200 asylum-seekers missing after boat sinks on way to Australia

A wooden fishing boat carrying about 250 asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey, that was believed to be heading for Australia sunk 90km (55 miles) off the coast of Indonesia on Saturday.

The boat turned over, broke apart and sank in bad weather and huge waves of up to 5 metres in height off Indonesia’s main island of Java.

Indonesian officials say that only 33 people (30 men, one woman and two children) have been saved. More than 200 asylum-seekers are still missing and thought to be dead.

Lieutenant Alwi Mudzakir a maritime police official heading the search said bad weather and large waves are challenging the rescue operation "We fear that a large number of victims will not be rescued."

Indonesian police blame the accident on people smugglers because they put too many passengers on a boat that was built to only carry 100 people or less.

Survivors said that they and the other passengers came from Iran and Afghanistan, and had each paid smugglers between $2,500 and $5,000 to get on a boat and seek a new life in Australia.

 "According to them, they had flown from Dubai to Jakarta and took buses to an unidentified location in Java to board the boat. They said they were heading to Christmas Island," Mr Purwanto said.

While most estimate that 250 asylum-seekers were on board, some reports say there were 380 asylum-seekers on the boat.

One survivor from Afghanistan, 24-year-old Esmat Adine, gave rescuers an estimate of how many passengers were on the boat.

"He did not know exactly how many passengers there were, but he said that four buses with around 60 or more adult passenger each had turned up to the port where the boat set off from," a translator for Mr. Adine said.

Mr. Esmat Adine told the Antara news agency that during the bad weather the ship had started rocking violently from side to side, triggering panic among the tightly packed passengers.

"That made the boat even more unstable and eventually it sank,” he said.

Mr. Adine added that he and others clung to parts of the broken boat until local fishermen rescued them. He estimated that more than 40 children were on the boat.

Indonesia has more than 18,000 islands and thousands of miles of unpatrolled coastline, making it a key transit point for smuggling migrants.

Australian Government officials have warned asylum-seekers and refugees against attempting to go to Australia by boat because it is so dangerous. 

Last month, a ship carrying about 70 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan capsized in the same area off the southern coast of Central Java province, and at least eight people died.

Australia’s new Home Affairs Minister Mr. Jason Clare blamed people smugglers for the tragedy.

"They're in the business of making money and they don't care if it kills people or not," he said.

December is one of the most dangerous months to attempt a sea crossing to Australia.

The dangerous monsoon season begins December 1 and this tragedy has come just over a year since the Christmas Island boat crash which killed dozens.

First Forced Deportation of Afghan Asylum-seeker from Australia Delayed

The Australian Government's decision to force the deportation of a failed Afghan asylum-seeker for the first time has been temporarily stopped by Australian courts.

Ismail Mirza Jan, 26 years old, fled Afghanistan as a teenager in 2001, three years after his father was killed by the Taliban. He reportedly travelled to Pakistan, Iran and Greece before applying for asylum in Britain. His application was rejected in Britain and then in Ireland, but he was able to live temporarily in Ireland on humanitarian grounds. He arrived in Australia in February 2010 using a false Turkish passport.

He is currently in maximum security at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney after his refugee application was rejected. His application was also rejected by the Refugee Review Tribunal and Australian courts.

Mr Mirza will be charged $2,000 to be flown to Afghanistan and another $30,000 for Australian officials who will need to accompany him.

The Australian Government ordered his removal to Kabul on 15 November 2011. This would have been the first time an Afghan asylum-seeker has been sent home against their wishes because of a deal to return Afghans between Australia, Afghanistan and the UN Refugee Agency. The agreement between them was signed in January 2011. Australia says the agreement allows Australia to force the deportation of Afghans who do not qualify for refugee status and protection.

On Wednesday 16 November lawyers for Mr Mirza applied to the Australian Federal Court to stop his deportation, planned for Saturday 19 November. His lawyer argued that deporting Mr Mirza would go against the Migration Act. His lawyer also says that his client was denied justice because the Government never informed him of the reasons for rejecting his refugee application.

The Court issued a temporary order to stop his forced removal to Kabul until his case can be heard. A refugee activist said the case would probably not be heard until next year.

It is believed that travel documents issued by the Afghan government will expire at the end of January. Documents shown at Court showed that the Afghan government has already approved the deportation.

