Australia's government plans to post video on YouTube and Facebook of the first group of asylum seekers sent to Malaysia under a pact between the countries to swap refugees, in an attempt to deter asylum seekers from taking dangerous boat journeys to Australia. Releasing video of the asylum seekers at Christmas Island — an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean — boarding a plane, and arriving in Malaysia will help raise awareness of Australia's new policy, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said Tuesday. “We know that people smugglers tell lies. We know that people smugglers will be out there saying, ‘Look, this won't apply to you,' ... because they are desperate to make money off desperate people,” Bowen told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. “I do think that many people would have access to that sort of social media, and word-of-mouth will spread quickly.” Malaysia and Australia recently agreed to swap asylum seekers in a new strategy aimed at stemming the flow of refugee hopefuls from countries such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran and Iraq who typically fly to Indonesia and then continue to Australia by sea on board cramped, rickety boats. Under the deal, Australia will send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia over the next four years in exchange for Australia resettling 4,000 registered refugees currently languishing in the Southeast Asian nation. Malaysian Home Ministry deputy secretary general Alwi Ibrahim told reporters Tuesday that authorities expect to receive the first batch of asylum seekers next week and are finalizing arrangements such as preparing facilities to hold them when they arrive. Human rights groups have criticized the plan, arguing that asylum seekers are treated poorly in Malaysia, which has not signed the UN Convention on Refugees. Australia insists those sent to Malaysia will be treated humanely, and will have access to education and health care.
