Damn it! I think I am just not communicating clearly enough: I was actually patronizing our friend JustMal. Yes, I know that’s not a nice thing to do… My apologies.

But let’s say I was serious about JustMal being dangerous, then I would say that those in Government are actually quite stupid – which is what dangerous people want… Remember what Ronald Reagan said – and I know I am taking his statement out context: “The Government is the problem”.

Back to the cricket, S.

People like you are dangerous!

Best, Sam.

However, there also many areas in your post that are littered with ubsubstatiated claims. Eg. “Thousands of Tamils, Sinhalese and others fly from Sri Lanka to India every month, and all of them get the requisite clearances.” Well, if these “thousands” have managed to fly to India…of course they have got clearance. But what of those who have applied and have not been cleared? What is the demographic? We either need some statistics, or more authoritative sources to back this up. After all you are asking me to do the same….and I will concede that it is necessary for me to do so.

I would prefer to be involved in a productive exchange of ideas, as oposed to simply exchanging words with those who wish to air pre-conceived views. I am in fact open to learning and modifying my own opinions. I hope you have similar objectives. Otherwise, I am sure we both would benefit from spending time on other more productive activities. Furthermore, I feel obligated to respect as much as possible, the original intentions of those who have created this website. I suspect if we have not already done so….we are in danger of going on a tangent.

1. I can’t recall the navy ever having sunk boatloads of refugees. Do you have any evidence (news reports etc) to back up your claims? I doubt it. Surely crossing 32km is less risky than sailing all the way to Australia. Verdict: B/S!

2. On what grounds would the police arrest Tamil civilians simply because they’ve asked for a security clearance, unless of course he/she is a known terrorist/criminal. Thousands of Tamils, Sinhalese and others fly from Sri Lanka to India every month, and all of them get the requisite clearances. Verdict: B/S!

3. Militias perhaps, but certainly not the military. Again, going to Tamil Nadu or to Colombo would considerably lessen the chances of that happening.

4. LTTE is known to be involved in human trafficking. Surely they must have had some help from professional human smugglers to get all the way to Australia. The chances of them being involved with the LTTE are very high, that’s why it’s absolutely important to conduct thorough and meticulous background checks on them.

They would have a much better quality of life in Australia in terms of being able to earn higher wages, access to social security and housing, better education, healthcare, transport etc. If safety was a big concern they wouldn’t risk their lives to get here. Australia is a developed first world country while Sri Lanka is a developing third world one. Of course these people (who are probably from low income working class backgrounds in Sri Lanka) would do anything and say anything to get to Australia.

Sam, Australia does have a welfare economy where everything, from tertiary education to heroin syringes, is subsidised by the government. Millions of healthy and employable people live on Centrelink without trying to look for work. Demographically, most of them are rural, blue collar Aussies or newly arrived refugees in the suburbs. The Australian economy is dependent on skilled migrants who work hard and pay taxes. In light of the fact that Australia did have a white-only policy until the late 60s, the recent race riots in Cronulla, anti-Muslim/anti-Asian hysteria in the mainstream media, official renunciation of the commitment to multi-culturalism by the federal government and the new focus on assimilationism, defeat of the left-faction leaders of the opposition Labour party, foreigners who refuse to kiss the Australian flag and pledge allegiance to it being beaten up at the “Big Day Out” last year, second coming of Pauline Hanson, and even the calls by the Anglican church to stop Muslim migration; no, I don’t think these feelings are only limited to an ignorant and insecure minority of voters.

There are justifiable reasons for this apparent xenophobia. In the last few decades, Australia has allowed in people from very different cultures (esp from non-Commonwealth nations) who’ve had a hard time adjusting to the Australian way of life, and many of them have refused to integrate with the Australian society, adopt Aussie values, learn English or show any loyalty to Australia. The conduct of extremist Muslim clerics and other communal leaders have only aggravated these feelings among the general population. Violence and crime among some refugee groups are so high that an Australian town recently refused entry to Sudanese refugees on account of them being potential criminals.

With the election coming up and the government being heavily unpopular against the new charistmatic right-wing Labour leader, it is important for Howard to consolidate his conservative base by appearing very tough on immigration issues. Speaking for myself, I don’t have a problem with allowing these people to live in Australia provided they don’t live on the dole and do work hard to make a living. But accepting them as refugees compels the government to provide them with these benefits, which is why they don’t even want to process them on Australian soil.

Firstly, Australia doesn’t have a welfare economy. It has various nets to provide support to those who are financially struggling, or have difficulties working due to medical conditions. There are those who abuse this system of assistance – but they are very much in the minority.

I don’t share your view that conservative voters are concerned about “about refugees living off the dole and being involved in criminal activities”. Most conservative voters are actually quite progressive when it comes to concern aobut human well being. They want to do the right thing to help people who are less fortunate than themselves.

I think this view exists among ignorant and insecure voters, who are mostly informed by tabloid newspapers and radio talk back that pushes the line that refugees are going to take advantage of australia’s generosity and could be criminals and even terrorists.

This hype, unfortunately, can influence the broader society – which sometimes does happen. And unfortunately, the Australia’s media likes to drive this furthering the ‘media frenzy’ about topics that aslyum seekers coming is could be terrorists, etc… But a vast majority of Australians – conservatives and others, are fair people, who deserve those who have experience hardship should be supported to have a better life.

In terms of torture allegations – let the investigators who will be assessing the claim for asylum determine this. I am sure they’ll produce a report that you will be able to access if you wanted to.

(the Sri Lankan Health Minister also proposed this when questioned by australian media)
————————————
The ASRC co-ordinator explains why this proposition
has logistical problems:

1. The Sri Lankan Navy has sunk many boats on the basis that they are all Tamil Tigers. While some are LTTE boats, many are refugees trying to escape the violence.

2. For a Tamil to fly to India requires a Visa from the Indian High Commission. The Indian government already have hundreds of thousands of Tamil refugees. The visa requires a police clearance. A Tamil seeking such a clearance from a police station will be imprisoned. Clearly India is not an option for these reasons.

3. If we look at the evidence- young men are at risk of being inducted into the military and militias, of being kidnapped and murdered.

4. The Health minister claimed that these asylum seekers were both economic refugees and potential Tiger Terrorists-a pretty broad claim when he also said that he knew little about them.

Finally, regarding Australia providing a better life:
I am aware of Sri Lankans who would in a heartbeat choose Sri Lanka over Australia if it provided the same level of peace, justice and equity for its citizens.

In the reflections section of this multimedia presentation on refugee children for Australian school children http://www.abc.net.au/longjourney/index_flash.html)
the reflections of Sri Lankan Tamil children (13 year old Bavithra, 13 year old Krishanth and 11 year old Mahen) gives some insight into these feelings. For example according to Krishanth “if there was no war in Sri Lanka…Australia would not even compare to Sri Lanka…it is such a beautiful countrly……”.

Australia is a much safer place for these Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers. So yes in this sense, they would have a much better quality of life.

But the fact is, Australia needs hardworking tax paying migrants to sustain its welfare economy. At the same time, there’s a lot of concern (particularly among the conservative voters) about refugees living off the dole and being involved in criminal activities, . That’s why it’s important for the Coalition government to act tough on illegals while increasing skilled migration on the sly.

Much of the evidence for these torture allegations are based on unsubstantiated hearsay and anectodal evidence and certainly not water tight. The onus is on them to prove their claims, not the detractors to disprove them. That said, I think anyone who could make a positive contribution to the Australian society while increasing their own quality of life, should be allowed to stay in Australia if they’ve made it this far.