There are currently 1,246 Afghans in detention in Australia. If this deportation goes ahead, it is likely that more Afghans will be forced to return to Afghanistan if found not to be genuine refugees.

Australian Politicians Blame Each Other as More Asylum Seekers Arrive

Australia’s major political parties are blaming each other after the arrival of three more boats carrying asylum seekers over the weekend.

The first boat with 15 passengers and one crew member was found near Ashmore Islands off the West Australian coast on Saturday 22^nd October.  Another boat carrying 79 passengers and two crew was found north of Christmas Island during the night of the 22^nd of October.  A third boat carrying 44 passengers and three crew was intercepted east of Christmas Island early on Sunday 23^rd of October.

All 138 people are being taken to Christmas Island for initial health and identity checks and to determine their reasons for travelling to Australia.

Both sides of Australian politics are accusing each other of helping people smugglers. Neither side will support the other's proposals for offshore processing of asylum seekers.  Both the Government and the Opposition want to see no asylum-seekers arriving to Australia by boat but can’t agree on where to send the asylum-seekers. The Government wants to use Malaysia for offshore processing.  The Opposition wants to use Nauru.

The Home Affairs Minister described the Opposition Leader as the "best friend" of people smugglers.

The Opposition Leader accused the Government of providing the people smugglers with their "business model".

The Home Affairs Minister also said he did not know how many more asylum-seekers could be housed in the Christmas Island detention centre before it was full.

With these recent boat arrivals, there have now been four boats of asylum seekers to arrive since the Australian Government had to put the Malaysia Plan on hold. Australia’s Immigration Department had warned that going back to onshore processing could lead up to 600 asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat every month.

With such intense political fighting over the issue in recent months, and as more boats arrive, Australia’s policies may get even tougher.

When the numbers of people trying to arrive by boat has increased in the past, government policies towards boat arrivals become tougher. In 2001 when numbers increased, the Howard Government began processing asylum-seekers in Nauru and Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. This policy lasted 7 years and the number of people arriving by boat dropped from 5,516 to 148. In 2007 when the Prime Minister changed from John Howard to Kevin Rudd policies got better towards asylum-seekers and more people came to Australia by boat. In 2010 when numbers got too high again and 6,879 arrived by boat, the government decided to be more tough towards asylum-seekers again. In 2011 to stop the boats the Gillard Government proposed the Malaysia Plan in which 800 asylum seekers arriving by boat would be sent to Malaysia for processing by the UN Refugee Agency.

Indonesia and Australia’s Monsoon Season will put Asylum-seekers at risk of drowning

People smugglers in Indonesia are trying to arrange for their boats to leave quickly before the monsoon season begins and makes the boat journey to Australia even more dangerous.

Reports suggest that there are over 500 people waiting in Indonesia to try to get to Australia by boat without visas.  They are trying to use people smugglers who are eager for their boats to leave soon because they have only another two to three weeks before the monsoon starts.

The monsoon season in Indonesia begins in November and moves south to Australia where it usually lasts for 3 months from December to March.  Throughout the monsoon season there is much heavier rain than normal in northern Australia.  These rains and storms make the seas north of Australia very unsafe for the small wooden Indonesian fishing boats. 

A minister of the Australian Government said that he was very concerned about asylum seekers dying while trying to get to Australia by boat.  He said: “We do not want to see asylum-seekers lose their lives. We've got the monsoon season coming up. We do not want to see boats arriving and people losing their lives like they did just before Christmas last year.”

During last year’s monsoon season in December 2010 a boat carrying Iranian, Afghan and Iraqi asylum seekers crashed into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island during a monsoon.  30 people drowned and the bodies of another 18 asylum seekers were never found.

At the beginning of the monsoon season last November 2010, a month before the Christmas Island boat tragedy, another boat carrying asylum-seekers went missing between Indonesia and Australia. Relatives and friends of those asylum-seekers say that they heard their loved ones were getting on a boat but then never heard from them again. According to Australian authorities, boats usually take 2 to 4 days to reach Australian waters from Indonesia. It has almost been a year now since that boat left Indonesia on November 13.

Over the years there have been many cases of boats sinking or going missing on the way to Australia. The bad weather during monsoon season makes the sea journey even more dangerous. While the exact number of asylum-seeker deaths at sea will never be known, those attempting to count the deaths of irregular migrants at sea have estimated that only one in three bodies are ever recovered.

