Asylum Seekers In Australia

1097 Words3 Pages

Currently, in Australia, we face the social issue of having communities in which some members have difficulty in reacting compassionately to the claims of refugees and asylum seekers. Refugees and asylum seekers are arriving in Australia and not being let the freedom to live here, which shows how Australians are losing the courage to care. Our Australian government officially classifies refugees and asylum seekers as ‘unlawful non-citizens’ who have to go into mandatory detention as soon as they cross the borders into Australia. We are the only country in the world to have a policy of mandatory detention and offshore processing. How can this happen if one-quarter of Australians are born overseas and four million Australians speak a language …show more content…

There is ideology surrounding refugees and asylum seekers which perceive them to be ‘illegal boat people’. In fact, they are not, because these are people who have fled their countries with or without a visa because they are no longer safe in their home countries. There are root causes that link back the dark days of Australian history when we invaded the Aboriginal land and did not pay them any respect. Sadly, the rescuers who are the people standing up for the 800,000 refugees who have arrived in Australia since 1945, are running out of puff because of the government and their policies. The perpetrators (our Australian government as well as the government in the countries the refugees and asylum seekers fled from) do not help out these victims in their time of …show more content…

The government policy is that ‘’asylum seekers who arrive on the mainland without a valid visa must be held in migration or community detention, or transferred to an off-shore processing facility.’’ – roads to refuge, ‘who is government’. The law is very negative by not letting these people have a say or even a chance to a better life. If we are taught by our government to not approve of refugees and asylum seekers than we will do so because we are scared to speak up and we are fearful. The church also heavily supports Australians getting involved and speaking out from the Ear of their Heart to make a change. The current strategies help refugees and asylum seekers once they are allowed into Australia but the policies are still wrong and in just because not all of them make it into Australia. ‘’ When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’’ - Leviticus 19:33-34. Through the church, we have learnt to treat everyone like our brothers and sisters based on the Catholic Social teachings. Human Dignity is very important for our society because if we are all made in the image of God then we should all be treated

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