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Politicisation of Asylum Seekers

The way this issue of AS has been politicised is abhorrent .

Asylum seekers eventually become immigrants once processed-it is just the arrival and treatment while waiting for acceptance that is the cause for concern.

Just a few thoughts that are coloured by the fact that I, like many others, was born in a country that was occupied during WW2 and my father(in the resistance) was desperate to take us as far from Europe as possible.. With 4 children he only just scraped in by lying about his occupation as there was no demand for his skills. Once in NZ , the reality overwhelmed him at times but he could never return -lack of money, pride, children settled . While safe with a house and income , there was nevertheless huge grief at loss of family, language, culture, etc. hidden under pride and bravado. So even at the best of times, migration has a real downside.

At the time, Australian immigrants were sent direct into migrant camps whereas NZ allowed farmers to sponsor families directly, so there seems to be a history here of ‘grouping’, which, while supportive in many ways ,can also backfire when there are ill-feelings . By living separately in the community, we adopted the new country and language as our own much faster than my relatives who came here to Oz.

Have watched immigrants overseas in particular where they face discrimination and many spend much time looking over their shoulders, struggling with language often for a pittance not to mention the problems their children often face especially if their appearance is different. And resentment if they do too well. For every success there are many failures.

Criminals do slip through normal immigration channels anyway (Cosa Nostra, Chinese Triads, etc.) and the ‘political terrorist’ branding often depends on hue of government in power at the time (Habib now visiting Egypt is case in point) So I can’t understand why it takes so long to process residency applications other than it being used as a deterrent . ( Applies to UK, EU,etc. applicants as well .)

Unfortunately for Australia, too many want to come HERE- not anywhere else- and not just for refuge. Often those who really need to escape, can’t. Those on boats have paid agents often the last of their money ,as Jewish people did in the ’40s, and are not aware of the standard of boats they will be travelling on. I think children are often sent ahead as footholds, the same way the Chinese sent their kids here as students and then were able to immigrate under the family reunion scheme. I can’t blame people for wanting to improve their lives.

Immigration from Europe stopped once safety was re-established, living conditions improved and those who were unhappy in their new country spread the word of disappointment back home.

Now all these years later, while I can understand my father’s desperation and fear, I often wonder if he would have done it again, given a second chance. And he didn’t even risk life and limb on a leaky boat.

It would be interesting to know if any follow up has been done of those refugees who arrived in leaky boats and were eventually settled during the Howard years? Those women and children who were stuck behind razor wire, how are they now?

Legacy of a sad difficult problem, dangerously inflamed by one J.W. Howard.

1,520 replies on “Politicisation of Asylum Seekers”

1505 Wow! Thats big Gaffy. I’m still waiting for his organisation to be linked to Princess Dianna’s death. Mind you I’ll take Gordon Brown’s computer being hacked as an entre.

Even more on Gordon Brown from Reuters.
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Gordon Brown Hacked: Former British Prime Minister’s Emails May Have Been Compromised.

British police have found evidence that private investigators working for newspapers hacked into the email account of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown while he was finance minister, The Independent newspaper reported on Monday.

Hundreds of other people may have also had their emails intercepted, perhaps as many as were caught up in the phone hacking scandal at News International’s now defunct News of the World tabloid, the paper said.

Detectives were looking at evidence from about 20 computers seized from private investigators, the newspaper reported.

Love it!

More here….

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/02/gordon-brown-hacked_n_1179286.html

What Chase & Goldman Sachs did to Greece.
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I’ve known about this for a while, and haven’t found the right explanation. So thank you Matt Taibbi, from a post that keeps on giving.

I focused on the hubristic, feet-never-touch-the-ground aspect of banker life in this post. Now I want to look at what Taibbi says about Greece.

Greece is most people’s designated Tabloid Demon, one of whom no good can be said and all wickedness is assumed — Michael Jackson’s doctor, for example, or OctoMom.

(Tabloid Demons are the opposite of Tabloid Saints, those of whom no ill can be said. Any number of cute white actresses with philandering husbands fill that bill. A Tabloid Saint who deals drugs won’t get called out; a Tabloid Demon who saves crippled kittens will do so unnoticed.)

Greece is the “known bad actor” in the European drama. What “everyone knows” about Greece is that the government was corrupt, the people lazy and spendy, and by running debt high they destroyed their country. What “everyone knows” is that the undeserving of Greece deserve all the austerity they’re getting, and let the rest of the world take note.

MUST READ…

More here..

http://www.americablog.com/2012/01/what-chase-goldman-sachs-did-to-greece.html

Dodgy Brothers accountants have been fined over the lnp dodgy costings which JoHo claimed publicly was an audit.

JoHo doesn’t want to know fuck all about it now of course.

The initial decision that they be “severely reprimanded” was downgraded on appeal to “reprimanded”. Each will be fined $5000 and will will have to make a contribution toward the cost of the hearing and the appeal.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said yesterday the judgement was “the final nail in the coffin for the Liberals’ economic credibility”.

“It has been laid to rest at the bottom of a $70 billion budget crater. It shows exactly why Mr Hockey is so desperate to avoid independent, professional scrutiny of his budget debacle by the Treasury and now by the newly legislated Parliamentary Budget Office,” he said.

http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/12/lib-costings-debacle-auditors-fined.html

Oh my goodness! Via Mark Colvin on twitter.
The sad story of corrupt UK coppers.
Phone hacking’s only the start of the skeleton parade that’s emerging from the sewer.

The criminals in uniform: Almost 1,000 officers with convictions from drug dealing to perverting justice are still in the police

http://t.co/OtIKwlKD

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