Archaic Views

Wait... These are not prisoners

It astounded me today to find the headline of what could be loosely described as the Northern Territory's most reputable news paper (NT News) describing the expression of frustration by asylum seekers as a "Prison Riot".

The first thing that strikes a blow to my pride as an Australian is the view that refugee applicants in this country are housed in what could be viewed as a prison. Clearly the vast majority, close to all, asylum seekers whom apply for asylum when arriving in Australia are officially ruled as genuine refugees in need of a new home after being displaced by war, disaster or in some cases genocide as seems to be occurring in West Papua. It really is unthinkable that after all the heartache and turmoil these people have had to endure by making the decision that their home is no longer safe that once they arrive in a civilised western democracy that they are locked up in anything that could be described as a prison.

While I agree that measures need to be taken to deter people from trying to cross the Arafura or Timor Sea in overcrowded rafts, a sea which I personally would never even venture out into on my boat, once these people have succeeded in crossing the rough stretch of water they should be greeted, assessed and processed quickly to ensure that community integration has the best chance of success.

Can you imagine what these 'Prisoners' must think of Australia after making the voyage to a land of promise only to be locked up for up to three years while their application for asylum is processed. Assuming that any, some or most of these people are successful in their application how do you think they will accept Australian values, culture and society after becoming so outraged at their treatment they feel the need to vent their frustrations in such a way.

I fear that many people in Australia have lost perspective of the problem and as a culture we have forgotten our proud history of mass immigration from European and Asian countries as recent as the 1980s. The question that we should be asking ourselves is how can we best provide assistance to our newly arrived neighbors, friends and sometimes relatives in order to embrace and enrich our already thriving multicultural heritage. And how as a society we can influence, in my view, irresponsible media outlets such as the NT News to stop scare campaigns and start talking about the solutions rather than prolonging the archaic views which caused the problem in the first place.