I’ve never thought the issue of asylum seekers, or ‘boat people’ was all that complex. There are plenty of places in the world at the moment where people are getting bombed, or systematically killed off by their government – and it makes good sense for them to come here (by whatever means they can manage). It seems straight forward that we should be able to process them efficiently and humanely, accepting genuine refugees and deporting the imposters. This was as true back in 2006 as it is now. That immigration policy is so hard to enact here in Australia is no doubt due to the logic-free fear mongering that forms the basis of the public debate.
Let’s get a couple of things clear. First, the number of asylum seekers that Australia accepts is capped at about 10,000 – a relatively generous commitment by international standards, but still a drop in the ocean amongst our 22,000,000 inhabitants (this is also in the context of the 300,000 new migrants expected to arrive legally this year). Worse still, the recent media blitz concerning the ‘waves of boat people’ focused on just 78 Sri Lankans, fleeing the end of their civil war and systematic hunting by their government. Amongst the estimated 20-odd million refugees worldwide our ‘problem’ is definitely all style and no substance.
Second, much of the political backlash felt by the Rudd government has been due to the perception that he is somehow softer on refugees (perish the thought) and that the boat-flood gates are only just opening. While boat numbers dropped precipitously from a peak in 2001 (5516 refugees), coinciding with Howard’s Pacific Solution, there haven been about 1500 arrivals so far in 2009. While I agree that removing the deterrent effect of up to 3 years mandatory detention on a remote pacific island has contributed – it is surely the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and the crushing of the ethnic Tamils by the Sri Lankan government that is the chief cause of this increase. Some 800,000 Tamils have been displaced by the fighting (and government routing) with 150,000 pouring into camps in neighbouring India alone.
As with many of these apparently hot button issues, it is easy to side passionately with the political Right (and with intolerance) – until you have a single moment of real empathy. It’s easy to be against gay marriage, until your daughter is born a lesbian (see Dick Cheney) and easier still to be pro-war until your son is shipped to Afghanistan. Here in Australia we have the supreme luxury of judging the boat people, free as we are of religious or political persecution, or the risk of stepping on a land mine on the way to work. When you’re next getting your nightly serve of migrant-invasion propaganda, wonder what lengths you’d go to keep your family safe.
