When I was a fourteen year-old runaway I was charged by the Victorian State Police with 'found wandering'. I was subsequently threatened with a physical examination to check for the loss of my virginity, verbally abused by a roomful of female 'policemen' locked in a 19th century prison cell for 6 hours until 3am then sent to jail in a divvy van with other young offenders who were charged with 'being exposed to moral danger' because their father's raped them. I won't go into the 'entry procedure' of the jail when I arrived there....
I hope that I can get the point across that Australia is by no means a 'civilised country' although there are some good people here as in any other place. If anyone has any ideas on how countries can become 'civilised' I would appreciate it.
Brenda Rosser
> Government's Treatment of Refugees Racist: Expert
> Library: LIF-SOC
> Keywords: AUSTRALIA REFUGEES RACISM MIDDLE-EAST ASYLUM
> Description: The Australian Government's treatment of so-called "boat
> people" verges on racist, according to one of the country's leading
> independent commentators on refugee and asylum seeker issues.
>
> http://www.newswise.com/articles/2001/7/REFUGEES.ADU.html
>
> The Australian Government's treatment of so-called "boat people" verges on
> racist, according to one of the country's leading independent commentators
> on refugee and asylum seeker issues.
>
> Adelaide University PhD graduate (Politics) Dr Don McMaster, who is also
> author of Asylum Seekers: Australia's Response to Refugees, says the
> Government's attitude towards different groups of illegal immigrants is
> mixed at best and discriminatory at worst.
>
> "When the 50,000 or so people - mainly from Britain and North America -
> overstay their visa each year, the Government doesn't put them in an
> isolated detention centre in the Australian Outback," he says. "So why are
> the 4000 people who arrived by boat in the last year treated differently?
>
> "I think their place of origin has quite a bit to do with it: those
arriving
> by boat are mostly from the Middle East and Asia, and they quite often
can't
> speak English. This is compared to the vast majority of people who
overstay
> their visas; these people are mostly Britons or Americans who do speak
> English and who often do have that Anglo-Saxon heritage."
>
> "I believe the Government tries to paint these boat people almost as
> invaders, it's like a return to the days of White Australia - these people
> are invading us from the North; if we let these people in too easily then
> whole hordes will follow, and so on."
>
> Even the Government and media's use of the label "illegal" colours public
> attitude towards the asylum seekers, according to Dr McMaster; it denotes
> criminality and is a form of scare-mongering and fear. He argues that
there
> is no middle ground where the public is getting correct and balanced
> information on the arrivals and conditions in the detention centres from
> both the government and the media.
>
> "The reality is that over 80% of recently detained asylum seekers have
been
> recognised as genuine refugees," he says.
>
> "So why is Australia, as a so-called civilised country, treating these
> people so harshly when the majority of them are genuinely fleeing
> persecution, torture and even death? It is impossible for these people to
> safely obtain the necessary travel documents, either because no office
> exists or it simply is too dangerous."
>
> Dr McMaster says he is also concerned the problem of treating asylum
seekers
> poorly will get worse before it gets better.
>
> "The recent outbreaks and protests at detention centres have exposed a
> system that is mismanaged and in crisis," he says. "It doesn't matter that
> there's an election this year and there could be a change of Government.
> >From the research I've done, the two major parties adopt a very similar
> position to the treatment of boat people and I don't see that changing in
> the foreseeable future."
>
> MEDIA CONTACT: Dr Don McMaster, Tel: 0419 031 228 (mobile), +61 8 8303
3521
> (w). Ben Osborne (media office), Tel: +61 8 830
> ooooooooo
> Kevin Dean
> Buffalo, NY
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