Close the camps now

June 18, 2011
Issue 

They’re a part of the human race
Searching for a safe place
To rise from their despair
To be part of the world that seems fair
Without wars
Famines
Or destruction
That stops all means of production
So they begin to flee
Unwilling to live amongst the debris
Where they lost friends
Without any warnings
Where they lost family
Indefinitely…
When they arrive
Freedom is limited in order to survive
Due to a lack of understanding
With the government demanding
Brief medical attention
A lack of food and mental exhaustion
A place we like to call mandatory detention
We owe them to act as human beings
And not bury what we have been seeing
Riots
Suicides
And self harming
How much more before it becomes alarming?
That the process isn’t effective
And we must work as a collective
To disregard the previous policies of migration
And honour the UN convention
By upholding human rights
It’s no longer about the blacks or whites
We must close the detention centres
And open our hearts to the ones most affected
Whether we title them
Asylum seekers
Or
Refugees
They deserve no less than you and me.

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