk), they'll say things like "I wish i had done that differently" or "i wish i hadn't done that" or "if i had to do it again I would change everything..." But those words are empty and worthless, and the regrets they mask only serve to crucify them. The RRT LOVES to find a 2% discrepancy in an applicant's case. They absolutely go to town and back again on it, and suddenly an unwise decision, or a moment of bad judgement turns into the reason that someone won't be able to gain protection. Or they're accused of being a "LIAR!" in a public forum, in front of their friends and supporters, to their deep shame and chagrin. A moment of stupidity or momentary dishonesty - things that most of us can just deal with and move on from - become formative moments, points of public knowledge and irrevocable damage.

The Truth Behind the Baxter Fires

2005-11-17T09:00:00.000+11:00

(courtesy of Pamela Curr)

*Since DIMIA have gone silent, we have collected the following
information and reports from witnesses. The facts are*

* No Asylum Seeker was involved in lighting the fires.
* Asylum seekers suffered loss of personal possessions and effects.
* One man, an artist with pictures in readiness for an exhibition in
Port Augusta lost his entire collection’.
* Some Chinese men lost their dearest possessions-photos of their
families.

*FACT: Three criminal deportees were involved in lighting the fires. *

This highlights an ongoing problem at Baxter where men transferred from
the prison system and awaiting deportation are placed throughout the
asylum seeker compounds.

There is no good reason to do this when there are nine compounds at
Baxter, a number of which remain unoccupied. Asylum seekers have always
expressed concern and fear that ex-prisoners were placed in their
compounds because they saw this as DIMIA attempting to confuse the
Australian people by mixing asylum seekers and ex-prisoners to present
asylum seekers as criminals.

While some ex-prisoners present few problems, others are angry and
violent after many years in the prison system and frighten asylum
seekers who have fled violence in their own countries. Asylum seekers
report being afraid to come out of their rooms when ex-prisoners are on
the rampage. They say that the ex-prisoners bait the guards poisoning
the atmosphere for everyone.

These are two different groups with very different needs. DIMIA should
immediately separate them. They have the space and facilities available
and should do so without delay.

Newly released and nowhere to go!

2005-11-14T00:15:00.000+11:00

This weekend I spent some time house-hunting with a couple of guys who are newly released from detention. It's quite a sombre experience, actually, because it's just like house-hunting with anybody, but with the restrictions of money, communication, transport, and unawareness of other factors multiplied by ten. The equal first considerations are price, and proximity to a train station. Of course, they have no tenancy referees, so they have references and letters of support and guarantee from organisations like Melbourne City Mission. They have almost no choice but to accept charity and favours from their friends. They were looked at funny by receptionists in Real Estate agencies. I sort of felt like i was there so that my friends would be taken seriously and given the opportunity to look at houses. They were apologetic about asking me to drive them to houses in the pouring rain, and thanked me for my time over and over again. It must be very unempowering for them, but I'm not even sure if they feel it. I really hope they don't. They seem to approach the whole thing with an earnestness and honest attempt to make a go of it, and start their lives from today, leaving all their crap behind.

One of the guys I've hung out with a few times recently lives in housing commission flats near where I live. In my socio-economic milieu, housing commission flats are an horrific, mythological, fictitious notion - one with which we never have to engage or interact. So i find it annoying that 5 minutes down the road are hundreds and hundres of people living in tiny little fire-trap boxes stacked on top of one another. When I was little i used to comment to my mum as we drove past that the windows looked like microwaves. Apparently the suicide rate in housing commissions is astronomical, and I don't know how that statistic (and education / employment statistics??) stack up against the fact that the vast majority of inhabitants are non-white, but it can't be good.. Perhaps there is some degree of racial inequality so rusted on to our collective national psyche that we don't even notice it anymore. If you're an immigrant, stiff bickies, good luck getting your life off the ground now! Ha! You can start by living in a microwave-shaped flat somewhere in an otherwise affluent suburb like North Fitzroy or Richmond (bordering on Hawthorn...). Just don't look around you too much or you might start to notice what you're missing out on...

Please excuse me - I don't mean to sound bitter.

(artwork above courtesy of Kate Durham)

Fire at Baxter

2005-11-12T13:07:00.000+11:00

So i just got off the phone from a couple of my friends who were sleeping in the White One compound at Baxter last night, and were woken by the fire alarm at 4am. They've had the fright of their lives! Apparently the compound is completely destroyed - which probably means their personal belongings, photos, CDs, letters, books, everything... It looks at this stage like the fires were deliberately lit, which is a real bummer, because whoever did it has just made life a lot harder for everyone else at Baxter. Hmm. And apparently there are 300 people detained there at the moment, so it'll be damn hard to try to find out what happened / who did it.

Anyway, everyone's ok. A few people were treated for smoke inhalation but nobody was injured.

It's hard to justify behaviour like that. Of course nothing will excuse arson, but knowing a few of the people who have been there for a long, long time, and a few who have recently got out, they are NOT psychos or criminals. The levels of desperation and anxiety reach titanic proportions and just get way out of hand. I'm not purporting to make excuses for setting fire to stuff, but just think about how you'd feel if you'd been locked in the desert for 4 years... Geez. You might want somehow to draw attention to what was happening to you...

