Free The Children

[AussieSheila]

Former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, has launched a petition aimed at freeing children in detention. This petition calls for Australians to sign but I can't see why the rest of the world shouldn't know about it. After all, this is an international problem, the majority of these children are born overseas.

http://www.chinkii.com/uploads/album/misc/pinkandred.jpg
Port Hedland Detention Centre

I was chatting to an overseas friend today and he thought I was talking about children being held on drug charges or something. Are overseas people aware of the problem?

I see this situation as horribly shameful and another thing to add to the injustices already served in this country over the last 200 years. I can't believe that such a thing could happen in this day and age.

http://server4.uploadit.org/files/021203-baxter.jpg
Baxter Detention Centre

I know it's long, but please read the following document from
Suzan Davies
Associate to the Hon. Justice P Hely
Federal Court of Australia

Former PM's petition to free children from detention

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser is seeking signatures to a petition addressed to the Prime Minister, John Howard, and Minister for Immigration, Senator Amanda Vanstone, seeking the release of 94 children held by Australia in Immigration Detention in Australia and 90 in the Pacific.

Mr Fraser has launched this campaign to provide opportunities for as many Australians as possible to register their opposition to the detention of children.

Based on the November figures from A Just Australia, the children are held at the following detention centres:

Villawood 32 children
Maribyrnong 1 child
Baxter 22 children
Woomera Housing Project 7 children
Port Hedland 15 children
Port Hedland Housing 2 children
Christmas Island 15 children
Nauru 90 children

The petition states:

"The oldest children in detention are living out their teens behind razor wire and electric fences. The youngest is a baby born a month ago, who was placed in detention in Baxter shortly after his birth. The physical, emotional and psychological damage detention inflicts on children is well documented and not in dispute. Some children in Australian detention centres have been unnecessarily imprisoned for years. In Sweden the maximum time a child is kept in custody is six days.

"Detention of children is, in several instances, part of the enforced separation of families. Current solutions to the detention of children are inadequate and fail to fully protect children's needs and rights. Mothers and children are housed under guard in houses outside the centre while fathers remain inside. Boys older than 12 have been separated from their mothers and forced to live in the detention centre proper.

"Under the regulations of the Temporary Protection Visa some families are split, with dependant children stranded in other countries, and their parents unable to find a solution that will reunite the family. These families live in uncertainty, fear and intense anxiety. Their children suffer in ways that would terrify any parent. The detention of children and Temporary Protection Visa, especially its effect on separated families, breach Australia's obligations under international conventions and protocols.

This is not how we as Australians want to treat families. The needs and rights of children must be put first. We the undersigned call for an immediate end to the detention of children.

"We call for an immediate change to regulations that enforce separation between parents and dependant children. We call for changes in legislation that will protect future children arriving unauthorised on Australian territory or in Australian waters. Damaging children is not acceptable to us as Australians.

A Just Australia National Director Howard Glenn said, "Most people don't want to see children in detention. This petition is one clear way they can make that known to their elected representatives."

A number of children have been detained for more than three years. Many have lived much of their lives either fleeing persecution or detained under Australian policy. Few of them are likely to be released soon unless the Minister for Immigration acts on compassionate grounds.

To access the on-line petition, go to: PETITION ONLINE (http://www.PetitionOnline.com/dtention/petition.html)
or at A JUST AUSTRALIA - Media releases (http://www.ajustaustralia.com/mediareleases_latest.php) Baxter Watch has links to other detention centres. BAXTER WATCH (http://www.baxterwatch.net/)

The Oppostion's spokesperson for Population and Immigration, Nicola Roxon, is also asking people to join her in asking the Government to release all children from detention by Christmas this year. "It has been 12 months since the Government made bold claims to be changing their policy towards children in high security detention. Despite this there are still around 200 children in high security detention both in Australia and in Nauru," she said.

She will also introduce a Private Members Bill into Parliament next week, calling for the immediate release of children and their families into alternative accomodation, including community housing, and hostels. There will be a launch of free-the-children campaign materials on December 1 at Parliament House, Canberra.

http://www.chinkii.com/uploads/album/misc/porthedland2.jpg
The Port Hedland they don't see.

