Asylum Seekers Essay

We are told that Australia is the “blessed country”. A country where our most appealing asset is our multicultural community and diverse society. In our anthem, we sing: “for those who come across the seas, we’ve boundless plains to share”. Ironically, this line is in the second verse, which most people barely ever sing. Perhaps this reveals the true attitude Australia has towards asylum seekers. People who flee from countries which are oppressing them, escaping for their lives. Australia’s inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and the mandatory detention policy means that asylum seekers are locked in a detention centre until they are processed, which can take years.

Approximately 4.8 million refugees have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. Additionally, 6.6 million refugees are internally displaced inside of Syria. Most of these refugees are being treated as if they aren’t equal members of society, their rights are being stripped from them and they are being dehumanized through various poor treatment.

In Australia, refugees and asylum seekers are treated like the enemy in a war: the target of a highly resourced, military-led “deterrence” strategy complete with arbitrary detainment, detention camps, guards to terrorise them, forced deportations and the violent suppression of those who protest. Australia is failing to meet the standards required when regarding the treatment of asylum seekers. It is fact that asylum seekers make up less than 3% of Australia’s annual immigration yet the idea is being distorted to that of which they will overpopulate a country that prides itself on being a multicultural society. I want to shed light on the misconception that asylum seekers are not ‘legal’ when in actual fact it is a human right to seek freedom.

_ Are refugee camps over some population still camps? Or are they cities? Which population should be the limit?

Not only that, but they do it by the millions, moving in independent crowds step by step on the grounds that there is security (Acuesta, 2017). The explanations for their movement include issues such as social, racial, religious and political persecution, war, climate change, hunger and gender orientation. These vulnerable refugees have no other choice than to seek protection and we are denying their human rights and stripping away their human dignity. A United Nations Refugee Agency survey conducted in Australia in 2011 showed that 35% of people favoured turning back boats or detention of arrivals and deportation, while only 22% favoured eligibility for permanent settlement. Clearly there is much controversy surrounding this issue as it can create many effects within a nations, both positive and negative. Disputes about the Refugee influxes include racial discrimination, displacement of people, homelessness, overpopulation and many more however along with these come positive effects that migrants have on a nation, such as enhancing our vibrant multicultural population, introducing skills and capital introduced into Australia, new businesses developed by refugees, refugees contributions to technology and increased access to and knowledge of international business

“Today more than 14 million men, women, and children have been forced to flee their homes, towns, and countries because they are afraid to stay” (Gilbert 9). In the book, Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Ha, a young girl, grew up in Saigon, Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Before the war she was just like every other girl living in South Vietnam. She went to school, had friends, played with her doll, and she is a little stubborn but who could blame her. Ha is the only girl out of the four children. Her brothers, Brother Quang, Brother Vu, and Brother Khoi all love Ha even though sometimes they might not show it. Growing up in a war zone was already difficult enough but adding on top of that, Ha’s father is missing. Ha and her family don’t know if he is dead or alive but they keep their hopes up because maybe one day he will return. While the war gets stronger and closer to Saigon, Ha and her family have to decide whether to stay or go. If they leave their home country they will be forever known as a refugee. A refugee is someone who leaves their home country because of a traumatic event such as war. Leaving their country will change everything for them, everything they have ever known would be gone. It

The issue with the refugee treatment and mandatory detention in Australia is that their minds are so vulnerable and stressed after leaving their country. Detention can harm asylum seekers and refugees because they are indefinite meaning the government can detain people for the course of their life which has severe effects on a person’s emotions and wellbeing. Studies have shown that refugees who have come from a warfare filled country have and increased chance to undergo depression, self-harm and even attempt suicide when under a type of imprisonment such as immigration detention.

Australia is said to be a multicultural and multiracial country. So why can’t we, as a country and as a nation, say yes to immigrants fleeing from a different country? As immigration to Australia is supposably apart of our history and it would be wrong not to continue on with the actions of our ancestors.

Cultural competence is “the ability to communicate with, understand and effectively interact with people across cultures” (EYLF, 2015)

I have never lived away from home before attending college, so at times I feel homesick for the luxuries my family home provided me with. For example, I greatly miss my cats, my sister, having a private kitchen and bathroom, access to a car, and our spacious backyard. I often cannot wait to go home as I know all these things await me. I even frequently complain about missing these aspects of my life. For the millions of people displaced across the globe the feelings I have are massively multiplied as they are not just away from their home for a few months, but instead forced to abandon their homes forever. The human rights film that I watched was Human Flow, and the main topic discussed was the life and perils of people forcibly displaced from

This analysis looks at refugees and the social justice issue of Australia’s discriminatory treatment of refugees traveling to Australia seeking asylum. Australia’s current treatment of Asylum seekers includes taking them from an already extremely stressful environment and detaining them in remote detention facilities where they have limited interaction with family and friends. In some instances, this includes children and young people.

Leaders and governments around the world have labelled refugees as being a burden on their country either directly or indirectly. These leaders only see them as people who are trying to get into their country to escape the civil war, but fail to see that the refugees are also risking their lives in the process. At present, there are approximately 54.5 million refugees that are displaced, the largest refugee crisis the world has ever seen and they have nowhere to go. The question of doing the right thing and taking them in has been squashed due to various reasons and it appears to be that each country has adopted the ‘each man for himself’ policy by stating that it is their duty to only look after its citizens and no one else.

The impact of the forcible removal is still affecting current generations in various ways, including poor parenting skills. Children were not the only ones affected by the Stolen Generation, the parents of the children suffered greatly. Parents that had their children taken away never recovered from their loss, and turned to suicide or alcohol to cope. Several generations were removed from the Indigenous community where cultural history and knowledge vanished on future generations. Future indigenous families suffer mental illnesses, behavioural problems and unsettled emotional grief (McIntyre and McKeich, 2009). A loss of identity when the stolen child was taken due to lies on who they were transitioned in part of their heritage becoming lost. Indigenous people rely on their culture, land and heritage to establish their identity. Siblings were separated when

A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their home country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. There are many different types of refugees, these include refugees who are escaping war, social discrimination, racial discrimination, religious persecution, those who are seeking aid after a natural disaster, political unrest, and those who fear for their lives and the lives of their family. These people are given refugee status and are placed in designated refugee camps across the country where they are supposed to be cared for and educated, but this is not happening. Many of the countries only provide shelter for the refugees but do not provide the rest of the basic needs.

Contrary to popular belief, migrants are not diseased people; however, the actual process of migrating, depending on the conditions encountered, makes migrants particularly susceptible to physical, environmental, social and psychological problems.5 In short, the migration process makes migrants and refugees vulnerable. Infectious and communicable diseases may spread in conditions where health hygiene and sanitation are poor. Likewise, the incidence of non-communicable diseases may be distributed inequitably due to the stresses of migration and the lack of access to the necessary medical services both in the countries of origin and the receiving states. Psychosocial illnesses like anxiety and depression from traumatic experiences, for example war, may lead to migrants having problems with substance abuse. To further compound their quandaries, migrants and refugees face stark differences in cultures, racism and language barriers, which are all barricades to their integration into the receiving societies.6