A few guys who have been released have spoken to me about the overwhelming feeling of not being remembered by people. They speak of the fear that grips them, they're sitting in a prison, everyone in Australia (erroneously) believes them to be illegal, they can't go home without very serious risk to their lives, and they have no idea when they'll be getting out of detention. These lovely, rational, intelligent, funny, gentle people are the same people who have been reduced to lip-sewing, to cutting themselves, to hunger striking, to blowing their tops and smashing a window... Sometimes good people just flip out... :(

Little bit of a catch-up

2005-11-06T22:43:00.000+11:00

The photo above this post is a picture of some of the people who have been on nauru for the past 4 years, since the Tampa steamed into Australian waters and the you-know-what hit the you-know-which. This past week, all but two of the Nauru detainees have been brought to Australia and given visas - yay! This is wonderful news. But the two guys who are left on Nauru are not happy chaps. They are young Iraqi guys who have been informed months after their interviews with DIMIA that they were "unco-operative" during their interviews. Unfortunately nobody deigned to tell them that DURING the interviews! So it is with heavy hearts that they are now sitting on their bums in the Central pacific wondering what went wrong. I have recently come to have an email address by which the two guys can be contacted, so if you're interested in emailing them for some support, drop me a line and i'll hook you up.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what the refugee issue looks like these days. I spoke at a church in Heidelberg on Sunday night, it is a little house church with about 15 people, and it was so good. I haven't spoken about the issue for a few months, and it was so good to get back on the horse, to think about some of it almost in retrospect. There are no more kids in detention. The centres are emptying, thank GOD. Cornelia rau is the best thing that's ever happened to facilitate public awareness of issues of human rights in Australia! It's just crazy. But something i've particularly realised is that the laws which provide for mandatory indefinite detention are still there. Things have not changed because the law has changed - the law has in fact become MORE draconian over the past few years. The only reason things have changed is because of public pressure and a slow groundwell of public opinion... Which is great. But leaves me very very afraid that the next time a few boatloads of asylum seekers arrive (as is their right under Art 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), the same stuff is going to happen all over again. Why would it not? The only way we can prevent Episode 2 of Tampa and Children Overboard is by not standing for it as a nation. Which is why i'm convinced that public education on this and similar issues will never, ever be obsolete or past its use-by date.

It would also be fascinating to think about how this issue would change in the context of the enactment of a Bill of Rights. Obviously the Federal government would do almost anything to subordinate any prospective Human Rights instrument to pre-existing laws (Migration Act, the anti-sedition legislation etc), but the safeguards that a Bill or Charter of rights may represent would likely colour the Government's treatment of the issue... I'll write a bit more about BoR stuff soon.

Having been bled completely dry by two Baxter visits in quick succession, tonight I have renewed fire in my belly and it's great! Let's get out there.

Seeking Asylum in Australia 1995-2005: Experiences and Policies

2005-11-04T11:25:00.000+11:00

I'm on the organising committee of this Conference being held on 27-28 November at Monash Uni in Caulfield. It's going to be GREAT! We have some amazing speakers - refugees are going to speak, we've got Julian Burnside QC, Spencer Zifcak, Dave Corlett, Arnold Zable, and heaps of others. It should be a fantastic couple of days.

http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/historical-studies/news-and-events/seeking-asylum-2005/index.html

Contact me on jessie@thejusticeproject.com.au for registrations. And spread the word!

Morning and afternoon tea and lunch provided. Refreshments provided Sunday evening for the performance.

This conference will explore the motivation and experiences of people seeking asylum in Australia and the responses of various sectors of the Australian community. Refugees will give their first-hand accounts of what it is like to be an asylum seeker. Members of the Australian community working with asylum seekers as members of support groups, as well as academics, public servants and legal and medical professionals will discuss the development and implementation of Australia’s refugee policy and consider how it has impacted upon the lives it directly affects, and on Australia as a nation.

Sponsored by the Australian Centre for the Study of Jewish Civilisation and the Institute for Public History, and supported by the Faculties of Arts, Medicine, Law, and Education and the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements.

Have you ever heard Julian Burnside QC talk about refugees...?

2005-11-04T09:28:00.000+11:00

If not, you're missing out on something. Follow this link to download a talk he did recently at St Hilary's Church in Kew. You can right click and save it as an mp3 or you can just open in to play in your browser. I think. Anyway, it's worth doing.
http://www.shack.org.au/sermons/Special%20serms.htm

Hello!

2005-11-04T08:05:00.000+11:00

Whoa... big hiatus. I'm sorry. I'm back. My procrastinatory techniques are now soaring to all-time highs, so of course I've decided that updating this blog is a pressing matter that can't possibly wait. Haha. Actually I have an exam tomorrow so i'll probably just make a promise to update more regularly (at LEAST once a week. COME ON), and go to bed to read a bit before I go to sleep. I'm reading 'The Joke' by Milan Kundera and it's absolutely amazing. I've read 3 of his books this year and they knock my socks off. Anyway I have some exciting news - I'm going to Geneva as an intern at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which is really bloody exciting! I'll write more as soon as I get around to it (ie after my vomity exam tomorrow), and I hope to keep this blog all friendly and warm and updated from now on. So read me! Please :)

Letter to the Editor (The Age) 1/6/05

2005-10-10T00:43:00.000+10:00

No shame in junking a shameful policy
After a number of years of simmering controversy, it is hardly surprising that the issue of Australia's treatment of asylum seekers is finally coming to a head. The moves of Petro Georgiou and his cohort signal a tacit shift in the opinions of the Australian electorate, and highlight the moral and political unsustainability of the current policy.