[Billy_Dean]

Well done Andie, a great thread.

I'll put a link to the petition in my sig.


:)

[Evil Gemini]

And where should they go when they are free ? at least they are with their parents in them places.

I think if the children had a choice from living with foster parents in a house or living in a detention centre with their parents, they will choose to be with their parents.

If they are going to free the children, they should free their parents too because they have been in them centres for so long and the only people these children would trust are their parents and wouldnt want to be seperated from them.

[AussieSheila]

:) Whoa! High praise. Thank you Billy Dean. ;)

[Honey]

Andie.... you have really done a great job of "outing" this disgraceful situation. Australia was a signee of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and as such should be looking long and hard at exactly what that Declaration states.

No child should live under such horrific conditions, but... what is the solution? To take the children away from their parents? The idea of seeking asylum may be a good idea in the short term but there has to be some forethought from the parents themselves. Should we as taxpayers continue to keep paying the exorbitant costs associated with these detention centres?

There should be some time limit placed on lengh of time asylum seekers can be detained. Perhaps setting up halfway houses would be a better solution?

As all the Aussies would be aware most of these detention centres are here in Western Australia where i live, but we get very little press unless it involves riots.
I guess out of sight is very much out of mind!

One of the concerns i have with Mr Frazers petition is WHERE are these children going to be housed if they are released? It's a frightening proposition to think they may be taken away from their parents and possibly their siblings. It's really hard to know exactly what the best thing for all concerned is. Once again it seems that there are no easy answers. Unfortunately..... for those innocent children.

[AussieSheila]

Originally posted by AussieSheila@3 December 2003 - 01:09


She will also introduce a Private Members Bill into Parliament next week, calling for the immediate release of children and their families into alternative accomodation, including community housing, and hostels. There will be a launch of free-the-children campaign materials on December 1 at Parliament House, Canberra.


:) Honey? Neatto? This covers where to put the families.

There is a better way.

B)

[Evil Gemini]

Shit i missed that part....

Sorry

[Sparkle1984]

I signed the petition straight away. ;) I think this situation is a disgrace, and hopefully more people will become aware, and something will be done about it.

[UKMan]

Well done Andie - i'm sure this overseas friend of yours is not alone in being unaware of the plight of these children.

Even if the situation to some might might seem so far away, as most situations like this are for the majority of us in western Europe, its very important to bring things like this out into the open. I wont pretend to know the answer, but i do know that with this small gesture from your part, you may just help sow the seeds for another flower of hope to blossom for these children.

God bless your efforts Andie and may someone somewhere be moved enough to help in some small way.

The problem is a very complex one, one i am not familiar with, but after reading this over a few times, hopefully i will have more understanding. Thank you :)

Peace
UKMan x

[internet.news]

Good work Andie - I would like to give an informed response but I didn't know anything about the situation over there until reading your post. I know more now - maybe that's a good response??

I can't believe they keep children locked up in cases of up to 3 years due to the actions of their parents (and their parents too for that matter - if it's an immigration issue). No easy answer to this one although I'd go for family hostels from what I know.

I think a lot of it goes back to the idea of borders on this planet. If history had dealt that W & E Australia were 2 completely different countries and war broke out in the other - how would you feel about people crossing the divide to find safety? It would feel fine for most given how we feel now yet with the conditioning of "borders" people get territorial.

I would like to see people have free reign to live wherever they want in the world. OK - it may bring some chaos and overcrowding etc.., and I have no idea how the logistics of it would work out but when you get people drowning whilst hidden in cargo tanks and children locked up it's obviously not working this way.

If it had started like that (without borders) it'd be fine but unfortunately we are coming from the wrong angle, which is a pretty sharp one. The world’s in an unnatural state hence the tension and any change will bring friction.

I DO KNOW there are many difficulties and grey areas when it comes to immigration but from the way the world is now it’s a long way off until any decent solution is accepted politically.

I am uninformed on this but I am a father. I’ve signed the petition as, whatever the effects are of setting unmanageable precedents on immigration (although probably a good move), the world should not go on locking up children like that.

