Asylum seekers

I don't know that this debate will ever go away.  And just today I heard a report of people coming in on boats, bringing the number of Asylum seekers this year to over 1000.

I have given loads of thought to this whole issue, as the last two years, I have done school with many people who believe with an agressive passion that we should open the doors and let everyone in.  I also spent last year studying with some people who themselves were refugees, and spoke to them about what it was like to live in these refugee camps.

One particular girl who I spoke to about it, said that they are scary places, and that her father told everyone she was a boy, because that meant she was kept somewhat more safe.

What a horrifying thought!

But I wonder has Australia got the whole Asylum seeker thing right? I mean the reason people come in on boats to Australia to seek refuge is because it can take years for their immigration status to come up.  And when your living in a country that you could be killed at any moment, you don't really have the luxury of years to wait.  Not to mention that in some countries, if you try to immigrate to Australia, you are considered a traitor, and should you be found out, you will be killed.

So I was thinking, we have so much room in Australia, we aren't short on space, I mean we can fit London in the State of Victoria something like 8 times, and yet London has a huge number of people more than Australia living in it.  (my facts might be a bit off there)

So if a place like London can survive, can afford to house, feed, educate and care for that number of people, then why are we so stingey on letting people in.  I mean even if they didn't come on a boat, there are still a limit on particular countries on how many people immigration lets in.  We have an open door policy to the English, but Asian nations, and Middle Eastern nations there is a limit.  Why?

Are we still so antiquated that we are living with the white Australia policy? Still?

I was thinking more though of the detention centres in which the refugees live once they get here.  I've seen the one in Maidstone Victoria, and from the outside you could be mistaken to think it's a prison. And this makes me think, they haven't broken any laws in coming to Australia, it is quite legal to come here and then seek asylum, so why put them in a prison. 

My solution is a simple one, but maybe it's not as simple as I think it is.

I think we should still have detention centres (I would change the name of them though), because that way we can process the documents that are needed.  But in this refugee centre, it would contain a series of houses, like a community, each person or family unit would have a home in which they could live with their own kitchen etc.  I would have a supermarket inside the grounds, where they could come with a voucher system to buy their groceries to provide for their family.  There would be job opportunities within the grounds that those that wanted to work could.  I would hold English classes so that both adults and children could be a little better adjusted once they are put into the "real world".  I would have schooling for the children.  I would have entertainment set up, so a movie theatre, sports ground, park.  It would be a place where the people have the freedom to move about, it would have a warm feeling, if they wanted to grow vegetables they could grow vegetables, if they wanted to move around the premises they could do so.

We need to make it so that they aren't imprisoned for wanting to share our country, but instead they are taught how to live in Australia, how to cope.  How our country works.  That way when they leave the refugee centre, they are able to be a little bit more equipped and it wont be as big of a culture shock.

I also question how long it truly takes to document and allow the people into the question.  So in my world, it would be done speedily, not taking years that it seems to in the system that we have now!

I don't know maybe I'm just really naive and think that there is actually a better solution for everything.




Let me know what you think.

Love you all

Sam
xxx