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Refugee Experiences of Integration in Foreign Countries

Many people are leaving their homelands to go to foreign countries for employment, a better life, security and protection, or education. People migrate to escape their problems at home but there are always new problems that they have to deal with when they get to a new country. Whether migrating legally or illegally, these migrants and refugees often have difficulty integrating and becoming a part of the community in the destination country.

According to recent studies, the most common problems new migrants and refugees have are:

1.      Communicating because they lack the language skills;

2.      Difficulties finding an adequate job and suitable housing;

3.      Having foreign credentials/qualifications recognized; and,

4.      Building a social network because of cultural differences.

Many people migrate for economic reasons, believing that there is a job for them in a foreign country. However finding a job in a foreign country is not easy. A study in Australia found that many refugees were forced to work in low-paid jobs because of discrimination and barriers to participation, such as a lack of local work experience and the fact that educational qualifications in poorer countries are not recognized in foreign destinations. The study said that the challenges they faced were so bad, that many found it “extremely difficult to go on with day-to-day living”.

Also, while some migrants are lucky enough to get a job and earn more than they would in their home country, they also have to spend more to survive. In 2006, half of the refugees in Australia earned less than $250 per week. This may sound like a lot of money but the cost of living in Australia is high. In 2010 Sydney was ranked as the 24^th most expensive city in the world. The cost of bread in the Australia is $2.50, which is 2,746 Tomans or 120 Afghanis. Lamb is $16 per kilo, which is 17,579 Tomans or 760 Afghanis. That is not even considering other important living expenses. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found in 2010 that average housing costs were $223 per week, 245,010 Tomans or 10,592 Afghanis.

The UK is another popular destination for refugees and migrants, attracting thousands of people each year. The UK Home office interviewed refugees on their experiences of integration.

One refugee said: “I think the first barrier is language barrier. I hadn’t any help even with someone who knows English and my language. Even in the shops – when they didn’t give change in the shops. For us to explain it was so difficult”.

Refugees also worried about unfriendly and racist attitudes in the community.

“You can feel you are settled in but they say, `you foreigners…. Go home’ again; they don’t say `Hello’ not warm, not friendly.”

“[They were] hitting me with a ball… calling me names, you know and you are talking about children of 10 going down. Calling me names, telling me, ‘Go back to your country!’ cursing and talking funny and … you just don’t know what to do”.

To stay out of trouble and keep safe refugees sometimes have to isolate themselves from the community.

“I have not made any effort so far to try and talk to neighbors or do anything about that because I don’t want trouble… where I lived before here, I learned to keep to myself because that way you avoid trouble”.

A wide range of factors support and undermine the process of integration. These include social factors such as the characteristics of refugees (ability to speak the foreign language) and the characteristics of the wider community (such as the level of racism and discrimination towards foreigners). Economic factors such as employment and income also affect a refugee’s ability to integrate. People think that life in foreign countries must be better and easier than life at home, but life is not easy anywhere in the world.

Australia sticks to Malaysia plan

Prime Minister Ms. Julia Gillard and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced that the government would change the migration law after a High Court decision that put in doubt the Malaysian refugee swap deal and other forms of offshore processing.

Ms. Gillard said the amendments would simply restore the understanding of the Migration Act that existed prior to the High Court's decision. The processing of asylum-seekers in other countries would be allowed and the Government would have the power to decided where they should be sent.

Ms. Gillard says the Government is determined to continue to implement the agreement with Malaysia.

Under the Malaysian deal, Australia would send the next 800 asylum-seekers that arrive by boat to Malaysia in exchange for 4,000 processed and recognized refugees.

The government's advice remained that the Malaysian agreement would send a strong message to people-smugglers and deter asylum-seekers from making the dangerous sea journey by boat.

"That is why Malaysia, when we announced it, was the best option for smashing the people smugglers' business model. It remains the best option", Ms. Gillard says.

The government would also use the changes to send asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea.

The Government insists the new policy will fulfill Australia's obligations under the United Nations convention.

The proposed changes will be introduced to Australia's Parliament next week for approval.

Australia is currently detaining all asylum-seekers arriving by boat, including several hundred in a Centre on Christmas Island which has seen riots in recent months.