[Alex H]

I've visited Villawood. It's fucking disgusting. Ok, so the parents may or may not have a legal (and I use the term loosly) right to be here, but what did the kids do? Did what mummy and daddy told them to do like good little children and got on the boat.

Yes, we are signatories on the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child (sounded good when it just meant telling Rawanda to feed their kids more, didn't it?) but now WE have to live up to it too!

Move mothers with children into minimum security accomodation in populated areas outside the detention centers, and keep the dads inside (in case some smartarse thinks that hostages really are essential) and give them weekend access visits like every other separated family.

I'm really fuck bitter about this cause I've been inside a detention center (read concentration camp) and seen what life is like. And I hope to CHRIST that I never end up like that, cause I'd be rioting and hunger striking and making suicide attempts too.

Is there a website or SOMETHING where internationals can petition our govenment, cause they don't seem to listen to us? Anybody? International pressure? Anywhere?

[j2k4]

I abhor this detention.

I feel, however, that we must somehow come to grips with our respective immigration/refugee problems.

It seems every white/European/English-speaking Democratic/Socialist country is beset with this problem.

Does this strike anyone?

[Alex H]

Yeah. White people are afraid of too many things.

[kAb]

maybe they are there for a reason?


Otherwise... stupid. free zeh children

[Alex H]

Well, they are. It isn't a good one though.

[j2k4]

Originally posted by Alex H@3 December 2003 - 02:07
Yeah. White people are afraid of too many things.
You miss my point.

What are all of these people trying to get away from, or trying to get to?

What is it that us light-skinned folk have that they want?

And why aren't us vengeful white people in the U.S. trying like hell to get into Mexico, just to get even?

[Alex H]

Originally posted by j2k4@3 December 2003 - 07:41
You miss my point.
You missed mine! (My fault - I should have gone into it further and it was a silly generalization).

A lot of the people in the detention center I visited left their home countries because they were being persecuted (in many different ways). Some were Iraqis (who left years before the war) who were "enemies of the state". Basically someone, at some point had heard them say something bad about Sadam and they would be rounded up and killed. And this is "I'll kill you, I'll kill, your family, I'll kill your friends, I'll kill your neibours, I'll kill their family, their friends" type stuff. Some were running away from the Taliban, some were Christians who lived in Islamic countries. Everyone was running away from people who were trying to kill them.

I remember a while ago, our Government rejected a Colombian guy who said he had run afoul of his countries government and was afraid to go to the US because they still might locate him there. He got kicked out with a "No imminent danger" letter and stuck on a plane back to Colombia. Two days later his headless torso was found floating down a river. One guy they sent back to Iraq didn't even make it off the plane before he was caught and they executed him in the airport bathroom.

We have a great lifestyle (well, nobody sends death squads after us anyway) so they come here. And then we tell them to piss off. Or we lock them up for 2 years, and THEN tell them to piss off. Either way, the kids shouldn't have to be locked up. We could at least show some compassion for the innocent children.

I mean, look at this picture. It looks like a Nazi concentration camp! Should ANY kid have to live there?
http://server4.uploadit.org/files/021203-baxter.jpg

[cowswithguns]

Excellent job Andie........I'm so proud of you. I have signed the petition and just hope that this will allow people from overseas to see what appalling conditions these children live in.

Our government has so much to answer for and I am so ashamed that we treat not only the children but the refugees in general in this way.

It's about time things were done to enable these children to experience life outside detention centres and to fast track their parents status.

@ j2k4

I guess they see us as lucky people on the surface of things....we appear to live in an affluent, free society with plenty of hope and opportunity. You can't blame them for wanting to leave often war torn countries for a more peaceful life.

[MagicNakor]

It looks much nicer than a Nazi concentration camp. I would also imagine that it is not a deplorable existance than one would have in said Nazi concentration camp.

:ninja:

[AussieSheila]

;) Oh yes MN! Ever so much nicer than a Nazi camp. OK, they are not going to be gassed but these are kids dumped in the desert. It would break my heart to see any of my kids in a place like that.