It is clear that a large section of the Australian population wishes to see changes made to the system of mandatory indefinite detention, detention of children, access to mental health care in detention, and the reinstatement of judicial review in cases falling under the Migration Act. We also call for a royal commission into immigration detention and the abolition of the temporary protection visa - condemned as inhumane by the Howard Government when it was proposed by Pauline Hanson at the 1998 election.

Mr Howard, were your Government to take a more humane approach to asylum seekers, it would not be seen as sign of weak leadership, but an acknowledgement that the current policy is flawed. There is no shame in putting to bed a policy that has caused immeasurable damage and suffering, closing a reprehensible chapter in our nation's history and moving into a future of compassion, hope and exemplary global citizenship.
Jessie Taylor, Hawthorn

Our Trip To Baxter...

2005-08-06T23:41:00.000+10:00

so i wrote this really long article thing about our trip to baxter, and i posted it here, but it's changed a bit since. it's fairly informative, gives you a good outline of the issues and everything, so if you'd like a copy of it please just email me and i'll zap it off to you. i might edit it a bit and put it up here again some time... we'll see.

Cheers!

What are the new reforms?

2005-06-20T09:55:00.000+10:00

Over the past couple of days i have got alot of calls from friends who have said "you must be excited about the new refgee policy reforms!". The truth is, I'm not really! There have been some small changes - granted - but they are really very minor when you unpack the frilly words and get to the bottom of the meaning. I'll put below the press release from the Prime Minister's office so that you can read it for yourself. Soon, when i get around to it, I'll go through the policy and outline some of the technicalities and problems and reasons why it's really not that cool after all...

Happy reading! (It's long- sorry about that!)

The Australian Government has decided on a number of changes to both the law and the handling of matters relating to people in immigration detention.

The broad framework of the Government’s approach is unaltered. It is essential that we continue to have an orderly and well managed migration and visa system.

There can however be significant improvements which will mean that current policy is administered with greater flexibility, fairness and, above all, in a more timely manner.

The Minister for Immigration has already announced changes in relation to the issuing of removal pending visas.

The Migration Act will be amended to provide an additional non-compellable power for the Minister to specify alternative arrangements for a person’s detention and conditions to apply to that person.

The purpose of this change is to enable the detention of families with children to take place in the community where conditions would be set to meet their individual circumstances.

The Migration Act will also be amended to provide an additional non-compellable power for the Minister to grant a visa to a person in detention.

In future all primary protection visa decisions taken by the Department of Immigration will need to occur within three months of application. Likewise, reviews by the Refugee Review Tribunal must occur within three months of application.

Cases where these time limits are not met will be the subject of periodic reports to Parliament.

Where a person has been in detention for two years or more there will automatically be a requirement that every six months a report on that person must be furnished by the Department to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman will assess that report, providing his assessment to the Minister who must then table the assessment in Parliament.

The Ombudsman may in his assessment recommend the release of a person, the grant of a permanent visa, that the person remain in detention or indeed any other recommendation he thinks fit.

No recommendation of the Ombudsman will in any way bind the Minister.

The Department will complete all primary assessments of applications for permanent protection visas from the existing case load of temporary protection visa holders by 31st October 2005. To expedite this process decisions will be taken on the application papers although the option of an interview will be available if there were a disposition to reject an application for a permanent visa.

Implementation of these changes to the Immigration Act and related procedures will be overseen by an Inter-departmental Committee to be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

The Member for Kooyong Mr Petro Georgiou MP has informed me that he will be withdrawing the two private members’ bills of which he has given notice.

Detail of Immigration Changes
Children and families

The Australian Government will amend the Migration Act 1958 to provide an additional non-compellable power for the Minister, acting personally, allowing her to specify alternative arrangements for a person's detention and impose conditions to apply to that person. The Act would be amended to state that ‘the Parliament affirms as a principle that a minor child shall only be detained as a measure of last resort’.

The objective of these amendments is to ensure that families with children in detention will be placed in the community, under community detention arrangements, with conditions set to meet their individual circumstances.

The Second Reading Speech to the Bill will make it clear that the overall intention of the package of amendments will be to ensure that the best interests of minor children are taken into account and that any alternatives to detention of children are considered in administering the relevant provisions.

The new arrangements will allow all families with children who are currently in detention centres and Residential Housing Projects to be placed in the community under community detention arrangements. Where their primary processing has been completed and removal arrangements are not underway, community detention arrangements will be made for these families as soon as possible, following decision by the Minister. It may take 4-6 weeks to make suitable arrangements for the families currently in detention.

