Australia's refugee solution is no solution at all

Sr. Denise Coghlan, Phnom Penh Cambodia June 20, 2014 ucanews

World Refugee Day, June 20, is an appropriate moment to reflect on one particular refugee issue. Cambodia is a country that is battling on several fronts, against poverty, displacement, unemployment and corruption. At the same time, it is still rebuilding after decades of crippling war. Yet it is now being asked by Australia to become a repository for refugees; a task it is historically ill equipped to handle. Since Cambodia signed the Refugee Convention in 1992, more than 2,000 cases - approximately 5,000 people - have asked for its protection. These people came from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Rwanda, China, Somalia, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Vietnam, Myanmar, Congo and Palestine, as well as some stateless Rohingyas. Any trouble spot over the last 20 years that caused major refugee flows meant some people arrived in Cambodia. Of those 5,000 who have been through the system, only 68 remain in Cambodia. More than half have been resettled, others ran away, some voluntarily returned home and others were deported. Since the mid-1990s, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has helped prepare briefs and offered social assistance and income generating possibilities, while working with UNHCR – the United Nations High Commission for Refugees – to help with resettlement. JRS Cambodia also assists where it can with finding suitable accommodation and negotiating with landlords, finding work, providing loans to allow refugees start their own business, accompanying asylum seekers and refugees to medical appointments, enrolling children in school or arranging a tutor, providing school uniforms and books, obtaining birth certificates and providing emergency financial assistance. However, the path toward attaining refugee status is by no means easy. In December 2009, Cambodia took over decisions on refugee status from the UNHCR and changed the procedure. Under the new system, which is still in place today, an asylum seeker must register with the Refugee Office and is then invited to an interview. In most cases, JRS will write a submission on the asylum seeker’s behalf to explain why he or she should be recognized as a refugee. After the interview, the Refugee Office decides whether the asylum seeker is owed protection as a refugee. If it rules against the request, the seeker can appeal within 30 days but the appeal decision is final. While this is going on, they are given temporary permission to stay in Cambodia. They are not allowed to work but are allowed to live freely in the community. Although Cambodia has taken positive steps towards fulfilling its obligations under the Refugee Convention, this is still a process very much in development. For example, its procedures state that a first instance decision should be made within 45 days but the reality is that most decisions take two to three years. If and when a person is at last deemed a refugee, they are issued with a prakas from the government which states they can stay legally in Cambodia. The prakas, however, is not accepted by many employers as a document that enables them to employ the refugee legally, nor is it accepted by banks as an identity document for opening an account, or by most vendors of motorbikes and phones. Indeed, for those refugees who are allowed to stay, the prospects of building a new life here are limited. The government does not provide any funding or assistance to them. UNHCR provides some financial help to the most vulnerable, and funds health insurance, although many refugees complain that they have to use their own money to pay for all but the most basic medical treatment. UNHCR also funds a vocational training program but in practice this rarely results in employment. Where employment is found, it is often low paid and refugees struggle to earn enough to pay the rent and eat three meals a day. Some run their own business selling roti on the street but this involves long days in the sun for very little profit. Others are partly dependent on relatives overseas sending them money. With few exceptions, refugees here will tell you life is hard and there is no prospect of it getting any easier. There are language barriers which cut across many aspects of life, and refugees do not have the funds to take private language lessons. They are theoretically entitled to a resident card, yet no refugee has ever been issued with this important identity document. To become a Cambodian citizen, one has to have lived in Cambodia for at least seven years after obtaining a resident card. As refugees are not given resident cards, they are effectively excluded. Refugees have left their country and cannot go back. They need to belong here. For those refugees that are stateless, the ability to apply for citizenship is very important both symbolically but also to prevent them from passing their statelessness on to their children. Most of them are actively engaged in obtaining sponsorship for resettlement to other countries. And now wealthy Australia has asked Cambodia to take foreign refugees who have tried to seek asylum on Australian shores. These victims of Australia’s harsh offshore detention and processing policies are now in Nauru, or on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, or in detention centers in Australia. The question must be asked: why would Australia want to send refugees to Cambodia, a country that is clearly struggling to cope with the small number of refugees it already has? (This is not to mention the inevitable problems that will arise as 200,000 of its own people are now flooding back in from Thailand.) If Australia does go ahead with the plan to offload its refugees in Cambodia, as a signatory of the refugee convention it remains morally responsible for their protection and wellbeing. The fact is, Australia is more than capable and infinitely better suited to welcome the asylum seekers who arrive seeking Australian protection. It is unjust, unneighborly and devoid of compassion to push persecuted and vulnerable people out of the front door or off the front shore. Sr. Denise Coghlan is an Australian Sister of Mercy who served Cambodian refugees at the Thai/Cambodia border in the 1980s and has lived and worked in Cambodia since 1992.