:) Thanks you guys! :">

:geek: Alex, you seem to know quite a lot, or at least how to find info. Will the international votes count? If not, I've got Malcolm Fraser's e-mail addy, I'll ask him. :)

B)

[3RA1N1AC]

Originally posted by Alex H@3 December 2003 - 00:16
I remember a while ago, our Government rejected a Colombian guy who said he had run afoul of his countries government and was afraid to go to the US because they still might locate him there. He got kicked out with a "No imminent danger" letter and stuck on a plane back to Colombia. Two days later his headless torso was found floating down a river. One guy they sent back to Iraq didn't even make it off the plane before he was caught and they executed him in the airport bathroom.
seems like leading western governments (america, europe, australia, etc) have a VERY selective view of human rights violations & political persecution, and they usually only choose to see those things in countries that are hostile to us. "what? poor human rights in a country we're politically or economically allied with? impossible." how convenient.

[AussieSheila]

:) Well in Australia we are openly declaring a violation of human rights and trying to stop this from happening now, and from ever happening again. Maybe that's what makes us different. We CAN rise up and tell our government that we are not happy, and in this case, unlike the Iraqi war where the voice of the people was blatantly ignored, I think if we are loud enough we WILL be heard. This is intolerable!


B)

[Billy_Dean]

Originally posted by MagicNakor@3 December 2003 - 19:09
It looks much nicer than a Nazi concentration camp. I would also imagine that it is not a deplorable existance than one would have in said Nazi concentration camp.

:ninja:
So what's your point? Should they start gassing them? Will something be done then?

Why does everything have to be compared to the holocaust?



<_<

[Billy_Dean]

I make no apologies for the length of this post, it&#39;s too important to abbreviate.

This is a statement from Amnesty International Australia.


Since 1 September 1992 all people arriving in Australia without proper travel documents are immediately detained. They remain in detention from a few hours to up to a few years until they are either granted a visa or deported. This includes all people seeking protection as refugees. By contrast, people who enter Australia on a valid visa and who then claim protection as a refugee are not usually detained.

Detention of asylum seekers without proper travel documents is automatic. There are no charges laid, and no appearance before a magistrate or court to decide if detention is absolutely necessary or appropriate. Except for rare situations, Australian law prohibits the release of detained asylum seekers while their refugee claim is being assessed.

Amnesty International does not oppose all detention for people arriving in Australia without valid documentation. There are instances where initial detention may be necessary, for example to establish a person&#39;s identity or perform health and security checks. However, international human rights law requires that governments do not detain people automatically or beyond what is a reasonable length of time. In Amnesty International&#39;s view, delays in a refugee determination process, whether caused by appeals or other factors, are not sufficient justifications to continue an asylum seeker&#39;s detention.

Detention of all asylum seekers without charge or judicial review amounts to arbitrary detention. It this aspect of detention - ongoing and prolonged with no notification of release - that amounts to a serious violation of the rights to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention.

Any person arriving in Australia, regardless of their modes of transport or lack of documentation has a right to seek protection from persecution or torture. Amnesty International urges the Australia government not to discriminate against people seeking refuge and protection from torture because they arrive in Australia without valid documentation. The 1951 Convention on the Rights of Refugees (Refugee Convention), a human rights treaty that Australia has ratified and thus agreed to adhere to, clearly outlines that a refugee seeking protection from persecution shall not be penalised for entering a country without valid documentation. This applies to Australia. Currently, Australia is punishing those who deserve our compassion.

Amnesty International has grave concerns about the effects of arbitrary, ongoing detention on detainees, particularly on children. Many people kept behind razor wire fences of detention centres have survived torture and ill-treatment, escaping from situations of violence and abuse. Many have lost loved ones and have been forced to leave their homes suddenly. Having survived traumatic experiences, the effects of being isolated in sometimes remote, harsh environments further accentuate their mental despair and anguish.

Up to 80 per cent of detainees are granted refugee status and provided with visas to remain in Australia. This very high rate heightens concerns that those kept in detention have experienced grave human rights violations and are not economic migrants whose illegal entry into Australia the policy aims to prevent.

Amnesty International is one of many organisations expressing concerns regarding the conditions and effects of detention.

