@frankscan65 (Frank Calabrese)
@simoncopland Shorter Suimopn (sic)- I prefer to support people dying at Sea so we can feel good while eating our Tofu at expensive fundraisers
@simoncopland And onshore processing encouraging people smugglers – in other words Greens support profiteering from people dying at sea
@simoncopland No you prefer people dying sdo (sic) you can be pure – Enjoy being made obsolete like the Democrats you FOOL
@simoncopland You support People Dying END STORY
It’s an odd feeling to be told that you are actively supporting the death of people; to in effect be told that you are complicit in murder. It’s even more disconcerting when this comes from someone who is an ALP support (he has a little picture of Julia Gillard on his avatar), a party that, according to their policy platform, supports onshore processing.
Whilst my original reaction to these comments (and many more that I have seen on a similar vein) has been to say ‘what happened to a calmer debate’, on further thought, I actually think they say a lot about the nature of today’s asylum seeker debate. It is the comments like these, above all else, that make me absolutely sick with how this debate is progressing.
I have always struggled with the asylum seeker debate in Australia. It’s not that I have had trouble expressing my views, but I have always found the debate extremely poisonous. Despite this however, in many ways I felt like I could deal with it. The debate fit nicely into two opposing ideas; that either we wanted to ‘protect our borders’ and stop the so-called threats posed by asylum seekers, or that we wanted to take a more humane approach, which focused on the fair treatment of those seeking asylum.
Whilst I often felt sickened by those who advocated the former position in this debate, in many ways I also felt like I could engage with them. It was hard, but there was a clear distinction to be drawn.
The last few months however have completely turned this debate on its head and it’s terrifying. Instead of a debate about border security vs. the fair treatment of asylum seekers, suddenly our debate has become solely about the safety and welfare of asylum seekers. Suddenly the lives of asylum seekers have taken centre stage, with slogans like “stop the boats” being about people’s lives rather than border protection. Great, I hear you say. What’s your problem?
Yes, to have everyone suddenly caring about the welfare of asylum seekers is great. That’s what I want. What’s happened however is that, is that this new sense of care for asylum seekers we haven’t changed our policies, we’ve just re-branded them.
Suddenly, instead of using offshore processing as a way to protect our borders, it’s apparently there to protect the welfare of asylum seekers. Removing people’s basic human rights, sending them detention centres that we have no control over and directly contravening the UN Human Rights Convention are now all apparently moves that are now apparently good for asylum seekers. Treating people like dirt is no longer about punishing people for ‘jumping a queue’, but is instead about helping them by stopping their boats.
What’s even worse about this debate is that anyone who proposes something that doesn’t include offshore processing is suddenly accused of wanting to kill asylum seekers. Apparently having a humane approach to those coming for help and stopping people from taking risks at sea is incompatible. This is despite the evidence here, here and here (oh and here as well), that this idea is ridiculous. We can stick to our human right obligations and do the best we can to stem the flow of boats. We just don’t want to.
Policy debates take a particularly cynical turn when the real impacts of policies are hidden away in a sudden flurry of concern for the welfare of people. Very little has changed in terms of the ‘problem’ of asylum seekers, and no matter how much the ALP want to claim otherwise, offshore processing is still just as cruel as it was when Howard did it.
I’m not saying that people in the ALP or Coalition don’t genuinely care for the welfare of asylum seekers. But to turn the debate into one where we can only care about people by treating them like shit is truly deceptive.