STOP THE BOATS

Picture says it all, doesn’t it?

In 2007, when the Howard Government handed the reigns of this country over to the ALP, there were four people in detention.  Four.

Now there are several thousand.

In a matter of five years, our Immigration Policy has turned into a humanitarian disaster.

Sure, there are people that will argue about Howard’s Pacific Solution’s humanity and so on, but it’s interesting how those same people will overlook what’s happening today.

People (and the media at large) crucified Howard for the Pacific Solution, as people in detention were starving themselves, stitching their mouths closed, rioting and claiming they were living in inhumane conditions.

Don’t kid yourselves; the same thing is happening now.  However, the media seem to be overlooking that fact, and are praising the Gillard Government for their Malaysia People Swap Policy and their desperate attempts to fix what was not broken in the first place.

Some of the harshest critics of the Pacific Solution have now come out and confessed that the Rudd/Gillard Governments attempt at a more ‘open armed’ policy toward immigration has failed.

Sure, we remember the Pacific Solution as the catalyst for the ‘children overboard’ scandal, which saw people throwing their children into the ocean in an attempt to gain access to this country.  It was horrendous.

However, is it more horrendous that a boat load of people smashing against the rocks at Christmas Island?  Is t more horrendous than the two boats that have sunk just this week, or the hundreds of people that have died in the last five years?

It’s all just a waste.  A desperate waste.

I think most Australian’s don’t really have a problem with refugees and immigrants coming to live here.  We’re a pretty open minded culture, and can appreciate how wonderful this country is to live in. I mean; who wouldn’t want to live here?  We’re awesome!

Though, it would appear that most of us can’t fully appreciate the nightmares that these refugee’s are fleeing from.  We’ve got it too good here (thank the Lord) to really understand what it’s like to live in chaos.

We need to understand the plight of some of these refugees, for us to appreciate their desperation.

Imagine a life in which you are but a simple man of simple needs.  You meet a wonderful woman, and you plan a future together.  You don’t want much; just a home, and a job to provide for your family.

However, you live in a country where you are persecuted for your religious beliefs.  You’re a native of that country, just like the people around you, but because your religious views are different, you are outcast and targeted.  Violently targeted.

The one thing that keeps you safe is the leader of the nation.  Saddam Hussein.  He loves people of your faith.  He protects your clergy and your churches.  He keeps you safe, because during his reign; no one questioned him.

Hussein may have done many, many bad things, but he did keep you safe, and you could quietly build that life with your family you so innocently want.

Then one day, it’s all over.  People from a foreign country attack your lands for reasons you don’t understand, and not only is your future under threat, but now that Hussein has been ‘removed’, your life is now at stake.

Clergymen and bishops are being slaughtered by the new regime.  People of your faith are being gunned down in the street; attacked in their own homes.  Raped and murdered.

All because you are a Christian.

Yes; a Christian. 

Living in your home land; a land dominated by Islamic Muslims.

Everything you had planned; your entire future is lost, and you fear for your lives. 

What would you do?  You are no longer safe… could you even imagine what that would be like?

Take a moment.  Right now. Just stop and think.  The future you have mapped out for yourself; the existence you lead; is gone.  Your home, job, and life are in ruins, and all you have left, is yourself and your partner.  That’s it.  There is nothing here for you anymore.

No matter where you go in this country, you will not be safe.  You can’t hide, you can’t disappear into the outback, you can’t simply move interstate and start again, because they will find you, and they will kill you.

There is no government you can approach about immigrating to America or Australia, because not only will they shoot you for being a Christian, but they will shoot you for treason.  How dare you want to leave this country!

So you flee. 

You take what few possessions you can, and you disappear into the night.  You make your way into a neutral, safer country, and approach the American embassy; the key to your new life.

Some years later, your find yourself living in beautiful Australia; a country that has everything, including people that are although at times quite judgemental, accepting of who you are.

This is the story of two friends of mine.  Two gorgeous people that had to flee their homeland because they were no longer safe.  They have two beautiful children, and lead a simple life running their own cleaning business.  They work hard to support their family, and are ever appreciative of the opportunities afforded them in Australia.

This is only one story; one of thousands. 

Every refugee has a story; maybe we just need to listen?

Instead, we get caught up in the politics of it all.  Caught up in the thought that these people are not entitled to be here.  Caught up in the blame game as yet another boat capsizes on its way to Christmas Island with its precious cargo.

Gillard is blaming Abbott for blocking a policy that does not ‘stop the boats’.  Abbott is saying that he will not send refugees to Malaysia; a country that is renowned for its cruelty to refugees.  Gillard want’s onshore processing.  Abbott wants offshore processing.  The Greens want to hug fucken trees and throw rainbows at everything.

The idea is to welcome refugees, but stop them coming in illegally.  Stop them jumping the queue.

Charlie Pickering got his knickers in a right twist last night on The Project, as he argued with Steve Price about the validity of refugee’s rights.  So caught up in his obvious dislike for Price, his cool, calm exterior was gone as he angrily snapped ‘Where is the actual queue?  Where does it start and end?’

Good point, really.  Where do they start?  In foreign embassy’s? In international detention centres? Where do they start when there is no governmental foundation for them?

What choice is there for some people?

Charlie said to me last night, after watching The Project, that if one man can produce $7000.00 Australian Dollars to board a boat from Indonesia, then he’s not a refugee.

I argued that it’s not a matter of money.  It’s a matter of opportunity.  Who said a refugee had to be poor? 

A refugee is defined as a person who is outside their country of origin or habitual residence because they have suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because they are a member of a persecuted ‘social group’. 

Nothing here about money.  Good luck to them if they have it, because they’ll be less of a burden on our already stretched government resources when they are finally allowed to enter our society.

So we turn to our elected officials to resolve this problem, but this week has seen yet another stalemate in decision making.  Another wasted week, and I must ask; who is at fault.

Again, Gillard is blaming Abbott, but need I point out that Gillard’s government are the ones that ‘fixed’ what wasn’t broken in the first place.  If they had just left the Pacific Solution in place, I wouldn’t even be writing this blog now.

Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but it clearly worked.  No one could argue that it didn’t stop illegal immigration.  I did.  Four people in detention at the handover of government was proof of that.

So why can we not return to it?  Even temporarily?  Restore off shore processing and return temporary visas (temporary meaning that they can live here until the situation that saw them flee their homeland is resolved)?

Whilst our government bangs around the halls of wisdom achieving nothing, the people smugglers are desperately cramming people on to boats to make their money before their business dries up again. 

The boats will be coming thick and fast now.  Or at least until this is properly resolved.  How many more desperate people will die before the government finally accept that their Malaysian Policy is not the answer, and they need to turn back the clocks?

They can point the finger all they like, but the only people they can blame, are themselves.

Turn back the clocks.  Bring back the Pacific Solution, and iron out the flaws in that policy, if need be.

It’s time to stop playing politics, and start acting in the best interests of not only this country, but the people that are killing themselves to be a part of it.

Peace out.