1. In May 2002, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) sent delegations to investigate conditions of detention and the legal regime governing the detention of asylum-seekers without trial or judicial oversight. In July 2002, the OHCHR delegate described the detention regime as "offensive to human dignity" and reported "serious concern" about the human rights situation of people in immigration detention, particularly children and unaccompanied minors. In December 2002, a WGAD report expressed similar concerns about "the psychological impact" of the detention regime, its "automatic and indiscriminate character, its potentially indefinite duration and the absence of juridical control of the legality of detention". The Australian government rejected the findings of both reports.

2. In November 2002, the national Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) found that Australia had breached its international human rights obligations by transferring six asylum-seekers from immigration detention to prisons, where they were arbitrarily detained without charge alongside convicted felons. One man had been held without judicial oversight in prison and immigration detention since December 1997.

3. In December 2002, the HREOC found that five asylum-seekers in Port Hedland detention centre had been arbitrarily detained for more than six days in isolation in dim or dark rooms before an immigration official became aware of their treatment. During the six days, they were allowed outdoors only twice for 10 to 15 minutes, and only one was given a change of clothes after five days. Despite reports by the official, the government took no action until alerted by AI Australia.

Asylum Seekers Unable to be Returned Home
Amnesty International also has grave concerns for the so-called &#39;failed asylum seekers&#39; and their children. Currently populations of those in detention are remaining incarcerated indefinitely because Australia does not have diplomatic contact with their country of origin and thus cannot send them back. This includes Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan, countries from which many refugees are fleeing persecution and human rights abuses. In other situations countries refuses to accept returning &#39;failed asylum seekers&#39; as is often the case with Iran and many of its ethnic minorities such as Sabaen Mandaens and Kurds.

Thus these people remain in detention, refused permission to stay in Australia, unable to be returned to their home country. They are never charged and no court reviews the length of their detention. They have become forgotten detainees.


:)

[MagicNakor]

I don&#39;t know. I didn&#39;t compare it to the Holocuast. Alex H did.


Originally posted by Alex H @ 3 December 2003 &#045; 02:07
It looks like a Nazi concentration camp&#33;

[AussieSheila]

:( Sorry, MN, you are right, it was Alex that first mentioned concentration camps.

B)

[Billy_Dean]

Originally posted by j2k4
You miss my point.

What are all of these people trying to get away from, or trying to get to?

What is it that us light-skinned folk have that they want?

And why aren&#39;t us vengeful white people in the U.S. trying like hell to get into Mexico, just to get even?

I get your point j2, quite clearly.

Maybe they want to bring their children up in a country the United States and it&#39;s allies are unlikely to bomb.


:)

[j2k4]

Originally posted by Billy_Dean+3 December 2003 - 10:23--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Billy_Dean @ 3 December 2003 - 10:23)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-j2k4
You miss my point.

What are all of these people trying to get away from, or trying to get to?

What is it that us light-skinned folk have that they want?

And why aren&#39;t us vengeful white people in the U.S. trying like hell to get into Mexico, just to get even?

I get your point j2, quite clearly.

Maybe they want to bring their children up in a country the United States and it&#39;s allies are unlikely to bomb.


:) [/b][/quote]
Yes, Billy-exactly so.

Now, we progress to determining whether we are an unlikely target for bombing because we are the United States, and we will come after you if you try, or because we live in a free, open, democratic republic?

Is it so hard to consider us to be "enlightened" when compared to, say, Iraq?

And, to return to my point, I don&#39;t recall that Mexico is a favorite target of terrorists or is horribly oppressed (though it is corrupt); why this migration to white/European/American countries?

Could it possibly be that we do things better? ;)

[AussieSheila]

:huh: Why wouldn&#39;t they want to come to Australia? Compared to the countries most of these people are running away from Australia is heavenly&#33;

I don&#39;t think it&#39;s a question of whether we do it better, wouldn&#39;t it be more to do with the natural resources of the country? We know we&#39;re the lucky country, and the refugees who have gained asylum and settled here know it too.

We&#39;re a long way from perfect but I reckon we&#39;re aware of that and doing our best to make it better. And maybe because of having a lot less people, we are capable of pulling together as an entire country. I believe that every single Australian that hears about this petition will add their name to it, and these children will be out of detention by Christmas.

Can we not turn this into another &#39;defend America&#39; thread. It&#39;s bigger than that.

