My take on refugees and immigration
As luck would have it, everywhere I turned today, I see the issue of Time with the Asylum Seeker’s front page, as well as other news with regards to a new boatload of refugees that has just been intercepted and are waiting on Christmas Island.
Well, first off, let me explain my view of refugees as a whole. I do agree they need to be treated humanely. I do agree that sometimes, this does not include an option of going back to their homelands. I am completely sympathetic and understand their situations, if genuine, whether it is violence related or economically related, that their lives are threatened if they had stayed home.
The issues that I am severely concerned about is that:
1) their concerns might not be as severe as they are implying.
2) they are just not entirely genuine, which implies a direct security to the nation, amongst other things.
3) it is hard to find out if anything about them is genuine.
4) the possibilities of being unable to sustain the population.
5) employment rates - be it for them or for the recipient nation’s citizens.
6) the unfair tilt for the other migrants who are legally trying to get into the country.
To start with, I am just going to go down the list I have written up. People are worrying about the boatloads of refugee seekers for many reasons, to the point where it is threatening political careers, if the media is to be believed.
Asylum seekers/refugees claim they need asylum for various reasons ranging from a violent homeland, threats of death, economical breakdown, deathly discrimination - what gives. Alot of them arrives with nary a skill to call their own as they have spent the majority of their lives completely unable to gain any skills beyond living from hand to mouth and running and hiding for their lives, if they are to be believed. Although, most countries that refugees comes from are also well known for having the lack of opportunities to gain any form of skills - which is fair enough and understandable.
yet, as I have heard, seen, read from various sources, some of the claims are barely close to the truth. some of the refugees’ issues aren’t even big enough to leave the continent they stay on, such as the one of the German family seeking refugee status in Canada/America (Can’t remember where they ended up). and then, you get completely contradicting experiences from 2 different citizens of the same country and similar “villages”. I know 2 people from a particular country, one’s trained as nurse within that country (whose qualifications are not recognised here, but that’s beside the point) and has worked as a nurse, while the other claimed that no such opportunities exists in that country.
this then leads into point 2). If the situation that they are claiming are not as severe as they claim, there can only be a few reasons why they are here. Some of the countries, particularly the ones that have currently have their refugee intake frozen in Australia at the moment, possess personalities that could prove to be a security threat to Australia. E.g Muslim extremists from everywhere (since, you know, Muslim isn’t just a faith present in Afghanistan), people of criminal records that are not easily accessible to Australia (because the country they are from aren’t organised enough to be well policed), crazed warlords trying to take over the world.
That is just the extreme end of the stick.
The not so extreme end of the stick is also the darndest. A few months ago, I was speaking to a girl on the bus. I know this girl fairly well enough to say that she was a refugee, was working at that point in time at a minimum wages job, and was also a single mum-to-be. Her mum worked hard for her to get away from her homeland, an act to give her a brighter future that her parents never had. When she got here, she discovered a whole world of opportunities that starts with the door called Humanitarian Visa, and the doormat known as Centerlink.
In her very own words, she laughed and said to me, “if you’re female, under 25 and about to become a mother, the Government will take care of you like their own kid.” While I have yet to find the links to the “benefits” she claims (because I can’t seem to work my way around government websites very well, they are terrible, nor have I looked very hard), here’s a condense version of what she said to me:
- if you proved you have been looking for a job, they will give you $$
- even if you do have a job, if it pays you minimum wages, they will pay you some $$ too.
- as a female, especially as an expectant female, she was offered a number of government rental housing in prime areas for “safety” reasons. even though, really, they are just a couple of blocks away, they offered her another home within a matter of 3 months because “it’s in a safer spot”. all these, of course, at discounted rates.
- if you take on accredited courses to “improve” yourself (such as english language) or to gain skills, you get paid while you study, sometimes to the tune of $900 a fortnight. This is almost that of minimum wages sans taxes. whether or not you actually pass or attend the courses much is not an issue.
and what this says to me is that… they are just opportunists. This money they are getting is our taxes. our hard earned taxes.
While she’s busy manipulating the system, and she’s not the only one since she wasn’t the only one I have spoken to, I have been busy too. I have worked my ass off, and then some with extra shifts so I could buy what I need and what I want. I used to spent months looking for lodging, sometimes in the dodgiest of places with the worst landlords. I pay nearly 3 times what she pays to stay in the same area. My dad blew his retrenchment package on my Uni studies while I am about to pay for my upcoming ENs course.
No, I am not angry, I am just terribly scandalized. Where do people get off on this? How is it right that thousands of hardworking Australians pay taxes so someone can leech off them without being discovered?
Of course, this then leads to point 3) and 4). resources are severely limited, be it food, money, land, jobs and more. The government can hardly afford to do the minute sleuthing to find out if these people are indeed doing what they are meant to be doing, that they are indeed who they say they are. After all, they are already paying them money for various other things already.
at the same times, these people that eventually gets through the detention centres will also eventually occupy space. They will be expected to job hunt in the same jobs that everyone else is hunting too. Australia, as a continent, is technically big enough to sustain more people than is currently living on it. This is just space wise, however, and not resource wise.
Does Australia have enough water resources? Do we have enough land for housing? Would housing then remain cheap enough for everyone, or would it grow out of reach for our future generations? Are we looking at a future of rental properties for Australians? Would there be enough jobs for everyone?
and, yet another big question, with such a huge influx of migrants, both from paid migration and from humanitarian visas, what would happen to the Australian culture? As it is, for example, the Canberra I knew is changing. It is different now from the sleepy town of merely 7 years ago. so, would Australia still be Australia?
then, since we are on the topic of paid migration, what about the migrants who have the choice to stay or go in their countries? who are skilled and wants to bring their skills here? what about people’s spouses/partners who are somewhat skilled, willing to assimilate and contribute to their new home society…. what do the get? How come we are marginalised and have to be trimmed down while boatloads of refugees are increasing?
doesn’t that just encourage us to buy a raft and wade back in that way instead?
