People who think refugees do it easy on Christmas Island don’t understand the reality of their situation, Marie Gordon writes. She refutes claims of Shadow Immigration Minister Scott Morrison after his recent whistle-stop visit to CI.
Christmas Island is no cushy gig
‘Rocking the asylum boats’ (Scott Morrison, Sun-Herald Sydney, 7/2 ), clearly knows nothing about Christmas Island, or refugees (he calls them ‘illegals’ twice; they are not and never have been that). Robinson’s article is so full of conjectures I can only wonder why he has set himself up for scrutiny.
- Boat people are not ‘illegals’. Australia is a signatory to the International Refugee Act and, as such, we are obliged to accept refugees into our country.
- Along with 20 others that I know of, I write to refugees in detention on CI. Some of them have been waiting up to 9-11 months to be processed, so where does Robinson get this idea of instant visas and a swift move to the mainland? If only. I know this from my two reliable contacts who live and work on the island.
- How far did he ‘investigate’ conditions when he visited. Did he see the 68 children who are detained within a fenced facility, which consists mostly of metal, concrete and gravel, tiny demountable building, with small bedrooms. The children are under guard and not free to leave this prison. What happened to the Government’s promise that no children shall be in detention?
- The Human Rights Commission wants CI axed and with good reason. PM Rudd (who, initially, wanted it closed) now can’t get enough tents shipped to the island to hold more and more refugees. He knows he can get away with blue murder as CI is in the Excision Zone (the reason why Howard had it built there), which means we can weasel out of our commitment to the International Refugee Act.
- As for ‘case management’, there are at present five people trying, in vain, to manage the unmanageable.
- As for the ‘wads of money’ the asylum seekers are supposed to have, the truth is that they don’t have enough money to buy a biro from the canteen. One refugee had to leave his country, his wife and three children to come to Australia hoping he could make a better future for them. Ten months later he is still waiting.
- Lastly, processing refugees on CI is far more expensive than processing on the mainland. It costs at least twice as much to keep refugees on CI as it would on the mainland.
Marie Gordon, member of Civil Liberties Australia and Amnesty International Palmerston ACT
Morrison article: http://www.scottmorrison.com.au/info/multimedia.aspx?id=70