In future where families come into detention, which occurs primarily as a result of compliance action, they would be placed in Residential Housing Projects closest to the city of their prior residence (where available) while assessment takes place about their prospect for removal. The Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) advises that this primary assessment will take no longer than 3-4 weeks. During this time the Minister would be able to make a determination for their alternate detention in the community.

It is the Government’s intention that where primary assessment is being undertaken, removal is imminent or conditions of community detention have been breached, families (including fathers) would be housed in Residential Housing Projects in the capital city of their prior residence (where available) rather than detention centres.

This intention will be reflected in the Second Reading Speech and the Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill.

Amendments to DIMIA instructions to staff regarding families in detention will be made to refer to the Second Reading Speech for the Bill. Guidelines will also be prepared for those preparing documents for the exercise of the Minister’s discretion – these will also make the intention clear. Both the DIMIA instructions and guidelines are public documents.
Certain long term detainees

The Government announced on 16 June 2005 that it has amended the Removal Pending Bridging Visa (RPBV) regulations to focus eligibility on persons whose applications have been refused at both the primary and review stages and where their removal is not practicable at the time (or within a short timeframe). Having litigation on foot will not be a bar to eligibility, unless the litigation is the only reason that removal cannot be achieved.

The Government will also amend the Migration Act to make the Minister’s invitation to apply for an RPBV a non-compellable power.

General power for the Minister to grant a visa to a person in detention

The Government will amend the Migration Act to provide an additional non-compellable power for the Minister, acting personally, to grant a visa to a person in detention.

Protection visa processing time limits

The Government will amend the Migration Act to include processing time limits in the Act for:

Primary Protection Visa decision making by DIMIA a within a three month period from the date of application; and

Review by the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) within a three month period from the date of application for review.
DIMIA will be required to report a failure to meet the time limits to the Minister who will be required to regularly table such reports in parliament (in a manner consistent with the privacy of individual applicants).

It is noted that elements of processing time are not within DIMIA’s or the RRT’s control (for example security checking processes, provision of information from the applicant and the timeliness of information from other Governments), and that information will need to be addressed in any reports that are provided to the Minister.

Ombudsman oversight

The Commonwealth Ombudsman will be given a specific role reviewing the cases of persons who have been in detention for more than two years. This role would be consistent with the Ombudsman’s existing powers but would be formalised in legislation to ensure regular reporting by DIMIA and tabling of assessments in Parliament:

DIMIA would be required to report every six months to the Commonwealth Ombudsman on the status and case management of any person in immigration detention for two years or longer.

The Ombudsman could conduct appropriate inquiries on any issues arising from the report, including asking DIMIA to furnish further information, answer questions (including under oath) and produce documents. The Ombudsman also has the power to enter subject agencies’ premises.

The Ombudsman would provide an assessment of that report and any recommendations regarding detainee cases to the Minister for Immigration.

The Ombudsman will be able to make recommendations including, but not limited to, recommending continued detention, release into the community or the granting of permanent residence.

The Minister for Immigration would be required to table a copy of the assessment and any recommendations from the Ombudsman in Parliament. The copy to be tabled would take into account the need to protect the privacy of individual detainees.

No recommendation by the Ombudsman will in any way bind the Minister.

The process for reporting on and assessing cases would be established in such a way as to ensure it did not give rise to any additional legal rights including rights of appeal.
Rapid processing of outstanding Permanent Protection Visa applications from TPV holders

Noting that approximately two-thirds of the current TPV caseload has already been processed at primary stage by DIMIA, except for finalisation of ASIO checks: In relation to the remainder of applications at primary and review stage:

Decision making will proceed on the basis of written material with processing staff making decisions on the basis of the papers/claims made by applicants. In cases where an assessment was made on the papers that refusal was assessed as likely, an interview would be offered to the applicant to allow them an opportunity to answer questions and support their application orally. Cases refused at the primary stage would then be able to proceed to the RRT as per the normal course of events.

DIMIA will work with ASIO to ensure timely resolution of security checks. At the moment the completion of security checks is a significant factor in finalising decisions and issuing visas to a significant group of cases already processed by DIMIA or the RRT. it is noted that there are currently approx 800 cases still awaiting finalisation of security checks and efforts will be made to ensure this occurs as soon as practicable.

DIMIA and the RRT will accord the highest priority to the finalisation of the caseloads, including through the formation of taskforces.
DIMIA will complete all primary assessments of applications for Permanent Protection Visas from the existing caseload of Temporary Protection Visa holders by 31 October 2005.

Overall management of changes - Immigration IDC

The Government will establish a high level Immigration IDC chaired by the Secretary of PM&C to oversee the implementation of all changes discussed above. Other agencies involved will include the DIMIA, the Attorney-General’s Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ASIO and the Department of Family and Community Services.

The Minister for Immigration and the Chairman of the IDC will meet regularly with interested members of the Government to discuss progress on implementation of the changes.

17 June 2005

(Cartoon above courtesy of Mr Bill Leak)

Howard and Georgiou Strike A Deal

2005-06-17T17:26:00.000+10:00

The PM has announced major changes to Australia's system of immigration detention.

