iamthecreaturefromuranus

Take no one. Problem solved at a stroke.

Amazulu

Sort of agree
Come in by boat and you get sent straight back
Come in from a refugee camp via the UN and you get welcomed with open arms
Increase the number coming in via the UN

papilon

http://www.theage.com.au/national/bu...624-1gjnu.html

I think for many the desperation and waiting up to 10 years just becomes to much. The conditions and stresses these people live under even in UN camps is very hard.

IvanM

They showed the human side of the horror of the refugee nightmare. Normally the media talks about the numbers in a disproportionate manner. The show also highlighted the grim life in intermediary countries.

Obviously ending the conflicts that generate the misery and desperation is part of the answer. The other part is to resource the UN and get the world to take the refugees. Prolonged life in camps will only continue to force people to jump the queue and take other measures.

Sadly Sudan is now drifting back into conflict and racial cleansing is starting to happen. Libyans are fleeing the horrors of war. Conflict is the real issue.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

..and conflict will never end so the refugee 'crisis' will never end.

ukecadet

Similar situation happened to me and a friend on holiday in Tunisia in the early 80s.Our passports were being checked as we boarded the plane back to UK.Our partners were ok but when they saw Government Service emblazoned over ours the shit hit the fan.A guard shouts to his mates and out come the riffles.My friend kicked into action mode and say's to me"get the girls on the plane"then he began to tear strips off these blokes. On the lines of"how dare you I'm a Captain in Her Majesties Royal Marines"etc etc , which indeed he was and a very tall muscular one at that.What followed was a bit like the scene in the movie A Man Who Would Be King,when Micheal Caine has the tribesmen trying to do drill.As my friend was barking at them,one was at attention, the other one seemed in two minds to drop his gun and the senior one amongst them "he had boots" was madly saluting.In all the confusion that followed we made good our escape.We were in stitches when we were off the ground "panic relief"It was a very scary situation at the time.Just happy it didn't end up like Midnight Express.

IvanM

So we have to be prepared for the consequences. The world acting together through a global body like the UN will help rather than just a minority of countries signing up to the current conventions. Focussing on the boats like twabbott does misses all the real issues but appeals to those incapable of thinking beyond the numbers.

the troubadour

A very sound point made here. Ned Kelly was certainly for the oppressed under dog and wouldn't have thought much of the thoughts of the right wing rabble outlook on the world of today.

Bix

Very true.

Makes me laugh when you get an outcry like this about "back door" refugees when not a finger is lifted to assist the homeless and needy in the country.

IvanM

But that is not the fault of the refugees but I understand how resourcing drives people to envy.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

The "consequences" need to be made clear to everybody and that they involve taking in refugees constantly, forever, with never a break and never an end to it.

IvanM

Fortunately the signatories of the convention on refugees are more practical and humane. Refugees are part of Australia's population policy. Neither party will change that. Getting more countries to sign up is more pragmatic.

the troubadour

True but very difficult, if not impossible to get the world acting in concert to look for solutions to this issue.

When you have powerful nations such as China,not recognising human rights and putting business interests before all else very hard to what can be done.

There is an issue if all folk requiring safety do actually required being resettled in a society so alien and if the camps they are it cannot be vastly improved that allow for long stays in a greater degree of comfort.
But then of course the pull/push factor comes into play.Also it would create possible strong reactions from the people where the camp is located,it it thought camp folk were living far better than nationals of the country the camp is located in.

No easy answers especially when economics tend to win over people.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Sign up as many countries as you want. It won't change the fact that 'refugees' will be heading to these shores and every other 'rich' nation, every day, of every week, of every year, forever.

Turban Explorer

The numbers are just tiny though as Papilon has pointed out. Foregrounding the refugee issue constitutes a desperate quest for votes by politicians with no policies other than to appeal to the xenophobic element of mass Aussie society.

Not that it makes sense to put levels of suffering in a hierarchy but I don't think having some poverty here parallels political persecution and torture. What about Afghanistan? Morally it's hard to bomb someone's country and then refuse sanctuary to its inhabitants when they are desperate and have nowhere to go.