B)

[j2k4]

Originally posted by AussieSheila@3 December 2003 - 12:09

Can we not turn this into another &#39;defend America&#39; thread. It&#39;s bigger than that.

B)
Not my intention, Sheila, sorry.

I have signed, and hope the children are free soon. ;)

[AussieSheila]

:) Oh&#33; I&#39;m glad you&#39;ve signed, I hope they&#39;re free soon too.

B)

[Billy_Dean]

I&#39;m going to do a bit of research on figures j2, before I post again. But let me say this, millions of refugees from these countries have been given shelter in neighbouring countries. A few 10&#39;s of thousands have come our way, or your way, or any other way. People talk as if they are going to overwhelm us, this isn&#39;t the case.

I&#39;ll post the figures when I get them, maybe you can Google around too, the UNHCR would probably be a good place to start. I&#39;ll do it in the morning. Too tired.


:)

[Billy_Dean]

BTW, if anyone would like to put this link in their sig ...

http://server4.uploadit.org/files/021203-sig02.jpg (http://www.PetitionOnline.com/dtention/petition.html)

... copy this code and paste it in sig control panel.


&#91;URL=http&#58;//www.PetitionOnline.com/dtention/petition.html&#93;&#91;IMG&#93;http&#58;//server4.uploadit.org/files/021203-sig02.jpg&#91;/IMG&#93;&#91;/URL&#93;


:)

[j2k4]

Originally posted by Billy_Dean@3 December 2003 - 13:45
I&#39;m going to do a bit of research on figures j2, before I post again. But let me say this, millions of refugees from these countries have been given shelter in neighbouring countries. A few 10&#39;s of thousands have come our way, or your way, or any other way. People talk as if they are going to overwhelm us, this isn&#39;t the case.

I&#39;ll post the figures when I get them, maybe you can Google around too, the UNHCR would probably be a good place to start. I&#39;ll do it in the morning. Too tired.


:)
No need, Billy.

That they make it here at all proves the point I was trying to make. ;)

[J'Pol]

Are the people imprisoned in these camps, or are they free to leave the country ?

Can they leave Australia if they chose to ?

[Biggles]

A worthy cause.

We have exactly the same problem in Scotland with children kept in fairly grim old prisons awaiting "processing" (which appears to take forever).

Anti-immigration is a particular hobby horse for one or two reactionary tabloids over here and the political powers are too weak-willed to face off releasing a pretty small number of families with children into the community so that they can actually go to school etc.,

Incidently, it is not surprising that if one were to look through a few back issues of these papers from circa 1930s one would have the edifying sight of reading how good that nice Mr. Hitler was. The more things change the more they remain the same - as the French are given to saying (only in French).

[AussieSheila]

Originally posted by J&#39;Pol@4 December 2003 - 05:41
Are the people imprisoned in these camps, or are they free to leave the country ?

Can they leave Australia if they chose to ?
<_< I think they are free to leave as long as they are willing to go home. They are not free to leave the detention centres otherwise. At one stage the government was offering refugees a cash incentive if they chose to go home. Which was really ridiculous because they were running for their lives, why would a small amount of cash make any difference to the situation they left? I don&#39;t think that scheme worked all that well.

OK, found some more information.


In late July, the UN Commission on Human Rights issued a report saying that Australia’s detention of asylum seekers, including children, in remote locations breached UN treaties and was inhuman and degrading. In response, Ruddock said the report was flawed and that it ignored the fact that people in immigration detention had arrived in the country illegally and were free to return home at any time.

I guess that answers that one.


Returns to Afghanistan On May 16 2002, Australia signed an agreement with Afghanistan’s then-interim government providing for the voluntary return and reintegration of Afghans who had either failed to qualify as refugees or were still in the process of having their claims adjudicated. Australia would provide Afghans in either group with &#036;1,100 each (&#036;2,000 Australian) or up to &#036;5,600 per family (&#036;10,000 Australian), as well as airfare and support services, if they accepted the offer within 28 days of being denied refugee status.

