Seeking Asylum : Sat Sep 22, 2012 12:29 pm
A few incidents have come up here in Oz over the last week or so.The Australian Government are processing refugees offshore again. As a result of this, today 18 Sri Lankan men who had made the journey to flee persecution have decided to return to Sri Lanka rather than to be sent to Nauru for processing.
Simple question. Are these genuine Asylum seekers in the first place, or economic migrants seeking a better life leaving a country that has had a troubled recent history and exploiting that? Why have they chosen to go straight back to somewhere that they would have fled from if their lives were in danger?
Also on TV the other day, it was reported that a boat, once again from Sri Lanka, that had reached Indonesia, "demanded" fuel to make it to Christmas Island (which is part of Australia) so they had a chance of being processed as they wanted to be in Australia and refused to get off the boat threatening to hunger strike.
Simple question. If they made it to indonesia, have they not fled their troubled country and therefore made it to safety? How can anyone fleeing war or persecution DEMAND to go to a country? Surely any safe place would be OK?
Even as someone like myself who has always been very sympathetic to the plight of refugees in the past is noticing the potential of some people choosing to live in first world countries and using their own country's instability as a reason to flee. Rather than being genuine refugees.
Thoughts on this anyone?