MYTHS ABOUT ASYLUM SEEKERS DEBUNKED

For those of you who are lucky/unlucky enough to be living in Australia, I have no doubt that you are aware of how our lovely government and opposition detain asylum seekers and refugees in conditions that even a convicted murderer are not subjected to. Of course the conditions are better then what you would face as an Australian national should the US government decide to lock you up in Guantanamo Bay, but that's a different story.

Now when people defend this abhorrent policy of our government, they often espouse certain neo-fascist myths to support there position. I will attempt to debunk some of these myths.

1.They are illegals!

Well actually no, under a number of treaties relating to refugees that Australia has signed and incorporated into Australian law, including the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (COR) and the 1967 amendment the Protocol Relating to Refugees, asylum seekers are legally allowed to seek refuge in signatory countries. Such as Australia. Thus they are not illegals; all they are doing is asking Australia to actually adhere to international law, international law that Australia has incorporated into it's law.

2. They are queue jumpers!

I know you shouldn't answer a question with a question, but What Queue? In many of the places these people are coming from there is no readily available Australian Embassy to apply for asylum, or their access to the embassy is restricted. Even when they can get to an Australian embassy, this embassy may be monitored by their government and visiting it can put their life at risk. However most importantly, even if they can visit the Australian Embassy, there is no guarantee that they will be added to the "queue"; there is no requirement for the embassy or the Australian government to process their claim. They only way they can get the Australian government to process their claim is by coming to Australia and applying for asylum, thus the reason why people do this.

3. They must criminals because they don't have or get rid of their passports!

When you are a person trying to escape your country of origin because you are wanted by the government for political activities, or because you are a member of a persecuted minority, the last thing you would want to carry on you, or be sent back to your country of origin with, is your passport outlining all your personal details so that the oppressive government you are fleeing finds it easier to identify and torture/imprison/kill you. It's common sense. They don't have or get rid of their passports for safety reasons.

4. Who cares if other countries have found some people to be refugees that Australia rejected as refugees. We have different laws!

Again as signatory to certain conventions relating to refugees we are bound by certain definitions of refugees and are bound to provide asylum to people who fit this definition. The fact that people who have had their asylum claims in Australia rejected have subsequently received asylum in countries such as New Zealand and Canada means that Australia is breaching internationally accepted laws relating to refugees.

5. If we let the bastards in they will take our jobs!

This argument relates to all immigrants, not just refugees. Studies show that for every 9 immigrants that come to Australia there are 10 jobs created. So even if the 9 immigrants are all of working age, their is still a net growth of one job. Thus immigrants create jobs, not take them.

That 's all for now. I will debunk other myths on asylum seekers in a future post. However if you are in NSW, please visit the RAC NSW website at www.racnsw.org and become involved . If you live in another Australian state or territory, visit the RAC NSW links page at http://www.racnsw.org/links.php for details on groups where you live