By Marina Carman
With all the politicians' and mass media talk of "aliens" and "illegals", it can be easy to forget that they are referring to human beings. The passage of the federal Border Protection Act on November 25 made Australia one of the worst among First World countries in adding to the trauma and persecution experienced by refugees. The act means that many more refugees will be sent back to face violence, incarceration and death.
The government and the media are desperate to de-humanise the plight of refugees in order to discourage public debate. That is one reason why asylum seekers are sent to the bush, away from TV cameras and contact with the rest of the population, and in conditions so bad they'll want to go back home anyway.
All the hype about refugees is just that — hype. The number of people seeking "illegal" entry into Australia is increasing, particularly those arriving by boat. This is a direct result of worsening living conditions in the Third World and harsher restrictions on legal migration.
However, the number arriving on Australia's shores is tiny compared to the global refugee flow. In fact, the largest category of "illegals" in Australia is made up of the tens of thousands of people, mainly from Britain and the United States, who overstay their tourist visas.
Under the capitalist system, poor countries are dominated by the rich countries — through the exploitation of labour and resources, and the strict loan conditions imposed by institutions such as the World Bank, which are controlled by the biggest of capitalists. First World governments have helped to create political refugees by supporting oppressive regimes; Australia's support for Indonesia's occupation of East Timor is an obvious example.
Yet the rulers in the First World seek to shut out the victims and blame them for the problems capitalism creates. Governments and the big-business media seek to destroy the sympathy that the majority of people in the First World feel towards refugees.
While the government plays with words and classifications, people are being locked up and deported.
Example #1
To be classified as a refugee and granted asylum in Australia, refugees must satisfy strict United Nations criteria. They must prove that they have suffered (or will suffer upon their return) from persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or because they belong to a particular social group.
Using this criteria, the Refugee Review Tribunal recently found that, while there was a real chance that refugee Fatemeh Moradgholi would be punished if forced to return to Iran, she was not entitled to protection here. Moradgholi fears persecution for making "pornographic" films (in Iran that can mean simply pictures of unveiled women). This activity can incur the death penalty.
The Australian government's definition of refugee rules out asylum for "economic refugees", those fleeing dire poverty rather than direct political oppression.
Even when people fit the criteria the government looks for other excuses not to allow them to stay.
After the Dili massacre in 1991, around 1650 East Timorese sought asylum. Australia was the only country in the world to recognise Indonesia's annexation of East Timor and the refugees were refused asylum on the basis that they were considered Portuguese citizens.
Now that Indonesia has withdrawn from East Timor, few of these refugees are likely to be granted refugee status, and face deportation. In addition, all East Timorese who entered Australia last year on "safe haven" visas are not eligible to apply for refugee status.
The bulk of "illegal" refugee arrivals to Australia are from Afghanistan and Iraq, many leaving camps in Iran before their scheduled expulsion in March 2000. Despite nearly all of them meeting the refugee criteria, they are being refused protection because they have no travel documents issued by the regimes they were fleeing!
Example #2
Abebe Fekado was recently refused refugee status because he entered the country on an illegal tourist visa. Fekado was previously imprisoned in Ethiopia for his political beliefs and said he was denied treatment at government hospitals when he broke his spine in 1997.
Fekado has HIV and, according to his doctor, the decision to return him to Ethiopia is "tantamount to a death sentence". Without access to treatment, Fekado would probably die within a year. He could be deported at any time.
Regulations signed in October and affirmed by parliament on November 24 enshrine the automatic denial of the right to permanent refuge for all asylum seekers who arrive without prior authorisation. This is unique in the world. Refugees can apply only for a three-year temporary visa, with drastically reduced access to welfare and health services and no right to bring in family members.
The precedent for this change in policy was the arrival of the 4000 Kosovar Albanian refugees who arrived in May. This was trumpeted as an example of government "compassion". In reality, the government acted only in response to a massive outpouring of sympathy by the Australian people.
The Kosovans were admitted on a special temporary protection visa, which contravened international law because it explicitly barred the refugees from applying for permanent asylum. Without being consulted, the refugees were ferried around the country, housed in detention centres far from the Australian Albanian community and then told to leave.
The Kosovans were offered $3000 if they left before the end of October and threatened with jail and deportation if they did not. Many refugees were reluctant to return to Kosova after reports filtered back to Australia that returning refugees were living in tents deep in snow and risking landmine injuries.
Mandatory detention of all unauthorised arrivals was implemented by the Labor federal government in 1994. While all imperialist governments have provisions for detaining people who cross their borders without permission (pending deportation or legal entry), only Australia imposes mandatory detention with no right to obtain bail or temporary release.
Locked up
Even unauthorised arrivals who formally request asylum are locked up while they await the outcome of their applications, and during any subsequent (and usually lengthy) appeal. Some refugees relent and request to go back; they'd rather risk persecution and poverty than stay locked up in a state of uncertainty.
As an added barrier, reports from the Port Hedland Detention Centre in WA reveal that that if applicants for asylum fail to use certain words (in English) that "engage Australia's protection obligations", they are not given legal assistance, notified of their legal rights or given the opportunity to apply for asylum. Only 6.1% of arrivals at Port Hedland have been recognised as refugees.
Of the 6200 people who have arrived illegally by boat since 1989, only 15.6% have been granted entry, 37% are still in detention and 47.3% have been deported.
A Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report in 1998 described the four detention centres run by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. It reported disturbing security practices and numerous allegations of verbal and physical abuse.
At Port Hedland, the already traumatised refugees are subjected to frequent body and room searches, often carried out at night. Mail and newspapers are censored. There are noisy, 24-hour foot patrols of the accommodation blocks and inmates are subjected to hourly surveillance by security guards. Between October 1991 and November 1995, there were 11 suicide attempts, 17 demonstrations and numerous hunger strikes.
The real problem
Refugees are not the problem; the problem is a world system in which people are forced to leave their homes, family and friends in order to survive.
The only just and humane policy is to allow entry to Australia to any person who requests it. The only real solution is to support struggles to improve the political, economic and social conditions in the Third World, and to end its domination by the rich capitalist countries. Struggling against the anti-refugee policies of the Australian government is also about uniting ordinary people in this country to fight for a better society.
For this reason, Resistance is supporting the call by Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor for a national day of action on May 13 to demand "Justice for the East Timorese! Justice for all refugees!". Call your local Resistance branch for more information.