Boat Refugees

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Why are some narrow minded, self rightious and xenophobic people worried about a tiny number of desperate people seeking some security in Australia? I'm flabagasted really....?

96% of asylum seekers in Australia come via our airports, so why is this scare mungering so successful for the the Liberal/National party in the polls?

Mike

[Octane (Humayun)]

Don't you know, they're all terrorists?*

Regards,
Humayun

* denotes sarcasm

[TrevorW]

Supposition here

The one's who come via the airports are processed in accordance with immigration guidelines and undergo stringent security screening etc

Boat people, no control a lot don't even have papers.

Maybe it's national security issue remember they may not all be sheep in sheep's clothing

[supernova1965 (Warren)]

It can be hard to put ourselves into other people's situations and really see the situation as it is. So it is easy to have an inaccurate view of situations through no fault of their own we have it so good in our country that it is understandable that some won't fully understand someones situation unless you have lived it. I truly believe what I say in my signature about there being good in everyone.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

National Security..?

Man that says a lot!

Can anyone name a mass murderer in Australia (or the US for that mater) that came on a leaky boat, lets see?...Martin Bryant..?...maybe, Ivan Malat...or perhaps former Australian Army officer-cadet, 19-year-old Julian Knight? I am ashamed

Red neck ignorant dumb Aussies need to do some research man and stop the prejudice

Mike

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

I am all for refugees coming through the right channels.

Every boat arrival means X many less refugees who have waited correctly in camps across the world for a new chance at hope.

Why reward the queue jumpers, because they had a few hundred/thousand dollars they could pay to a smuggler.

[dpastern (Dave Pastern)]

Mike - I guess there are 2 sides to every coin. Many legitimate refugees who come in via the appropriate channels rightly feel cheated that they've done the right thing and then watch the boat people come in and break all the rules and get away with it. It does make a mockery of the situation I think.

There could be potential security related issues too - very unlikely I might add as you well and truly realise, but it is a possibility.

That said, I always felt that John Howard was a racist and to be honest, that many Australians are racist. I watch many Australians give foreigners dirty looks and it isn't nice or pretty. Coming from a NESB, I view things a different way I guess.

Dave

[DavidU (Dave)]

Two of my best mates were early boat people from Vietnam and are awesome Aussies.
However what concerns me is the poor buggers drowning on a shoddy boat while a smuggler is making money from it.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by dpastern

Mike - I guess there are 2 sides to every coin. Many legitimate refugees who come in via the appropriate channels rightly feel cheated that they've done the right thing and then watch the boat people come in and break all the rules and get away with it. It does make a mockery of the situation I think.

There could be potential security related issues too - very unlikely I might add as you well and truly realise, but it is a possibility.

That said, I always felt that John Howard was a racist and to be honest, that many Australians are racist. I watch many Australians give foreigners dirty looks and it isn't nice or pretty. Coming from a NESB, I view things a different way I guess.

Dave

Sadly this is absolute bunkum mate, 96% or asylum seekers came via airports last year, why?..because they could, they stayed here a while first and before their visas ran out they applied for asylum and were given extesnions to their visas while they waited for processing,

The people coming on boats are desperate mate, let'em in I say, all of'em, we are compasionate reasonable people (most of us anyway) don't let the ignorant ill-informed rule us!

Mike

[supernova1965 (Warren)]

I really thought that a group that looks out to the stars and knows what the earth really is compared to the rest of the Universe would be more accepting of the other people on this small chunk of rock and accept that we are all on spaceship earth together.

Message from the astronauts on ISS.

There are three astronauts aboard the International Space Station right now: Russian station commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineers Michael Barratt of NASA and Koichi Wakata of Japan. Their Expedition 19 mission began in late March.
While his nearly seven-month mission is just beginning, Barratt said the impact of seeing his native planet far below has already had an impact.
"There's no doubt, when you look down at the Earth from here, you're just overwhelmed by how beautiful it is," Barratt said this week, adding that two things immediately jump out. "One is how much you miss it, and two, is how much you really want to take care of it as best you can."
Magnus said that when a person gazes at the Earth, there is a sense that humanity and all life as we know it are completely dependent on a single planet and its thin atmosphere.
"It makes you think about our planet as a whole system," Magnus said. "We're all there together living together as human beings and other organisms and we have to take care of each other."

[Ian Robinson]

It's that long standing fear of the imaginary yellow / asian hords invading and taking over , is scaremungering and propogation of paranoia and claims about some terrorists sneeking in.

And it's politically expediant to kick up a fuss about a few hundred refugees in leaky boats when you've nothing else to offer.

It Is fueled by racism.

[TrevorW]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

National Security..?

Man that says a lot!

Can anyone name a mass murderer in Australia (or the US for that mater) that came on a leaky boat, lets see?...Martin Bryant..?...maybe, Ivan Malat...or perhaps former Australian Army officer-cadet, 19-year-old Julian Knight? I am ashamed

Red neck ignorant dumb Aussies need to do some research man and stop the prejudice

Mike

Albiet, Mike and as stated I was only supposing it to be a national security issue and fortunately it hasn't happened in this country as of yet but it only takes 1 dedicated terrorist to kill hundreds.

Also as pointed out why should these people take precedence over all those who go through the proper channels.

If I'm not mistaken some of these people are paying up to $20k to get on one of these boats, it surprises me that these refugees can even afford that.

