A boatload of 54 asylum-seekers that was intercepted in Australian waters on Sunday 31 July will be the first sent to Malaysia under the new swap deal.
It has taken 4 days for the boat to be escorted by police to Christmas Island where the news was broken to the asylum-seekers from Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq, that they won’t have their claims for refugee status processed in Australia. Instead they will be sent to Malaysia for processing with no guarantee of ever being resettled back to Australia.
The asylum-seekers were first taken to Christmas Island for fingerprinting and health checks, and within days they will be forced to fly to Malaysia and go to the back of a 90,000 person processing queue.
If the asylum-seekers try to resist, there could be ugly scenes. Police have been authorized to use force to make sure they board the plane to Kuala Lumpur and riot officers have been training daily in a jungle clearing on Christmas Island.
Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says the agreement with Malaysia is designed to send asylum-seekers the message that they should not risk their lives on a boat to Australia with the hope of having their claims processed in Australia.
A Hazara asylum-seeker from Pakistan told The Australian newspaper that most of his people were waiting in Indonesia until the Australian government clarified its intentions in actions rather than words.
He said asylum-seekers already in detention on Christmas Island and the mainland and awaiting processing were phoning back to Indonesia advising relatives and friends against taking boats.
To all those asylum-seekers on route to Australia stop where you are and apply for asylum with UNHCR to get to Australia the legal way. The illegal way will just get you sent to Malaysia.
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