Last week the Australian public has heard more heart-rending news of suicides of refugees who have been imprisoned long periods of time in Australian detention centres. New South Wales State Coroner Mary Jerrum confirmed that detention center staff were substantially responsible for three suicides by immigration detainees.
The detention centres are run on the same lines as prisons for hardened criminals, and are totally unsuitable for the vulnerable people who end up there. Australia signed an international agreement that we would give asylum to refugees. Why cannot we treat the refugees with more humanity, as we used to do in the days after the Vietnam war?
If the Labour Party and Liberal Party fear a large influx of refugees, the best way to solve the problem would be to increase our support for poorer countries and in particular for the people in refugee camps in those more hospitable and compassionate countries that have provided asylum.
For example: Australia could enlarge its pitifully small amount of overseas aid and put it to better use by investing in housing, employment, schools and hospitals for the refugee camps. With the cooperation of ethically motivated businesses and organisations such as the Gates Foundation, refugee camps could be turned into cities that provide employment and a safer and better life for both the refugees and for the people of the countries that have provided asylum.
Such an approach, if contributed to by developed countries, would go a long way to looking after refugees who have suffered discrimination, persecution, torture, rape, starvation and a more painful life than most people in developed countries can imagine. It would also be monetarily profitable, and a betterinvestment than weapons of war.
In the meantime, the Serco company that runs the Australian prisons (oops, detention centres) must be made to train its employees to deal in a humane way with people detained. Policies and procedures must be enforced to prevent self-harm and suicides.
I am sending a copy of the above thoughts to the United Nations, international welfare organisations, and the Gates Foundation.
Panmure,
Vic
