One of Australia's most contentious issues is asylum seekers. Every time another boat arrives our blood pressure rises. It's hard to know exactly why but I would guess it's because we're worried that criminals and terrorists could be sneaking into the country under the radar.
We woke this morning to a protest on the roof of the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney. Nine Tamels, one Iraqi and one Afghan are protesting because their visa applications have been rejected and they must return to their country of origin. They have exhausted all avenues open to them in appealing their rejected application and have now cut their wrists. Yesterday a Fijian man killed himself saying he would rather die in Australia than go back to Fiji where he said he would be killed.
But the federal government says nothing will prevent their deportation. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said their actions would do nothing to help their cause. "Our immigration officials determine who gets asylum after a very rigorous process. And it's not determined by protest, and a protest won't change the outcome" he said.
The men are demanding that their cases be reviewed again before they will come down. They also want an independent and transparent review of their cases and want to meet with immigration officials. I'm amazed that there are any refugees being sent home at all after a report was released that said 95 percent of rejected visas were overturned on appeal. One wonders what calibre of people have already been granted permission to stay here.
There are now 500 people waiting for their visa applications to be processed in detention centres on Christmas Island and the mainland. And more boats arrive every day.
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