The Guardian 17 October, 2007
Outrage at
government’s African refugee policy
Peter Mac
Last week controversy erupted as Kevin Andrews, Federal Minister for Immigration, admitted that the Howard Government had restricted the number of African refugees who will be allowed to settle in Australia.
This week, with evidence emerging of attacks on African refugees, the Government has been accused of breaching their human rights, discriminating against them, and encouraging racist behaviour.
Andrews has replied that the Government’s actions are justified by opposition to African refugees from unnamed sections of the community. He claimed that refugees from the Sudan in particular are involved in street crime, and that unnamed police officers have complained about criminal behaviour by gangs of young Sudanese refugees.
His claims are based on media reports that Liep Gono, a youth of Sudanese origin who was recently murdered in Melbourne, was involved in a dispute with other Sudanese youths.
The claims have been enthusiastically endorsed by Pauline Hanson, but none of them are true. Melbourne police have denied the existence of gangs of Sudanese youths, and the Victorian Minister for Police has insisted that the involvement of Sudanese refugees in crime is relatively low. And it is now clear that Gono was attacked without provocation, and that his attackers were not Sudanese.
Gono was, in fact, a likeable and responsible young man, who had played basketball for his school and had a bright future. At his funeral this week, his mother Matha Ojulo said: "When I came here I thought I was fleeing famine, death and war. At last I felt safe in my own house in Australia, but now I no longer do." However, acknowledging the support of family and friends, she said. "Because all of you have stood still with me in my sorrow, I know my fear will go away".
A storm of criticism
There have now been other attacks on people of African origin. Representatives of the African-Australian community have demanded an apology from Andrews for inflaming the situation, and have demanded the right to build new lives and contribute to the nation, just as refugees from other parts of the world have done.
Religious authorities have severely criticised the Government’s refugee policies. Dr David Pitman, Queensland moderator of the Uniting Church, stated: "The Government’s decision to single out the African community in this way is deeply troubling. Mr Andrews has singled out the Sudanese and slurred that community on the basis of problems common to Australians of all backgrounds".
Speaking of the Government’s decision to restrict the number of refugees from Africa, the Reverend Ian Lord commented "These are citizens who have done everything Australia asked of them. They have waited patiently in often dreadful circumstances, while their applications were processed. They are not "queue jumpers". I am disgusted by this decision."
Ms Voula Messimeri, Chairperson of the Federation of Ethnic Communities of Australia, said that the decision "flies in the face of the spirit and intent of the UN Convention relating to the status of refugees … as well as the Australian values of a fair go. … The continued laying of barriers in the path of people who are desperately looking for stability in their life hovers on the boundaries of victim blaming, discrimination and a breach of human rights."
The decision has been criticized by many organisations, including the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory, Anglicare, the Edmund Rice Centre (which assists refugees from Africa) and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission.
Tom Calma, National Race Discrimination Commissioner, commented: "The Australian Government should maintain its role as a principled and committed global citizen through a refugee policy that makes it a priority to respond to the worsening plight of refugees and their need for asylum from persecution and war."
The Howard Government appears to be inflaming racism, as it did during the last election when it used the Tampa drama to incite fears about invasion, and swept to power on the "redneck vote".
The Howard Government’s racist treatment of Australia’s Aboriginal people is mirrored in its treatment of refugees from Africa, who will not gain the rights and treatment they deserve as long as that Government remains in power.