Refugee rage leaves us fenced in by fear
Article 31 of the UN Refugee Convention - which we naturally signed -
forbids host countries from penalising refugees who declare themselves
and show cause. Articles 32 and 33 forbid their expulsion or refoulement
to any place of endangerment through race, religion or belief.
Article 26 requires the host to allow free movement. Articles
27 and 28 require provision of identity and travel documents. Other
articles require the same rights to education, housing, employment,
artistic freedom, social security and ''sympathetic consideration'' as
accorded to nationals. Article 16 requires free access to courts of law.
Yet we detain people without proof or charge. We deny them
freedom of speech or movement without limit or reason. And although the
Abbott government pretends that ''stopping the boats'' saves lives, we
cage them in such hot, crowded and brutalised despair that they riot,
suicide and abort babies rather than continue. We forbid reportage. We
censor news.
These are matters of fact. Together, they reveal our
immigration policy as nimbyism of the ugliest sort and grandest possible
scale.
No comments:
Post a Comment