King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Mahmoud Abbas appoints Hussein Al-Sheikh as PLO vice president in key succession move    Saudi Arabia's entertainment sector attracts 76 million visitors in 2024    Third round of US-Iran nuclear talks concludes with cautious optimism    Multiple casualties reported after vehicle drives into crowd at Vancouver street festival    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi Arabia deports 12,866 illegal residents in a week    SFDA clears first 44-ton medical shipment for Hajj pilgrims    Ministry of Hajj issued over 150,000 Nusuk cards for the Hajj of 2025    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Australia's unbending immigrant policy
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 28 - 04 - 2016

Australia's handling of unwanted migrants had been looked at by European states with covert envy. Faced with a tidal wave of illegal immigrants, in 2001 the Australian government cut a deal with Papua New Guinea to open a detention center. Migrants picked up at sea would be routed there or to a similar facility on Nauru, the world's smallest state with a population of just 10,000 people.
The Australian navy and coastguard mount intensive sea and air patrols of the country's northern waters. The policy is uncompromising. Any intercepted migrant boat is generally towed back out to sea, often to the edge of Indonesian territorial waters. If the craft is unseaworthy, the asylum-seekers are transferred to lifeboats and then sent on their way. Only one migrant vessel has actually managed to reach Australian shores in the last year. And then the occupants have been sent to Papua New Guinea or Nauru. On the latter, the desperation among detainees, who come from as far away as Iraq, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan as well as Far Eastern countries, has been such that they have gone on hunger strike. During a recent UN visit, an Iranian migrant set himself on fire. Badly burnt, he was treated locally. An Australian immigration minister said there was no way that detainees could use self-harm as a way to make it to Australia because they needed emergency medical treatment.
Now, however, judges in Papua New Guinea have ruled the local detention camps illegal and have ordered their closure. The decision is a headache for the government which has been receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in aid from Canberra in return for hosting the camps. The Papua New Guinea authorities have said that they will grant residential rights to migrants with genuine asylum credentials, who are fleeing persecution in their home countries. But the harsh truth is that many of the migrants decided to head for Australia in search of a better life rather than fleeing from oppression. It must be hoped that Syrians will be treated sympathetically. But Australia is unmoved by the decision of Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court judges. Its immigration minister has repeated that none of the asylum-seekers will be allowed to come to Australia. The hardline, however, is not without its critics. The Australian Human Rights Commission said that the Supreme Court's decision demonstrates that when it comes to immigration, Australia is increasingly out of step with the international community.
Australia does not have a particularly creditable immigration history. For years the country quietly operated a Whites-only policy. Assisted passage for British nationals was succeeded by a welcome for Europeans, so that for instance Melbourne now has a Greek population second only to that of Athens. However, with the country's involvement in the Vietnam war, an influx of Vietnamese and Chinese saw the growth of a vibrant multi-cultural society which has been of significant economic benefit. Yet far away from the media spotlight of Europe's migrant challenges, the Australians have seen fit to erect a near-impenetrable barrier against asylum-seekers. Given the actions in Australia of a few lunatics claiming to be part of Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS), Islamophobia is rife and the government in Canberra seems sure to continue to resist its humanitarian duty, especially toward Muslim migrants.


Clic here to read the story from its source.