Personally I have no qualms with sharing my country with every tom, dick and ..... who wishes to come here and is allowed too do so through the right channels.

Also lets not forget how many other countries would just turn them around and send them home.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

[QUOTE=TrevorW;518352]Albiet, Mike and as stated I was only supposing it to be a national security issue and fortunately it hasn't happened in this country as of yet but it only takes 1 dedicated terrorist to kill hundreds.

as I said BUNKUM!

Sorry mate but this is complete zenaphobia here I am affraid, like many other, well meaning people who are just working on perception rather than the facts.

People coming in leaking boats are not wealthy que jumpers, give me a break, if they were they would just buy a friggin air ticket

Is this so hard to comprehend

Mike

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by dpastern

That said, I always felt that John Howard was a racist and to be honest, that many Australians are racist. I watch many Australians give foreigners dirty looks and it isn't nice or pretty. Coming from a NESB, I view things a different way I guess.

Dave

I concur with your assessment (is that clearer now).

[Jules76 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by dpastern

That said, I always felt that John Howard was a racist and to be honest, that many Australians are racist. I watch many Australians give foreigners dirty looks and it isn't nice or pretty. Coming from a NESB, I view things a different way I guess.

It's funny, racism often involves people stereotyping a particular race or culture based on a minority of "bad eggs". And the irony here is that your basing your feelings that many Australians are racist based on a minority you see in day to day life. Put it this way, I think your focusing too much on a select few because your sensitive to this kind of reaction, and missing the many who walk on by seeing just another human being regardless of race/culture.

Sorry, but I just take offence to the notion that many Australians are racist. That's just simply not true.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Ian Robinson

I concur with your assessment .

Ok, so you are saying a person who arives on a plane here for essentially a holiday, who then subsequently recieves an extension to their visa while their claim of asylaum is processed, should feel cheated compared to some poor destitute people in a crappy leaking boat who are iontercepted by a navy ship and are transported to Christmas Islan for 9 to 18 months or more of processing????, sorry but alas that is just another indication of ignorance and lack of understanding of the real issues I am affraid

Mike

[TrevorW]

Here are the numbers.

There were 86 boat arrivals in 1999, 51 in 2000, and another 43 in 2001.
The Howard Government changed the law and boats slowed to a trickle.

2002 – 1 boat – 1 person
2003 – 1 boat – 53 people
2004 – 1 boat – 15 people
2005 – 4 boats – 11 people
2006 – 6 boats – 60 people
2007 – 5 boats – 148 people
2008 – 7 boats – 161 people

I agree Mike miniscule numbers compared to the numbers coming through legal channels so why all the ado about nothing make you wonder doesn't it

Settler arrival figures

Settler Arrival Numbers vs Net Permanent migration 1998-1999 84100, 49 000 1999-2000 92300, 51200 2000-2001 107400, 60800 2001-2002 88 900 40700 2002-2003 93900 43500 2003-2004 111600 52500 2004-2005 123 400 60800 2005-2006 131600, 63700 2006-2007 140100, 68000 2007-2008 149 400 72 400 2008-2009 158 021 77 000 Source: overseas arrivals and departures
Settler arrivals by region of birth between July 2008 and June 2009

Arrivals % Variation Oceania and Antarctica 30 010 -5.3% Europe 29 294 -4.6% North Africa and the Middle East 11 143 34.3% South East Asia 21 008 -0.9% North East Asia 20 977 16.5% Southern Asia 25 900 17.2% Central Asia 1 731 -3.8% Northern America 2 254 2.5% South and Central America & the Caribbean 1 979 -5.8% Sub-Saharan Africa 13 025 22.9% Supplementary Country Codes 671 11.8% Not Stated/Not Elsewhere Included 29 -71.0% Grand Total 158 021 5.8%

[Hagar (Doug)]

I don't know about the rest of you but should I and my family be in a similar situation as the people on these boats I think I would make the same desparate attempts to get my family out of harms way. I thought we had assimilation/ investigation camps on an Island up the top somewhere. It would have to be better to move them to an area such as this and carry out some investigation on their backgrounds than have them stuck on a boat so desparate they are ready to die before going home.
We all tend to forget how bad things can really be. To us all home is a very safe place, they look at home as something quite diferent. Very very sad.

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Ok, so you are saying a person who arives on a plane here for essentially a holiday, who then subsequently recieves an extension to their visa while their claim of asylaum is processed, should feel cheated compared to some poor destitute people in a crappy leaking boat who are iontercepted by a navy ship and are transported to Christmas Islan for 9 to 18 months or more of processing????, sorry but alas that is just another indication of ignorance and lack of understanding of the real issues I am affraid

Mike

OK , I wasn't clear enough. I'll add a few words to it.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Here are the numbers.

There were 86 boat arrivals in 1999, 51 in 2000, and another 43 in 2001.
The Howard Government changed the law and boats slowed to a trickle.

2002 – 1 boat – 1 person
2003 – 1 boat – 53 people
2004 – 1 boat – 15 people
2005 – 4 boats – 11 people
2006 – 6 boats – 60 people
2007 – 5 boats – 148 people
2008 – 7 boats – 161 people

I agree Mike miniscule numbers compared to the numbers coming through legal channels so why all the ado about nothing make you wonder doesn't it

Ooooh yes, better get our guns out and kill all these asian hoards "please explain?"