Ruddock said that more than 1,000 Afghans would be immediately eligible, and that the offer would subsequently apply to more than 3,500 Afghans with three-year TPVs once those visas expired. According to Ruddock, the cash and other incentives would give Afghans “real choices” about what to do upon return to post-Taliban Afghanistan. Asylum seekers who rejected the offer and were eventually denied asylum would be sent home without the cash, he added.

The offer applied to Afghans who, as of May 16, 2002, were in the detention facilities of Nauru, the excised territories, or mainland Australia. Mainland asylum applicants with pending cases were required to withdraw their claims in writing to be eligible for the offer. However, asylum applicants could wait until their application is decided and would still have 28 days after being notified of a negative decision (or, for those who appeal, 28 days after the appeal is denied) to accept the offer.

IOM administered the reintegration package and distributed the cash assistance upon the returnees’ departure for the Afghan capital of Kabul.

By year’s end, more than 300 Afghans had accepted the reintegration package. Of those, 274 had returned from Nauru and 40 from mainland Australia.

SOURCE (http://www.refugees.org/world/countryrpt/easia_pacific/2003/australia.cfm)

The source is the U.S. Committee For Refugees website and has a lot of information about refugees world wide. It&#39;s worth looking at, and has plenty of facts and figures (BD :) ).

http://www.chinkii.com/uploads/album/misc/bigozmap.jpg

[J'Pol]

Thank you - so to say free them is actually incorrect, because they are free to go whenever they want.

I agree that Australia has a singular immigration policy, it used to be my sig. However it is not actually imprisoning children.

[AussieSheila]

;) Yes, they are. You are absolutely right.

B)

[Alex H]

Originally posted by J&#39;Pol@4 December 2003 - 00:21
Thank you - so to say free them is actually incorrect, because they are free to go whenever they want.

I agree that Australia has a singular immigration policy, it used to be my sig. However it is not actually imprisoning children.
Unfortunatly in many cases its "You&#39;re free to go home and face the death squads", or sit in a tin shed in the desert waiting to find out if your asylum application is sucessful. If the government is not imprisoning children, why can&#39;t they just walk out the gates? They have to stay with their parents, and the parents are imprisioned.

And as someone said before, yes I do know quite a bit about it. I&#39;ve been to Villawood, my friends have been to Woomera and Baxter, and I&#39;ve spoken to lots of people who have been to the rest of the centers. And, while I don&#39;t want to make any assumptions about what life was like in a Nazi concentration camp (I was pointing out the similar look and genteral environment of steel bars and razor wire), having been to a detention center myself, I can say that it was not a pleasent experience, people coming up to you, tugging and your clothes begging for help. "Please tell your Prime Minister we just want happy life. Back home is no good." I saw the welts on a guy&#39;s back from where the Taliban had beaten him, and and the welts on another guy&#39;s back from where the detention center guards had beaten him for yelling that he wanted to be let out. And the marks looked the same, whoever did the beating.

I worked on a play called "Woomera", back when asylum seekers were front page news. The theatre got bomb threats, the actors got death threats and we had ASIO agents snooping around. It stired up a shit storm, but it helped a lot of people get a better understanding of the situation.

And Phillip Ruddock is a C*NT. He was the official legal guardian of people under 18 in detention centers, but at the same time he was the minister responsible for implementing the policy of mandatory detention. The biggest conflict of interest in the world.

[Alex H]

Australia&#39;s human rights slammed (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/National/story_28787.asp)


"There are 183 kids in detention in Australia and Nauru whose human rights are being violated," he (Purcell) said.

"We have had nine people (of all ages) in detention for four years or more, 89 have been held for three to four years and 278 have been held two to three years - all without being charged."


"However it&#39;s sad that the federal government has appealed to the High Court to keep those kids in detention," Mr Purcell said.


Latham still wants kids released (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/National/story_53701.asp)


Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham has repeated his call for the release of all children in Australian immigration detention centres before Christmas.

Mr Latham said there would be more than 200 children spending Christmas Day in Australia&#39;s immigration detention centres.

"We support the community release programs that would get them out," he told ABC radio.

"These programs have been trialled and we support them and we certainly support the ideal of having the children out of detention before Christmas."


At last, an Opposition that can be idendified as "Opposition to the Government"&#33;