Families with children will be placed in community housing, rather than in detention centres, and thousands of those on temporary protection visas will be allowed to stay in Australia permanently. (This is so good!)

The primary decision on an asylum seeker's case must be made within three months, and the Refugee Review Tribunal must also finalise decisions within three months.

Long-term detainees who have been held for two years will have their cases referred to the Commonwealth ombudsman for review.

If a person has been detained for two years or more there will be an automatic requirement that every six months a report on their detention must be given to the Ombudsman who will give an assessment to the minister.

The Ombudsman's report to the minister will be a recommendation only.

Mr Howard says he wants a more cases to be dealt with in a timely way.

"Above all in a more timely manner," he said.

"It's fair to say that the more I have delved into this issue the greatest areas of complaint really arise around the issue of time, and therefore quite a number of the announcements I am about to make relate to the issue of the time it takes to deal with matters."

Mr Howard says mandatory detention remains.

"I think they represent a sensible advance on the existing arrangements. They don't undermine the existing policy," he said.

Liberal MP Petro Georgiou has welcomed the deal, saying he will withdraw his two Private Members Bills.

Lobby group, Justice for Refugees, has welcomed the changes.

But its chairman, Don McMaster, says detention cases should be reviewed sooner than after two years.

"I suppose anything is a step in the right direction, but I think two years is a bit too long," he said.

"Certainly after a year would be a much better time span, and using the ombudsman is an improvement."

(Source : ABC News)

Important Policy Seminar

2005-06-16T15:38:00.000+10:00

On Friday 17th Petro Georgiou will be outlining his Private Member's Bill to reform mandatory detention at the University of Melbourne. Given the recent revelations of serious problems in both detention centres and the Department of Immigration, it is important that this Bill be fully and openly debated. He will be speaking at a forum organised by A Just Australia, hosted by Corrine Grant from ABC TV The Glasshouse, David Manne, Co-ordinator of theRefugee and Immigration Legal Centre (RILC) and Grant Mitchell from the Asylum Seeker Centre will also be speaking. . The Lecture Theatre is building number 134, next to Gate 3 on Swanston St.

POLICY FORUM – THERE IS A BETTER WAY
Friday June 17 7.00pm - 9.00pm
Melbourne University, Theatre A, Elisabeth Murdoch Building

Are there alternatives to detention? Experts say there is A Better Way.
Come to hear the sensible middle ground of this politically sensitive issue.

MC - Corrine Grant of The Glasshouse (ABC TV)
Speakers include:

Petro Georgiou, MP. He will be outlining the details of his two private members bills, the main points seek to:
* release all children and families assessed by judge not to pose any danger
* Act of Compassion: long-term detainees who have been in
detention for more than a year to be released after individual security assessment by a judge with same entitlements as the new bridging visa
* 90 day limit on detention after which a judge will review any
continued need to detain
* release into community on bridging visa with work rights and
Medicare whilst being processed
* ending temporary protection with all protection visas to be
permanent

David Manne, Co-ordinator of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre
(RILC) who will outline the current legal framework for seeking asylum, and the problems in the new bridging visa offered by the Government which removes people's legal rights.

Grant Mitchell of the Asylum Seeker Centre of Uniting Care's Hotham Mission, which has years of experience working with community-based asylum seekers. Along with the Justice for Asylum Seekers network, they have pioneered policy proposals for the community release of asylum seekers. These proposals have been tested - they have far higher rates of voluntary return of failed asylum seekers and they cost far less to run. These programs could be implemented right now - all that is lacking is the political will. www.thebetterway.info

Go Petro!

2005-06-14T12:37:00.000+10:00

This morning we have news that Petro Georgiou is pushing his private members bills into parliament today! He and his cohorts met with Mr Howard last night, and Mr Howard made some significant concessions, but Georgiou was not satisfied so he's going ahead. This is *amazing*. The introduction of of a private member's bill is a sign of mutiny in the party, particularly since Howard has said this is not an issue of conscience. At the same time, Mr Beazley is vocally supportive of the bills, which means that they will at least get a good go in parliament. This is quite amazing. Although, alot of Coalition MPs are still in favour of mandatory detention with some 'softening' around the edges so we'll see how it goes.
If you live in an electorate outside petro georgiou's kooyong (which most of my friends DON'T!) PLEASE write to your MP stating that you support Petro's bills.
This could make a massive difference - it's very exciting.

Come on!

:c)

What's news today

2005-06-12T16:43:00.001+10:00

Hi,

Well today is kind of peculiar. I was driving along this morning and got a text message while stopped at traffic lights, telling me to check out the front of the age. i quickly indicated and pulled into a servo, where i made a beeline for the papers, and stood there reading about the new reforms to the detention policy that have been predicted early by the Palmer inquiry. (i did buy the paper, too, for any disgruntled newsagency owners who might be reading...!) They include the introduction of a proper review body with actual power (yippee!!), a bridging visa for long-term detainees (meaning they can be out of detention while their claims are being processed), the closure of the isolation facility at baxter, and other good things. I'm so glad.

