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. 

Two more boats arrive to Australia since signing Malaysian deal

Another two boats have arrived to Australia this week since the signing of a deal between Australia and Malaysia to swap 800 asylum-seekers that come to Australia illegally by boat for 4,000 genuine refugees waiting in Malaysia for resettlement.

One boat was carrying 100 asylum-seekers. This group was made up of 31 unaccompanied minors, 60 single adult males, and family groups including women and children. One of the women was wearing a full burqa and it is believed that those on board are from Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.

Asylum seekers were taken to the processing centre on Christmas Island, where a mother hugged her toddler and smiled widely, as did the other women in the group. The smiles did not last long though as Australian officials soon told them that the $55,000 they gave to people smugglers to get to Australia was wasted and they would be sent to Malaysia.

The other boat arrived a few days later carrying about 62 asylum seekers. This brings the total number of asylum seekers to be sent to Malaysia to 269.

The transfer of the 269 asylum-seekers to Malaysia has been delayed until the Australian High Court can complete an investigation into the lawfulness of the agreement. At the heart of the matter is the transfer of 44 unaccompanied minors. The court will determine whether the Australian government can legally send unaccompanied minors to Malaysia, a country that has not signed the UN Convention protecting the rights of refugees. The court case will be heard the week of 22 August.

The Australian government fears that the delay in sending asylum-seekers to Malaysia will be exploited by people smugglers and more boats will arrive to the harm of the asylum-seekers who will spend all their money only to be sent to Malaysia.

World Refugee Day

The United Nations' (UN) World Refugee Day is observed on June 20 each year. This day is an international reminder to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence and cannot return to their homes without facing harm.

The terms "refugees", "migrants" and “asylum-seekers” are frequently used either interchangeably or in close association but there is a difference between them. An asylum-seeker is someone who leaves their country to go to a foreign country to seek international protection. If the asylum-seeker is successfully accepted by a foreign country that person then becomes a refugee.

Refugee status is a privilege only for those who are the most vulnerable and not for those that are able to live in their countries. For example, 13,003 Iranians applied for refugee status last year in 38 European countries and of those applicants 10,200 were rejected and returned to Iran. Many of those who were rejected were considered not to be under threat of death or persecution.

Another term sometimes heard is "economic migrant", a person who leaves their country or place of residence because they want to seek a better life. Often those who travel to foreign countries and are found to be economic migrants are sent back to their home country.

It has been sixty years since 147 governments expressed their solidarity with refugees by signing the 1951 Refugee Convention. However there are still countries that have not signed the convention. These governments are: Andorra, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Comoros, Cuba, East Timor, Eritrea, Grenada, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Burma, Nauru, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Qatar, St Lucia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga and some others.

Countries that have not signed the convention are often seen to mistreat refugees and asylum-seekers. For example, in places such as Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Pakistan, and Singapore, there have been documented cases of mistreatment of asylum-seekers in detention centres and at times detainees suffering problems from dehydration, hunger, exposure to the elements, beatings, and what some would even call torture.

Malaysia is one of the countries that has not signed the convention and is a good example. Andrew Khoo, who is Chair of the Malaysian Human Rights Committee describes conditions inside Malaysian detention as, “Nothing short of hell”. He describes the facilities as overcrowded, leaving detainees with poor sanitation and a lack of access to basic health care. Caning is another big issue in Malaysia, Amnesty International claims at least 10,000 prisoners and 6,000 refugees are caned there each year.

At the same time, foreign governments that have signed the convention are making life more difficult for asylum-seekers and refugees. This is because too many economic migrants are arriving illegally to foreign countries and lying to the authorities that they are asylum-seekers when really they just want a job and a better life. When there are too many economic migrants arriving illegally, foreign governments often make it harder for everyone to get a visa, including refugees and asylum-seekers.

Economic migrants must apply legally for a different visa and not a refugee visa if they want to be successfully accepted by a foreign country. Asylum-seekers should also not go illegally to a foreign country if they want to become a refugee. Asylum-seekers can apply legally to become a refugee in a foreign country through a UNHCR office in the region.

Riots at Australian Immigration Centre’s

Australia has seen a surge of asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Australia. Recent widespread riots at detention centres across Australia are a reflection of mandatory detention of asylum seekers, long processing time on applications and crowded detention centres.

People who come to Australia by boat are arriving illegally and according to Australian law, these illegal arrivals have to be detained in Australian detention centres. Most are first taken to the remote Christmas Island. Christmas Island is overcrowded and the mix of ethnicities is often explosive. There have been reports of attacks and injury between asylum-seekers. Earlier this year a Sri Lankan asylum-seeker had his teeth knocked out by a fellow detainee. Asylum-seekers are also attacking their guards. An Iranian asylum-seeker through boiling water on a guard as he tried to break up a fight between asylum-seekers. The Iranian is now facing criminal charges.

Overcrowding became a serious problem in Australian detention centres because Australia was not prepared to receive the record number of asylum-seekers that arrived last year. In 2010 134 boats came to Australia carrying 6,535 people. As of 20 April, 6300 asylum-seekers were detained in Australian detention centres. More than half of the asylum-seekers detained have been on the Island for 18 months.

A few months ago asylum-seekers caused extensive damage at an Australian detention centre in Sydney, setting alight buildings and attacking firefighters. 100 men were involved in the disturbances which raged throughout the night. Nine buildings were seriously damaged including a medical centre, kitchen and computer room.

Riot police were called in by the private security firm which runs the centre. Firefighters who tried to extinguish the blazes were pelted with roof tiles and bits of wood. An explosion is thought to have been caused by a gas bottle catching fire.

Police said tear gas was not used but pepper spray and “bean bag” bullets, were fired from a shotgun.

An Iranian man involved in the riot named Majid, said they had been forced into these actions because they had no other option. ”We were desperate,” he said. “We just want attention. We did not hurt anyone. We did not hurt firemen. We did not attack security. ‘‘I’m not an animal, I’m human. I’ve been in the detention centre for 20 months.’’

Seven detainees have been charged over the destruction at the detention centre. One of those charged is Iranian.

There was a similar riot on Christmas Island in March where buildings were set fire to and the police had to use tear-gas and bean bag bullets to end the unrest. Eighteen asylum-seekers were charged over the riots. The charges include burglary, destroying Commonwealth property, using weapons and harming or threatening a public official. The charges carry maximum penalties ranging from two years to 20 years in jail.

There is a lot of anger in detention centres and asylum seekers are trying to show that anger by protest or self-harming. Many people in detention have tried to harm themselves to bring attention to their cases.

One man made a lasso from wire and tied it to a vent on the rooftop before threatening to kill himself by jumping off. Fellow detainees held him back. Another detainee also sewed his lips together to protest against the way authorities had treated his asylum claim at the Christmas Island center.

Some also face serious mental health issues and actually commit suicide. Such as two young Afghan men who were found dead in their rooms at different detention centres in March.

Protests, riots, self-harm and suicide are all a result of frustration and anger felt by asylum-seekers. They have traveled a long way and have spent a lot of money and time and seen a lot of hardship to get to their destination but yet they face another challenge of overcrowded detention centers, long periods of detention, and at the end some of them don’t get any visa and are deported because they are not genuine refugees. Every year there are hundreds of illegal refugees who travel to Australia even though there are legal and safe ways to get there without being detained.