http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/navy-intercepts-another-asylum-seeker-vessel-the-98th-this-year/story-fn59niix-1225932672956
Part 2
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j0VPArPVNlyGxRnYmZqO8IQQYEiw?docId=4694606
Part 3
These articles cover the Afghan asylum seeker problem faced by the Australian government. Last april the Australia suspended claims from both Afghan and Sri Lankan refugee seekers. The first article informs us that the six month freeze on refugee processing has been lifted. Afghan asylum seekers will now be allowed to prepare their refugee claims. Those found not to be refugees will be returned to Afghanistan. The second article describes the most recent capture of a refugee boat. Eight hours from now (because of the time difference) the navy will capture the 98th refugee vessel this year. The boat will be found to have 28 passengers for a total of 4617 asylum seekers this year. Before reading this article i would have thought Australia, being an island country would have no immigration problems. Its interesting to see how every country seems to face the same issues.
"Australia's 'Toxic' Asylum Issue."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10869902
One thing I learned in this article is that Australia limits the refugees that it takes in to 13,750 a year. The article states that "Those entering Australia illegally by boat or plane take the places of those who could otherwise be granted asylum under this programme." Perhaps this has something to do with the controversy over "boat people"? One of Julia Gillard's reasons for her strict policies on immigration is so as not to create business for smugglers and to encourage people to use legal means of immigrating to Australia. Some articles indicate the country is being "swamped" while others say that the country is more than capable of taking in more people, and has a responsibility to do so. The parallels between immigration controversy in Australia in the U.S. are clear, and I hope being in Australia might illustrate the differences.