Also, today I found out that a guy we've been visiting this year got out of detention on friday. which is SO amazing! i'm so relieved and happy. but he's got a temporary protection visa, which means that unless the TPV is abolished, he will have to relive the badness of his RRT hearings and 're-prove' his refugee status again in three years. hmm. let's abolish TPVs

I'm also gearing up for the trip to baxter. There are a lot of people coming so it'll be really fun on one level, but i know that the 2 days we spend there will be pretty nasty. there will be 5 visit sessions of 2-3 hours each, and i'm just not really looking forward to the fallout from those. by all accounts baxter is an absolute crazy-factory, and we will be the first visitors to some of the people since they got there. and then the saying goodbye and leaving part will be awful too! hehe when one of my friends got moved from Maribyrnong to Baxter, we only had 12 hours notice, and i went to say goodbye to him. at the end of the visit, i gave him a hug and he left, and i cried my eyes out! I'm not good with goodbyes. :c)

That's enough for now.
Catch you soon

What is a Private Members Bill??

2005-06-02T10:26:00.000+10:00

(Courtesy of A Just Australia)

A lot of people are wondering what is the process for Petro Georgiou’s Private Member’s Bill? Will it get to a vote? When will it be debated? Could it result in legislative change?

For supporters of A JUST AUSTRALIA and their networks I have attempted to give a description of this complicated process.

Any MP can propose a Private Member’s Bill without approval from the party they are a member of (hence the term private members bill, as they are doing it as a private person not a party member).

The bill goes to the select committee who must approve it for general lawfulness e.g. is it obviously unconstitutional? Once the select committee approves the bill, it is put on the notice paper. The process of going on the notice paper means that the bill is “taken as read[1]” which means on the next sitting day of parliament it gets entered into Hansard (the record of everything that happens in the two chambers of parliament). At this point the private member gets to speak to the bill for 5 minutes, but there is no time put aside for response or debate, and the bill is not voted on.

Approval by the select committee simply means it goes on the notice paper which is the list of bills waiting to be put onto the legislative agenda for debate and vote in the chamber. The government of the day schedules the legislative agenda. Most private members bills languish at this point and never surface again.

There is private business time in the chamber where this bill could be raised and debated. But the member has to negotiate for enough support from other MPs to get a time slot on this limited agenda. And even if they got on, Private Business has a time limit on the debate and vote (generally 1.5 hours). This means that parties can stop a vote on private business by using delaying tactics. Before the vote is taken, everyone who wants to have their say about the issue can register and they get a timed 20 minute slot. By stacking the list of speakers with more people than can speak within the allotted 1.5 hours, the issue cannot be voted upon as not everyone who registered got to have their say, so the issue is deemed to have not been fully and openly debated and considered.

Chances are the member will never get his/her bill another time slot, but even they did, the bill can be ‘talked out’ before a vote every single time it goes up. In this way, the principles of democracy are used as a tool to stop the process of democracy.

Senate Bills – the Senate can lodge bills in the same way, but again it will be talked out before a vote is reached. And even if it passed the Senate, that does not force the House of Reps to debate and vote on the bill as the government schedules senate bills in the same way as private members bills.

Without government support, this bill will never be voted on. This bill is due to be discussed in the coalition party room meeting on Tuesday, 31st May, 2005. It is highly unlikely the government will support this bill for open debate. Had the opposition stated they would not support this bill, the government could allow it to go to a vote to further wedge Labor’s support base, as well as showing it allows for ‘open and democratic’ debate within the party. Since the ALP has indicated it supports the bill, there is no political advantage to the government to allow this bill to be openly debated, therefore they will not let it go further.

What can you do?

We can create a situation where there IS political advantage to taking up the proposals in this Bill. By showing public support for the solutions we can influence our government to adopt them.

We encourage everyone to make their voice heard in support of sensible and humane policy reforms that are immediately achievable.

The Bottom line; Take Care

Take care when speaking with detained asylum seekers. Please do not raise their hopes that this bill will itself result in legislative change. It is a very important step in the process of policy reform, by showing how this situation could be resolved in a humane and sensible way. But in its current form the Bill will probably not result in immediate change.

Please see the latest newsletter from A JUST AUSTRALIA http://www.ajustaustralia.com/whatshappening_newsletter.php?act=newsletter&id=34 for an explanation of the bill proposed by Petro Georgiou and steps you can take to support this proposal.

ACT NOW!
YOU DON’T NEED TO BE AN EXPERT TO HAVE YOUR SAY.

[1] Taken as read simply means the text is forwarded to everyone and it is not actually read out as most bills are so mind-numbingly boring and long it would be considered cruel and unusual treatment to make members sit through an actual reading.

Kate Gauthier
National Coordinator
A Just Australia

Letter To The Editor 1/6/05...

2005-06-01T16:36:00.000+10:00

No shame in junking a shameful policy

After a number of years of simmering controversy, it is hardly surprising that the issue of Australia's treatment of asylum seekers is finally coming to a head. The moves of Petro Georgiou and his cohort signal a tacit shift in the opinions of the Australian electorate, and highlight the moral and political unsustainability of the current policy.