Read more at: http://www.ucanews.com/news/australias-refugee-solution-is-no-solution-at-all/71220

Tamil asylum seeker's grieving family unable to attend funeral Refugee council says Leo Seemanpillai’s parents, who live in an Indian refugee camp, have been 'blocked at every turning' Oliver Laughland theguardian.com June 16, 2014 A shrine to Leo Seemanpiallai, the Tamil refugee who killed himself in Geelong, Australia. Photograph: Christian Bennett for the Guardian The grieving family of Leo Seemanpillai, a Tamil asylum seeker who took his own life by self-immolating earlier in the month, say they will be unable to attend his funeral in Geelong after the Immigration Department and the Australian High Commission in India refused to help them or grant them a visa. Seemanpillai’s parents, who have lived in a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu for over two decades, do not possess travel documents and, according to the Tamil Refugee Council in Melbourne, were ‘blocked at every turning’ in their requests for assistance to come to Australia for their son’s funeral. According to Tamil Refugee Council spokesman Aran Mylvaganam, who is in close contact with the family, Seemanpillai’s parents contacted the Australian High Commission in Chennai and were told to obtain temporary passports from the Sri Lankan High Commission, who would not grant them unless the family applied for the documents in Sri Lanka. Seemanpillai’s brother, who does possess a passport, applied for a visa with the Australian High Commission, but was refused as the Australian government did not believe he would stay in Australia temporarily………. The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, had offered to return Seemanpillai’s body for burial in Sri Lanka or India, but his parents had rejected the offer, stating they feared for their safety if the funeral was held in either country…….. Read more http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/16/tamil-asylum-family-unable-attend-funeral

Tamil asylum seeker's grieving family unable to attend funeral
Refugee council says Leo Seemanpillai’s parents, who live in an Indian refugee camp, have been 'blocked at every turning'
Oliver Laughland theguardian.com June 16, 2014

A shrine to Leo Seemanpiallai, the Tamil refugee who killed himself in Geelong, Australia. Photograph: Christian Bennett for the Guardian
The grieving family of Leo Seemanpillai, a Tamil asylum seeker who took his own life by self-immolating earlier in the month, say they will be unable to attend his funeral in Geelong after the Immigration Department and the Australian High Commission in India refused to help them or grant them a visa.
Seemanpillai’s parents, who have lived in a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu for over two decades, do not possess travel documents and, according to the Tamil Refugee Council in Melbourne, were ‘blocked at every turning’ in their requests for assistance to come to Australia for their son’s funeral.
According to Tamil Refugee Council spokesman Aran Mylvaganam, who is in close contact with the family, Seemanpillai’s parents contacted the Australian High Commission in Chennai and were told to obtain temporary passports from the Sri Lankan High Commission, who would not grant them unless the family applied for the documents in Sri Lanka.
Seemanpillai’s brother, who does possess a passport, applied for a visa with the Australian High Commission, but was refused as the Australian government did not believe he would stay in Australia temporarily……….
The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, had offered to return Seemanpillai’s body for burial in Sri Lanka or India, but his parents had rejected the offer, stating they feared for their safety if the funeral was held in either country……..
Read more http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/16/tamil-asylum-family-unable-attend-funeral

Q&A with Kylie Sambo: on fighting for justice Each week, a new guest hosts the @IndigenousX twitter account. We’re inviting them to tell us about who they are theguardian.com June 13, 2014 Jump to comments (18) This week on IndigenousX: Kylie Sambo. Photograph: /IndigenousX Each week, a new guest hosts the @IndigenousX twitter account to discuss topics of interest as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. In partnership with IndigenousX, we’re inviting its weekly host to tell us about who they are, what issues they’re passionate about, and what they have in store for us during their upcoming week. Tell us about who you are, where you are from, and what you do. My name is Kylie Sambo. My people are the Warlmanpa and Warumungu and I live in Tennant Creek. We have strong culture that we still practice, with ceremonies every year. I am a hip-hop artist. The main focus in my music are the struggles that I see happening and that I have experienced. I am also an activist on behalf of my people – I have a gift to help people who are unable to speak up for themselves. What do you plan to focus on during your week as host of @IndigenousX? My main focus will be keeping everyone updated about a current federal court case that is taking place in Tennant Creek. My family is challenging an attempt to dump nuclear waste on our land. We have been fighting against this dump for seven years now. We weren’t properly consulted about it. The government and Northern Land Council (NLC) have been pushing hard for it, even though it’s not their land. They just haven’t been listening. We are afraid that a nuclear waste dump will mean we lose our rights to go onto our country, visit our sites, hunt and collect. We are also worried it will poison that land. I’ll also be talking about the way the police mistreat us here in Tennant Creek – trying to control us and keep us down. One other issue I want to talk about is income management, and the BasicsCard that came in with the Intervention. We should be entitled to manage our own money, instead of the Centrelink telling us what to do. What issues are you most passionate about and why? I want people to know that we may be from a remote area, we may have poor education, but we are here standing up for what we believe in – which is our culture, our land and our future generations. We will not let them bully us in our own country……………… What are your hopes for the future? On paper, it says everyone is Australia is supposed to be equal, but there is dirty business going on under the table here that means as Aboriginal people, we are not equal at all. We still suffer racism, discrimination, things like this nuclear waste dump and income management. Then there are the small things that happen day to day, when you step back and look at it, you can see that we are so far from equal in our own country. This is our land. For the future I want us to be able to live as equals in our own land. Read more http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/13/qa-with-kylie-sambo-on-fighting-for-justice