There are quite possibly a few ideas in solutions that are… risky to explore and quite possibly resource hungry in terms of land and $$. but then again, any policy is often resource hungry, particularly in the finance department. here’s a few ideas into solving the problems:
- I think Spain or Italy tried this - turn back the boats. This probably sound very inhumane to the Greens and a whole bunch of other humane societies. Unfortunately, if they haven’t notice this by now, they must be very blind. In accepting boatloads of people, Australia is sending a big signal out to others waiting back home that they won’t mind taking them in. Unfortunately, Australia isn’t handling refugees very well. I don’t think many countries do at this point in time. The economic downturn, while not affecting Australia that much, has brought other problems in.
turning back the boats for now would slow down the problem while they figure out how to resettle people and work through other related problems (such as finding a better, more fool-proof method of means testing them post-giving them their PRs).
and really, let’s admit it now, if Australia turns boats away, they are not likely to go straight back home if all is bad - there are many countries between here and their home countries.
- create new towns. I mean, haven’t they been encouraging people to build more areas outside of Sydney? Create new towns, put some resources in there. Then carefully manipulate the type of people in there. In Singapore, to maintain order, fairness and etc, housing blocks are sold in racial ratios. This means that, according to the national statistics, since 70% of the population is chinese, 20% are malays, etc, the housing blocks are sold in those ratios as well to ensure that no one area is over populated with a single race. This is of course, ages ago, I don’t know if it’s still the same. Besides, I am sure my figures are just a little off.
What I am suggesting is slightly different. to help assimilate refugees into the local culture, it would be perhaps more proactive to have “manipulated” populations such that 70% of the new towns’ population are born Australians or have been Australians for a long time (pick a time frame, since there are so many migrant Australisn now).
- have probation periods for people granted the visa. If they willingly upgrade themselves and assimilate themselves, they stay and get resettled somewhere else to evenly distribute skills.
- If the country they come from are over with their troubles… It might be easier to ship those who are still in detention centres back home, along with some who have been locally “trained”. This is to help rebuild the country so there would be less failed states therefore leading to less refugees (very thereotically speaking).
none of the above ideas are foolproof, hateproof and even seem humane to many. I don’t aim to please. However, I would think the interests of born-bred Australians are more important than those who are coming to Australia, whom have yet to prove themselves or contribute to the society.
and let’s just admit it now, temporary detention centres aren’t going to be the solution in the long run. Neither is using Indonesia as a backyard going to help relations.
okay, brain has stop whirling. I will stop here for now.
Originally published at Closed Doors
Addendum: As pointed out by cutelildrow , I do work with some of the above characters I have mentioned. I also happen to work with some international students from nearby countries of those refugees (due to racial issues, I won't describe where they are from so no one would pinpoint it as a racial thing, which is a completely different issue from this).
In my opinion, the students are often more hardworking, driven, intellectual, more willing to assimilate, find jobs than the refugees. After all, why would you if everything has been handed out to you on a silver platter? As my dear friend G, who came from one of the "nearby" countries, once told me, "don't compare me with those refugees, they are not worthy to be called *** (nationality) because they are so lazy."
When I first started working with them, and knew who they are, I was so excited. Here are those people I used to study about, who have experienced only things I used to read about. yet, looking at them and seeing how they behave, you would have hardly think they escaped a dangerous life. Instead, all they talked about were how they had less choices with men to sleep with back home. How being single and pregnant is awesome in Australia. How having undeclared partners/spouses means they get $x more each week.
it is very depressing and disgusting.
what's made it harder to work with them is their absolute refusal to do their jobs. It is as if work ethics is a foreign notion to them, despite how some of them claim that they used to work on a farm 12 hours a day because that's the only way to earn money. Most have to be at work because their visa status and centerlink requirements meant they have to either look for a job or be in a job to receive benefits. this doesn't mean they actually work.
So, recently a call was made to centerlink about one of them and it was discovered that she was earning more than she claim she was. Her benefits has been ceased and suddenly, she's working as hard as the next person :)
The problem is, refugees who come in often has less than any form of formal qualifications. These refugees are also encouraged to "upgrade" themselves, as I have mentioned above, thereby quantifying them as skilled enough to contribute back to the society that supported them in their time of need. However, often they marry young or have a family young, and then just stop upgrading themselves - which means the type of jobs they often hold are those of the blue collar jobs.
In industries like mine, not many people would want to join aged care nursing and therefore any interest is considered a boon. companies grant them jobs, give them many leeways and benefits on top of what they already get from the government. I have a fellow employee on paid maternal leave even though she's been there for only 5 months while others were refused paid maternal leave if they haven't been there for a year.
on the same note, there was a humanitarian visa colleague who threatened another colleague physically twice - and yet got away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist and 3 weeks PAID suspension. She's now put on night duties to avoid her getting herself in trouble - which also gives her more pay for less work done considering the shift she is doing.
at the same time, these are the same people who accused everyone of being racist towards them should we complain about their lazyness.
This is so completely amazing to me, how people can get away with so much, that sometimes I am too stunned to feel depress about what is going on and how I should react. Because, it is simply not Ok that Australians are paying for people like these, especially not for people like these.
oh, and of course, a disclaimer, I am one of those whose visa has been denied and is currently appealing the case - I do have the right to sound bitter right? :p