Recently I saw a news story about refugees. They focussed on indonesia-and even had a walk thru on how one "fisherman" does it. He sails out 10 people to an island near australia and let's himself get caught-becuase once there-they get let in. It was surprising how calm he was-he had a bandana on his face just to hide-but everything else was shown-boat and how he does it. Even with Indonesia's border partol-they can't stop them all. And after what I saw of why some want to leave-personally I think it's more money issues than living conditions-looks close to school camp conditions-not great but livable-HOWEVER I don't live here so I can't speculate. Now-the story focussed on Indonesia-but there would be refugees from many other countries as you may well know... So I ask-let them stay and "earn" freedom or push them back without delay? I obviously can't make a choice-the smugglers do it for the money-the people are that desperate-and the border patrols are doing a difficult task-one which must be done...
is there a 3rd option: if get caught crossing the boarder, they will be shot to death? No? well, i'll choose let them in but guarded and have them juridically tried if they can stay under the law or must be deported back to the country of origin. Human smuggling is a big crime here in our country. There are vice versa of this type, 1 side they go to our country so they can start business because of cheap labor, 2nd side, they get our people to be sent as sex slaves or underpaid domestic workers to other countries. But like what you said at the bottom, desperate people + human smugglers + corrupt officals/lazy boarder patrol = crimes.
nah, just shoot them. if we enslave them, it will cause much hunger for the local population. and if they large enough, we will get armed uprisings. look at the bible during the enslavement of the 12 tribes of Israel in Egypt, once they we only 12 family, but they expanded and led an uprising even got the egyptian army destroyed in the red sea. seriously thinking, what i know about refugees are that they are given a piece of place to stay, like i said stay not own, and the government will talk to the refugee country if it can be settled down diplomatically. if not, then its israel/palestine problem rising.
There are strict international laws regarding Asylum. It is only possible to legally claim asylum in the first safe country you encounter while fleeing your own. Also there are strict criterion for determining whether or not someone is elgible for asylum and what help they are entitled to. For a discussion of this, see here: http://www.harvardilj.org/print/57 (download and read the PDF). While this mostly concerns US asylum policies, it nevertheless contains a detailed discussion of what assistance should be afforded in what situation, and makes the case that asylum is not the only means of providing assistance, and should only be used in specific cases when the other means are not viable or appropriate.
It is a basic human right to be able to seek asylum from persecution. I'm hoping the other posters, apart from loonylion, were being facetious. I'm guessing mds64 is an Australian (as am I) because this subject is causing a lot of debate here in Australia. In Australia all the concern seems to be about boat-people. The people who fly here and overstay their visa are not subject to the same type of slurs as people who arrive by boat. I truly hope none of you guys ever have to flee your homeland, but if you did, how would you like to be treated when you arrive?
If I were a refugee and came to a country illegally, I wouldn't expect to be treated as fair as any one else, I'd probably find a way to work my ass off and get some kind of respect. It would still suck to be treated as a slave, regardless, humans have rights, even if they are refugees. And if they're obeying local laws, I don't see why they should be treated as so.
Correct-I am an australian. And the above users have been heartless for a long time-don't mind them-they are but human's on the net-where emotion is but a lie. If one's was so desperate to leave-I guess they believe it's gonna be easier to be locked up for a bit rather than where they are now. They can't be watched from everywhere-so those coming off boat might become slaves and no one would know. Only those caught might have a better chance. But still, I'd like to see 2 things done... 1.Better border control to reduce the amount coming in 2.Try to fix the problems with the homeland Many people I know (mostly bogans..) tend to dislike the fact that more foriegners are coming in-and because of the population seems to be getting bigger...I have to agree-we would over run ourselves on our own. However-prehaps seeing if there was ways to prehaps make living conditions better for those trying to flee. Idealistic-sure-but I doubt our country could support more peole AND keep the citizens happy. This is why I'm torn-doesn't look like an easy fix
I think what people object to are 'economic refugees' - which is understandable. If people wish to move to a better economic climate we have a process for that called migration. When I use the term refugee or 'asylum seeker' I mean those people who need to leave their homeland because they face death/torture/imprisonment. Australia is lucky in that we don't really get many illegal immigrants. Not compared to other countries like the USA or Italy or the UK. We have a duty to process the people who arrive here seeking asylum. Shipping the problem offshore to countries like Indonesia or Nauru does not help anyone. Maybe I sound humourless on this topic, but to be frank, I don't think there is much humour in this situation. Cheers.