Q&A with Kylie Sambo: on fighting for justice
Each week, a new guest hosts the @IndigenousX twitter account. We’re inviting them to tell us about who they are
theguardian.com June 13, 2014 Jump to comments (18)

This week on IndigenousX: Kylie Sambo. Photograph: /IndigenousX
Each week, a new guest hosts the @IndigenousX twitter account to discuss topics of interest as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. In partnership with IndigenousX, we’re inviting its weekly host to tell us about who they are, what issues they’re passionate about, and what they have in store for us during their upcoming week.
Tell us about who you are, where you are from, and what you do.
My name is Kylie Sambo. My people are the Warlmanpa and Warumungu and I live in Tennant Creek. We have strong culture that we still practice, with ceremonies every year. I am a hip-hop artist. The main focus in my music are the struggles that I see happening and that I have experienced. I am also an activist on behalf of my people – I have a gift to help people who are unable to speak up for themselves.
What do you plan to focus on during your week as host of @IndigenousX?
My main focus will be keeping everyone updated about a current federal court case that is taking place in Tennant Creek. My family is challenging an attempt to dump nuclear waste on our land. We have been fighting against this dump for seven years now. We weren’t properly consulted about it. The government and Northern Land Council (NLC) have been pushing hard for it, even though it’s not their land. They just haven’t been listening. We are afraid that a nuclear waste dump will mean we lose our rights to go onto our country, visit our sites, hunt and collect. We are also worried it will poison that land.
I’ll also be talking about the way the police mistreat us here in Tennant Creek – trying to control us and keep us down. One other issue I want to talk about is income management, and the BasicsCard that came in with the Intervention. We should be entitled to manage our own money, instead of the Centrelink telling us what to do.
What issues are you most passionate about and why?
I want people to know that we may be from a remote area, we may have poor education, but we are here standing up for what we believe in – which is our culture, our land and our future generations. We will not let them bully us in our own country………………
What are your hopes for the future?
On paper, it says everyone is Australia is supposed to be equal, but there is dirty business going on under the table here that means as Aboriginal people, we are not equal at all. We still suffer racism, discrimination, things like this nuclear waste dump and income management. Then there are the small things that happen day to day, when you step back and look at it, you can see that we are so far from equal in our own country. This is our land. For the future I want us to be able to live as equals in our own land.
Read more http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/13/qa-with-kylie-sambo-on-fighting-for-justice

Manus violence report highlights the futility of offshore processing

Melissa Phillips The Conversation May 28, 2014

The report into the Manus Island riots in which Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati was killed raises critical questions about the long-term sustainability of offshore processing. AAP/Dan Peled
The report on the issues leading up to and including the riots that took place in the Manus Island detention centre in February partially lifts the veil on the complex inner workings of offshore processing of asylum seekers and the human toll of Operation Sovereign Borders.
Conducted by Robert Cornall, the former secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, and released by immigration minister Scott Morrison earlier this week, the report sets out the timeline of events that led to the riots which resulted in the death of Iranian man Reza Barati and injury to 62 others.
In setting out the wider security issues, the relationships between different parties involved in running the Manus Island centre and the apparent lack of information communicated to people held at the centre about their future prospects, the report raises critical questions about the long-term sustainability of offshore processing.
Security and management issues
As the report shows, multiple entities are involved in managing the centre under the co-ordination of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). In February, these included the security contractor G4S (staffed by PNG locals and expatriates), the Salvation Army, International Health and Medical Services as well as Papua New Guinea police.
PNG police are investigating criminal aspects of the riot, but overall accountability for management of the centres surely rests with the DIBP. It had contracted G4S to manage the centre’s security………

The Cornall report identifies gaps in the information given to asylum seekers detained on Manus as a cause of the deadly violence. AAP/Eoin Blackwell
However, people in detention for the most part expected to reach Australia and seek asylum onshore. They never expected to find themselves in PNG in the first place. Battling with a reality quite different to their intentions, they were then informed that if found to be refugees they would be resettled in PNG, not Australia………
Read more http://theconversation.com/manus-violence-report-highlights-the-futility-of-offshore-processing-27231?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The+Weekend+Conversation&utm_content=The+Weekend+Conversation+CID_2c8e4fe5fa3d11225990b9d0dc350ed1&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Manus%20violence%20report%20highlights%20the%20futility%20of%20offshore%20processing