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Oct 26 2011
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Featured, Refugees, Social Justice

Today Tonight’s Refugee Story Ripped Apart By Media Watch

If you view Media Watch semi-regularly, you’ll know the media in Australia have run stories that are highly-inflamatory and extremely misleading for years. But the fact that these self-described investigative reports still run continues to take my breath away. A few weeks ago, Today Tonight made some pretty big claims about refugees living in 4-star resorts and getting paid large amounts of money, frustrating its hundreds of thousands of viewers. However, as Media Watch showed, the story was based on previous reporting, deliberate editing of figures and misleading those who they interviewed. In what is one of the most fascinating Media Watch critiques I have seen, Today Tonight got ripped a new one for this piece. And rightfully so. This highlights why the average Australian has such a warped view of the refugee issue in Australia, and it is because of pieces like this that voters place demands on the government that seriously breach our international legal obligations to refugees. A bit more clear and factual thinking, is it so much to ask of our media?

Now, if you are interested in what kind of conditions refugees/asylum seekers actually live in, check out this piece by Four Corners, which in my view takes a much more factual look at this situation. This report, aired just two weeks after the Today Tonight program mentioned above. What a strange world we live in sometimes.

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Jun 21 2011
2 Comments
Refugees, Social Justice

Go Back to Where You Came From

Tonight, SBS aired the first episode in a new reality TV series that asks 6 people from around Australia to spend 25 days in the shoes of a refugee. I’d been hearing about the show in the lead up to the premier. I wasn’t quite sure what to suspect, but was expecting a very interesting show.

Personally, refugee documentaries, news stories and general public discourse has been incredibly heartbreaking over the last year or so for me. Whether it is arguments from the left or right, there are many truths in this whole debate, but often little middle ground. As such a deeply emotional issue, it is one that often takes its toll on me, and I have to step back from the debate and allow some cooling off. It is really hard not to take this discourse personally some times. Not because I’ve been a refugee, but because I can empathise with what is happening. I can’t imagine what it is like for refugees resettled in Australia to be living amongst such polar political discourse. The saddest truth in this is  that quite often, people on the left and right are using refugees as political footballs and fail to have their genuine humanitarian and legal interests at heart.

But then comes Go Back to Where You Came From. Instead of pushing an agenda, it simply grabs 6 people from very different walks of life (a Cronulla lifeguard, a social worker, an unemeployed ‘Westie,’ an ex-soldier, a country singer and a member of the Liberal Party) and very different (and often competing) political views, and gets them together to experience what it is like to be a refugee. The aim is not to force people’s opinions to change or to show everyone watching at home how racist some people are. It is quite simply ‘a social experiment.’

I highly, highly, highly recommend watching the first episode, in full, free and online at http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/goback

Regardless of your political views, they are all represented on this show and it is an interesting melting pot of opinion, discourse and reality. As someone with a strong view on the issue, it has also helped frame the discourse in a new light, where ordinary Australians can have a say on the subject, then experience.

I’ve also included some trailers below, but the full show can be seen at http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/goback

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Jun 17 2010
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Featured, Refugees, Social Justice

Mythbusting: Boat People As A Security Threat

Another myth that seems to have a lot of  prelevance and influence is that asylum seekers who arrive by boat (boat people) can pose a security threat to Australia, and thus border security is extremely important. I know I have certainly seen this discussed on television, usually accompanied by images of the Navy suiting up and preparing to board a rather leaky-looking boat. While it does seem a bit unnecessary, it certainly doesn’t do anything to stop the fear that we are under threat from these ‘strangers.’ It certainly is a common theme in refugee discussion in Australia. 

According to the Refugee Council of Australia, the majority of boat people (a whopping 85-90%) are found to be genuine refugees. In fact, those travelling by boat are generally more likely to be granted refugee status, compared to just 40% of all those who apply for asylum who arrive via plane. That’s a huge difference.

In case you are wondering, the 1951 Refugee Convention excludes granting refugee status to those who have committed war crimes, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, or similar activities.  There are very serious background and security checks done on refugees, and anyone guilty of the crimes mentioned earlier will be denied refugee status, therefore, it makes it extremely unlikely that any ‘security threats’ will be granted refugee status.  Also, given the security checks, not to mention the dangerous journey a refugee must take, it is highly improbable that a terrorist or other ‘security threat’ would try to enter Australia as a refugee.

Therefore, we must conclude that boat people do not pose a credible threat to Australia’s security. With up to 90% of them found to be genuine refugees, this myth is one that needs to be exposed and locked away for good. For the record, I am all for border security. In fact, I work in that industry. But that asylum seekers themselves are a threat to Australia is a notion that must be looked at factually, and the facts show that this is just another myth, a myth we need to expose.

For more info, check out the Refugee Council of Australia’ fact sheet: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/docs/news&events/rw/2010/4%20-%20Myths%20and%20facts%20about%20refugees%20and%20asylum%20seekers%202010.pdf

Image: Scared Ghost by Scr47chy used with permission. Some rights reserved.

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