Australia’s Treatment of Refugees is Unnecessarily Harsh

1 94 What Difference Does Writing Make? australia s Treatmentof Refugees isUnnecessarily HarshBy Sayomi AriyawansaWe are told that australia is the lucky country . A countrywhere our most attractive asset is our multicultural communityand diverse society. In our anthem, we sing: for those whocome across the seas, we ve boundless plains to share .Ironically, it is in the second verse which we hardly ever this reveals the true attitude australia has towardsasylum seekers. People who flee from countries which arepersecuting them, escaping for their lives.

2 australia s manda-tory detention policy means that asylum seekers are locked in adetention centre until they are processed, which can take to the Minister for Immigration, Amanda Vanstone,this is in order to deter other arrivals. Detention-centreadvocates tell us that our tough attitude towards boat people is a deterrent for others who may consider seeking asylum tell us these people are a burden that we don t want, andthe best way to stop them is to show them that australia is notan open country and will not accept everyone. However, thereis a line between tough and inhumane, a line that is blurred interms of our refugee policy.

3 Our current system humiliates andpsychologically damages innocent people and goes against UNconventions. There must be a better way to treat this issue, andwe should consider the systems in place by other UN International Refugee Convention requires hostcountries to treat asylum seekers with dignity and respect whileAustralia s Treatment of Refugees is Unnecessarily Harsh95 Leading Writers on Writingtheir claims for asylum are processed. There is increasinglymore and more evidence that detention centres hold asylumseekers in conditions harsher than those felt by convictedcriminals.

4 After Baxter detention centre held a mentally illAustralia citizen for nine months, an investigation showed theharsh conditions within detention centres. There are bedswithout mattresses, toilets without doors and showers withoutcurtains. Is this how australia treats asylum seekers with dignityand respect? The United Nations Human Rights Commissionhas said that conditions in australia s detention centres are offensive to human dignity .Not only are detention centres stripping innocent people oftheir dignity, there are increasing claims that the Harsh condi-tions within the centres are psychologically damaging.

5 TheUnited Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have saidthat australia s detention centres are worse than prisons andsaw alarming levels of self-harm . australia is not alone in usingdetention centres for processing Refugees , but its callous treat-ment of Refugees within the centres, their Harsh conditions andthe unnecessary time spent in detention have brought uponmuch criticism from multitudes of human rights organisations,such as Amnesty International. This criticism apparently has noeffect on the Australian Government which continues itsappalling Treatment of people who seek refuge and acceptancehere.

6 The spirit of the survivors of the most ruthless politicalregimes is often destroyed by the Harsh environment they areplaced in. Their resilience is tested, and the psychological damagedone makes it extremely difficult for them to rejoin society ashealthy, productive citizens. These people can enrich ourcommunity greatly, but in order to do so they deserve a fair advocates tell us that detention is neces-sary in order to determine the asylum seeker s identity. Theyalso believe that detention centres are the best way to deterother arrivals. However, many countries need to deal withasylum seekers, and many of these countries do so with policiesthat are far more humane and concur with UN is a country that has a policy that Australiashould consider.

7 If asylum seekers arrive in Sweden without96 What Difference Does Writing Make?Sayomi Ariyawansaappropriate documentation, they are placed in a detentioncentre. Their stay in the detention centre does not exceed sixmonths and children may not be detained longer than six detention centres in Sweden do not resort to barbed-wirefences, and all detainees have full access to legal advice,counselling and have the right to appeal their being held indetention. Asylum seekers are only required to remain in deten-tion centres for the time it takes to ascertain their identities andnot the entire procedure.

8 Once their identities are confirmedthey are released into Refugee Reception Housing or move inwith friends whilst they await the decision. The Swedish systemallows for all proper processing, ensuring national security aswell as maintaining the asylum seeker s right to being treatedwith dignity and respect. This is in comparison to manygenuine Refugees held in detentions centres for several years inAustralia, regardless of their age. Asylum seekers are virtuallystripped of their basic human rights, and do not have access tolegal advice. australia can learn from the Swedish policy that istough, but ultimately and most importantly, continuing to maintain our current refugee policy, australia is not only going against UN conventions, but alsoagainst our long-cherished ideals of mateship and tolerance.

9 Indoing so, we are blocking out the people who have the poten-tial to bring even more cultural diversity into the Government s stance on Refugees is quietly contradictingall the principles we stand for as a society. If we truly believethat we are a generous and multicultural nation, it s time thatwe show it by empathising with our fellow human beings. Oursystem is Unnecessarily Harsh and we should look to othercountries policies, such as the one in Sweden, so we can have apolicy that ensures our borders are secure, but is also fair togenuine Refugees .

10 In the era of globalisation, australia is nolonger a remote and isolated island on its own, but a part of thewider global community. It is time to treat our neighbours withthe dignity and respect that all humans deserve. Sayomi Ariyawansa wrote this essay in 2005 when she was in Year11 at Kilvington Girls Grammar, Ormond, s Treatment of Refugees is Unnecessarily Harsh97 Leading Writers on Writing