a friend's response to the previous post
This was written in response to my previous post, which has also x-posted to my facebook. I am putting it here so that firstly, I can see it in a more readable format and secondly, so that I can see 2 views to an issue. This is fairly important to personal growth and is in no way to encourage any attack or disrespect to said friend.
There are too many things I want to say but I'll just pick a few things.
There will always be dodgy people and people who are manipulating the system, and there are always genuine people who desperately need help. Why should the genuine people suffer and not get benefits for the few bad eggs. Take my money, I say! I am glad to pay tax so genuine people can be helped. I don't want manipulators of the system to prevent genuine people from getting the help they need. We could use that money we pay for tax but paying high tax is part of being in this country. If you have paid too much, you get some back. And it is not like we don't get anything in return.
I am not sure if you are a citizen yet, but if you are or when you do become one, you can get help when if things get hard for you and your family.
What is Australian culture? Questioning would Australia be Australia is ridiculous to me. Times change, people progress and the world evolves. You and I wouldn't be here in Australia if Australia hasn't changed and the white Australian policy is still in place.
You said, "How come we are marginalised and have to be trimmed down while boatloads of refugees are increasing?" - Such victim mentality saddens me. "We" are NOT refugees, "we" are not coming from the same situation, "we" are mainly skilled migrants, business migrants or students, "we" make up economic migrants. If "we" want to assimilate and get naturalised, then we "do the time", go through the process, get our PRs then become a citizen. At least we won't be doing it in the detention centres, so that's something to be extremely grateful for. I don't get what you mean by marginalised.
To say that because boatloads of refugees of refugees are increasing and that will encourage us to buy a raft and wade back that way doesn't make sense. Do you honestly think it is better to go through the process the refugees go through, to have to wait for years and years in a detention centre in Lombok is better than the process you have gone through, or the process any other student, skilled migrant, economic migrant has gone through?
Australia cannot and should not turn the boats away and they should not turn send the asylum seekers to detention centres overseas. Please remember Australia's international human rights obligations. As a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, Australia is obliged to offer protection to asylum seekers until their claim is assessed. Protection does not mean passing them on to Indonesia. Protection does not mean putting them in detention centres where the living conditions are unacceptable and lack basic humanity. Protection is not sending them back home before they are assessed.
We have yet to meet the quota of how many refugees we can accept. In 2009, Australia can accept 4197 refugees but they only took in 3666. I got the numbers from http://www.crikey.com.au/. I first heard about it on the news.
I honestly hope Australia would NEVER allocate housing by race because it it very unhealthy and encourages segregation and encourages people to feel different from each other instead of coming together as a nationality. Who gives a fuck about race?! Aren't we all Australians? What will happen to the growing population of mixed race people?
What do you mean rebuild the country? What do you mean failed states? Why does the country need to be rebuild because of the refugees? How have the states failed by taking in refugees?
Assimilating migrants and refugees is not a difficult thing to do. Before John Howard remove them, there were centres in every council where refugees have easy access to, where they can brush up on their English, meet people, learn more about Australia, get some skills, etc.
I haven't been here long at all, but honestly I am sick and tired of the fear mongering and the sensationalisation of very important issues such as asylum seekers and providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, brought about by ignorant people and irresponsible commercial media. How is offering ... See moreprotection and taking in asylum seekers going to harm Australians? Thankfully, the friends I have made and the important people in my new life in Australia are compassionate Australians who look at the bigger picture.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for giving me an opportunity to share mine. I would love to hear your answers to my queries.
There are too many things I want to say but I'll just pick a few things.
There will always be dodgy people and people who are manipulating the system, and there are always genuine people who desperately need help. Why should the genuine people suffer and not get benefits for the few bad eggs. Take my money, I say! I am glad to pay tax so genuine people can be helped. I don't want manipulators of the system to prevent genuine people from getting the help they need. We could use that money we pay for tax but paying high tax is part of being in this country. If you have paid too much, you get some back. And it is not like we don't get anything in return.
I am not sure if you are a citizen yet, but if you are or when you do become one, you can get help when if things get hard for you and your family.
What is Australian culture? Questioning would Australia be Australia is ridiculous to me. Times change, people progress and the world evolves. You and I wouldn't be here in Australia if Australia hasn't changed and the white Australian policy is still in place.
You said, "How come we are marginalised and have to be trimmed down while boatloads of refugees are increasing?" - Such victim mentality saddens me. "We" are NOT refugees, "we" are not coming from the same situation, "we" are mainly skilled migrants, business migrants or students, "we" make up economic migrants. If "we" want to assimilate and get naturalised, then we "do the time", go through the process, get our PRs then become a citizen. At least we won't be doing it in the detention centres, so that's something to be extremely grateful for. I don't get what you mean by marginalised.
To say that because boatloads of refugees of refugees are increasing and that will encourage us to buy a raft and wade back that way doesn't make sense. Do you honestly think it is better to go through the process the refugees go through, to have to wait for years and years in a detention centre in Lombok is better than the process you have gone through, or the process any other student, skilled migrant, economic migrant has gone through?
Australia cannot and should not turn the boats away and they should not turn send the asylum seekers to detention centres overseas. Please remember Australia's international human rights obligations. As a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, Australia is obliged to offer protection to asylum seekers until their claim is assessed. Protection does not mean passing them on to Indonesia. Protection does not mean putting them in detention centres where the living conditions are unacceptable and lack basic humanity. Protection is not sending them back home before they are assessed.
We have yet to meet the quota of how many refugees we can accept. In 2009, Australia can accept 4197 refugees but they only took in 3666. I got the numbers from http://www.crikey.com.au/. I first heard about it on the news.
I honestly hope Australia would NEVER allocate housing by race because it it very unhealthy and encourages segregation and encourages people to feel different from each other instead of coming together as a nationality. Who gives a fuck about race?! Aren't we all Australians? What will happen to the growing population of mixed race people?
What do you mean rebuild the country? What do you mean failed states? Why does the country need to be rebuild because of the refugees? How have the states failed by taking in refugees?
Assimilating migrants and refugees is not a difficult thing to do. Before John Howard remove them, there were centres in every council where refugees have easy access to, where they can brush up on their English, meet people, learn more about Australia, get some skills, etc.
I haven't been here long at all, but honestly I am sick and tired of the fear mongering and the sensationalisation of very important issues such as asylum seekers and providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, brought about by ignorant people and irresponsible commercial media. How is offering ... See moreprotection and taking in asylum seekers going to harm Australians? Thankfully, the friends I have made and the important people in my new life in Australia are compassionate Australians who look at the bigger picture.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for giving me an opportunity to share mine. I would love to hear your answers to my queries.