The Christmas Island boat tragedy was almost
repeated when another asylum seeker boat came very close to crashing into rocks
off the coast of Christmas Island just over a week ago.
The boat, carrying 79 asylum
seekers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Pakistan, was rescued by
local volunteers and naval personnel in stormy weather on the evening of
November 20. Officials only detected the boat after one of the passengers made
an emergency telephone call to a relative living in Australia. Those on board
were taken to Christmas Island for health, security and identity checks.
According to the asylum seekers on board, the boat’s
captain jumped overboard before the Australian Navy arrived. Under new laws
in Australia crew on asylum seeker boats who are arrested will serve mandatory
time in jail. Officials believe this is the first time a captain has tried to
avoid being arrested.
The captain
is still missing and feared dead after search-and-rescue efforts by
Australian officials failed to find him.
The Refugee
Action Coalition's Ian Rintoul says the Government's people smuggling laws
should be abandoned. “The people who are in control of the boats are becoming
so fearful of consequences of carrying asylum seekers that they would jump
overboard not only endangering themselves but potentially endangering other
people," he said.
The near-sinking occurred almost a year after
last December’s tragedy in which a boat carrying asylum seekers smashed into
Christmas Island’s rocky shore in similar conditions. The 2010 disaster cost
the lives of 50 asylum seekers. The latest boat rescue also comes less than a
month after 20 asylum seekers and crew drowned when their boat sank before it
could even leave Indonesian waters. These incidents highlight the dangers
facing asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat.
No comments:
Post a Comment