BY TERRICA STRUDWICK
South African-based fast food chain Nando's has come under fire for a radio advertisement that mocks the desperate situation refugees face in Australian detention centres.
The ad, which was pulled after a deluge of complaints, depicted a radio news cross to Woomera in which a "reporter" stated: "Asylum seekers have decided to unsew their lips after hearing the news that with every Nando's 1/4 chicken combo, Nando's are giving away an extra 1/4 chicken free."
Nando's, which operates 400 stores in 21 countries, is renowned for controversial advertising campaigns. Nando's PR company, Sphere Advertising, said that the chicken chain deliberately looked "for an issue that was controversial and this was really the only issue that is out there... We're not taking sides, we just wanted to make light of it a little. You know, take a lighter approach."
There is no "lighter side" to the situation that refugees face in Australia. There are thousands of innocent people locked in maximum security prisons without a future. Acts of desperation by detainees, like sewing their lips together, is a protest against the injustice of the arbitrary policies imposed by the federal government.
It was the prompt action of many refugee rights supporters that saw the sickening advertisement taken off the air.
From Green Left Weekly, August 21, 2002.
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