It is clear that a large section of the Australian population wishes to see changes made to the system of mandatory indefinite detention, detention of children, access to mental health care in detention, and the reinstatement of judicial review in cases falling under the Migration Act. We also call for a royal commission into immigration detention and the abolition of the temporary protection visa - condemned as inhumane by the Howard Government when it was proposed by Pauline Hanson at the 1998 election.

Mr Howard, were your Government to take a more humane approach to asylum seekers, it would not be seen as sign of weak leadership, but an acknowledgement that the current policy is flawed. There is no shame in putting to bed a policy that has caused immeasurable damage and suffering, closing a reprehensible chapter in our nation's history and moving into a future of compassion, hope and exemplary global citizenship.
Jessie Taylor, Hawthorn

Letter to The Age... 31 May 2005

2005-05-31T08:21:00.000+10:00

Let's see if it gets published...!
Jess

Following a number of years of simmering controversy,
it is hardly surprising that the issue of Australia’s
treatment of asylum seekers is finally coming to a
head.

The moves of Petro Georgiou and his cohort signal a
tacit shift in the opinions of the Australian
electorate, and highlight the moral and political
unsustainability of the current policy.

In the aftermath of the devastating Southeast Asian
tsunami, the generosity and compassion of the
Australian people was put on show for the world to
see. It seems incongruous for our refugee policy not
to mirror these qualities, of which Australia should
be very proud.

It is clear that a large section of the Australian
population wishes to see changes made to the system of
mandatory indefinite detention, detention of children,
access to mental health care in detention, and the
reinstatement of judicial review in cases falling
under the Migration Act. We also call for a Royal
Commission into immigration detention, and the
abolition of the Temporary Protection Visa, condemned
as inhumane by the Howard government when it was
proposed by Pauline Hanson at the ’98 election.

Mr Howard - were your government to take a more humane
approach to asylum seekers, it would not be seen as
sign of weak leadership, but an acknowledgement that
the current policy is flawed. There is no shame in
putting to bed a policy that has caused immeasurable
damage and suffering, closing a reprehensible chapter
in our nation’s history and moving into a future of
compassion, hope, and exemplary global citizenship.

URGENT: Contact your local MP to end indefinite immigration detention

2005-05-26T12:38:00.000+10:00

An email from Amnesty International - Thursday 26th May 2005

Dear Friends,

You are no doubt aware of the growing debate in the media about proposals from within the Federal Liberal Party to change Australia’s mandatory immigration detention regime.

You can help to influence this debate.

You can urge your local Federal Member of Parliament (MP) to support moves to end indefinite immigration detention, release children from detention and allow refugees who have been granted temporary protection to live in the community permanently.

Why now?
Liberal backbencher Petro Georgiou MP is proposing to introduce two Private Member's Bills, with the support of several of his colleagues, to address Australia’s inhumane mandatory detention policy. This is a significant development in the refugee debate and provides an opportunity to end the human rights violations under Australia’s mandatory immigration detention system.

In recent weeks serious cases have come to light: the wrongful detention of Cornelia Rau and up to 200 others, the wrongful deportation of Vivian Alvarez Solon and the eventual release of three-year old Naomi Leong after being detained for her entire life. Most recently the Federal Court held that the Commonwealth failed in its duty of care to provide adequate psychiatric health care to mentally ill detainees at Baxter.

What does the Private Member's Bills provide for?

those who have been in detention for more than a year will be released while their claims for protection are resolved;
release of children and their parents from detention, unless they pose a risk to the public or are likely to abscond;
permanent protection for Temporary Protection Visa holders;
asylum seekers who arrive without a visa will only be detained initially for up to 90 days, which can only be extended by application to the Federal Court; and,
permanent protection for those whose claim for asylum has failed but who cannot be removed from Australia (after 3 years).
What you can do?
In your personal capacity - as a citizen living in their electorate and not as a member of Amnesty International – politely phone, fax or write to your MP today to support reform of Australia’s mandatory detention regime.

Phone your MP's office and ask that your MP support the measures contained in the Private Members Bills to end the human rights abuses against refugees and asylum seekers.

Write a 'follow up letter' outlining your concerns - and cc it to the Prime Minister the Hon. John Howard MP.

Get five of your friends, family or workmates to do the same.

Respond to any local radio talkback on the issue and write to your local paper.
Points to make:

Release all children from detention - there are currently 68 children in detention. The latest detainee, baby Michael Andrew Tran, was born on Christmas Island on Monday 23 May 2005.
End Mandatory Detention - thousands of asylum seekers have been detained for anywhere up to seven years under Australia's policy. Just this month an Iranian man was recognised as a refugee and released after having spent 5 years in detention.
End Indefinite Detention - under Australian law, the Australian Government can detain failed asylum seekers until they die. Peter Qasim has been detained for almost seven years, despite requesting to be returned to any other country that will accept him.
Grant Permanent Protection for Refugees - Australia is the only country to grant temporary status to people recognised as refugees. Over 9000 refugees, fearful of being returned to countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, are having to re-prove their status once their 3 year visa expires.
The Australian Government must bring its refugee policies in line with international human rights standards.

Who are your elected representatives in the House of Representatives and in the Senate?
Find out which is your electorate, your elected representative in the House of Representatives and your Senators.

Find your electorate here: http://www.aec.gov.au/esearch/main.htm

Find your rep in the House of Representatives here: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/mi-elctr.asp

Find your senators here: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/si-state.htm

Back Shortly...

2005-05-10T08:10:00.000+10:00

I will be overseas for a couple of weeks, but after
that, watch this space! And keep your eyes on the
news...
Cheers

The Aim of this Blog.

2005-05-06T00:30:00.000+10:00

Hi - back again! :c) I want to delve into the claggy
mess that is the legal process surrounding australia's
immigration law, particularly pertaining to the
refugee bit. i don't want to make it too complicated,
because when divided into bite-sized morcels it's very
understandable, and i think it's important for as many
people as possible to have a basic handle on it. i am
also VERY keen to debunk some common myths about the
whole shebang.

any and all of the following choice phrases represent
myths:
- "..well they shouldn't have jumped the queue!
flamin' queue jumpers..."
- "they just want to come to australia because it's
nice here, so they paid a people smuggler and now they
want a free ride on the gravy train"
- "if you're in jail you must have done *something*
wrong!"
- "they just want to bring their weird foreign
customs, funny smelling food and wacky beliefs to
australia and take over!"
- "if we let one in, they'll come in floods!"
- "they are trying to trick us by coming in a leaky
boat without the right papers... saucy bastards..."
- "we have to protect our national security, and we
can't do that if we're accepting refugees willy-nilly"
- ... and any reference to asylum seekers as 'illegal
immigrants' is not only wrong in my opinion, it's
actually wrong under international law.

each of those statements / assertions / ideas
represents a different misconception about the issue,
and i think it's exactly these kinds of
misunderstandings which are really harmful not only to
the hopes and lives of asylum seekers, but also to
australia's integrity as a nation. We're a country
built on immigration - and lots of that immigration
has been during times of hardship, following the world
wars, and the vietnam war, and let's face it, if all
of us buggered back off where we originally came from,
australia would be a fairly empty place.

So, i want to address the following issues, one by
one, over a period of time, and telling it with a
mixture of understanding of the law / policy, the
reality of the situation, and the impacts that all of
it has on the asylum seekers themselves. this list is
subject to amendment:

- what does international law say about refugees, and
what does that mean for australia?
- why do people leave their countries?
- are there queues to come to australia?
- how do people get here / get in?
- what happens when they arrive and aren't allowed in?
- what is immigration detention like? (this is a big
one and will probably come in dribs and drabs...
you'll get a sense of it from the answers to the other
questions...)
- how long do people stay in immigration detention?
- why do people have to stay in detention for so long?
(this will also be a corker, as it will encompass a
look at the mildly ridiculous and convoluted legal
minefield surrounding this system... and there will be
diagrams, if i can figure out how to do it... :c) )

i will also share the stories of a number of people i
have met in detention over the past few years. i'm
really looking forward to doing that - that is the
part where it really starts to *matter*.

in going over all of the topics above, i'll refer to
some important documents, such as the universal
declaration of human rights, and the UN conventions on
refugees, on civil and political rights, and on the
rights of the child. we'll put up these documents,
and some other links, for your perusal! they are the
fundamental documents upon which international law in
this area is based. basically, they're the measuring
stick. have a look.

one other thing - i think the issue of refugees has
been treated pretty badly by alot of refugee advocates
in some situations. there have been so many pictures
of protests and violence and smoke bombs and tear gas
and scary, aggressive reaction to the issue. while i
think that it is VITAL to stay passionate and keep
fanning the fire in our bellies, i really believe that
aggression and rash, ill-considered behaviour can be
counter productive. i hope that while you read my blog
you will have a sense of how angry i am about this
system, and how i hate its injustice, but that i ain't
going to be throwing no bricks at no cops outside no
detention centre. i would rather tell people like
your good selves about the badness, so that the whole
culture of australia's approach to refugees can change
from the inside out. so please, tell you friends.
cheers!

The Born-Again Blog...!

2005-05-05T16:44:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone,

Well after a significant blog drought I have been persuaded by my good friend and nerd-above-all-nerds tim to maintain this site, post to it regularly, and become irretrievably sucked into nerd land, where tim dwells happily, keeping all kinds of strange sleeping hours.

There is just so much stuff going on inside our detention centres, there is a new article in the paper every couple of days about developments in law and policy, and instead of boring the knickers off my friends all the time (sorry guys), i shall post here and those of you who are actually interested (no breath-holding...!) can read for yourselves.

My background, briefly, is that i'm in my penultimate year of Arts(Hons)/Law (Hons next year hopefully...!) at Monash Uni, where i've managed to keep myself entertained for six years (so far). One day, a friend of mine asked me if i wanted to visit the immigration detention centre at maribyrnong. "Yeah, aah, no thanks" was my reply. Then i sort of thought about it, realised that i was kind of curious, and that maybe i should check it out. Well, that was almost three years ago. For the last two years i have been visiting at least once a week, and it is a very high priority in my life. I look forward to sharing with you through this blog my transition from "myeh, detention centre, whatever" to my current state of total passion about this issue, and the people it affects!

Anyway I must dash for now but will write more very very soon.

Cheers

Jess