Since Iraq and Afghanistan were invaded by the United States and its allies several years ago, their people have been facing never ending problems forcing many of them to seek asylum in other countries..
One of the destination for the asylum-seekers is Australia, a country with a land area of more than three times the size of Indonesia yet with a population of less than one tenth of Indonesia.
Unfortunately, in spite of its full support for the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, the government of Australia has been very reluctant to receive those asylum-seekers. This has caused some tragic accidents..
According to The Australian, there were at least five asylum seekers' boats sailing from Indonesia to Australia that were missing since 2008.
And last week, a boat carrying 90 asylum-seekers from Iran, Iraq and Kurdistan crash landed on the rocks of Christmas Island, Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was quoted by ABC as saying that the number of dead people could hit 50.
Considering the above, I wonder who should be responsible for those tragic accidents and deaths :
1) The asylum seekers themselves ? who insisted on going to Australia although they know they were not wanted there. Or
2) The Indonesian government ? who have let those people sail to Australia although they know that they were not wanted there. Or
3) The Australian government ? who always refused to receive them and always drove them away.
Photo : Courtesy of ABC.
14 comments:
Thanks for share this H. Nizam.. I think the government should take responsibility, but we also can not blame everyone..we all responsible.
This humanitarian catastrophe is pathetic
kami semua turut prihatin.smoga derita saudara kita ini segera berakir,,slm
I feel sorry for those who do not respect and does not value life!
@Deasy,
I agree that this matter is inter-related, but those people left their countries because they want to find better and safer places. If the US and its allies incl. Australia, are able to maintain peace in those countries there would not be asylum seekers.
@Wisata Murah,
Mudah2an ada jalan keluar yang terbaik sehingga mereka tidak perlu keluar dari negara2 mereka.
@Veloso.
Yes, I felt the same way.
On the face of it nobody bears legal responsibility. But for the huge refugee problems in the world all of us who live relatively safe and convenient are morally responsible.
Living in a country which is on the receiving end of people who need and seek asylum, as well as people who flee their home-country for economic reasons and look for a better future in more prosperous societies, I know it is not easy to bear that responsibility though.
X-mas is a good moment to ponder on that responsibility.
Hi Colson,
From the cause and effect point of view those refugees would not flee their country if the US and allies have been able to maintain peace and order. Due to this failure, the US and allies must be more responsible, than other countries, for those people.
@ Harry:(Illegally) Invading a and ruining a country indeed has huge consequences for the inhabitants. Alas Iraq people know all about that. So I tend to agree with you on the general responsibility of the invading countries for the displaced persons in and the refugees from that country. (Yet it is hard to say however this specific tragedy can be ascribed to that invasion.)
Iranians who flee from their country, the Ayatollah democracy, do usually so quite different reasons however: the theocratic totalitarian regime of zealots. They seek asylum because they can't breath in a country where is no room for "pluralism, liberalism and secularism".
So applying your reasoning to the moral responsibility, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is
as guilty for the deceased Iranians, as the US ( and it's allies) are for the other ones.
Hi Colson,
You are very right.
Iranian authoritarian regime are
no different from US and allies invasion force, because their policies have forced citizens to fled Iran. Therefore they should be
responsible for the death of the Iranian refugees.
There is no one to be blamed but the people seeking asylum themselves. They want to good life quote and quote but there are something they need to sacrifice. We cannot blame others for our own actions.
Why would Australia or other countries be made to accept citizens they do not want to? They have to protect their own sovereignty as a nation. They should be responsible for their own people and not those asylum seekers.
As a citizen you do not flee your country but help restore order. It is us citizens that comprise a nation. Other countries may help restore order but we as citizens should be responsible for our very own country.
Hi JP,
Very interesting answer.
Basically I agree that citizens of every country should help restore peace, order, & uphold sovereignty of their country.
But if we and our families spent so many years witnessing nothing more than life threatening troubles, killings, ugly social, political and economical problems, I am not sure whether we can stick to our mere nationalistic concept.
By being abroad we can also contribute to our country e.g. by spreading information about our country, sending money home etc.
This is the beauty of this blogging circle Harry, we could exchange our opinions. Did you know you are one of my blogging buddies I admire? You chose a difficult topic my friend. My blog is just a hobby for me, after a night of so called harassment from work.. (lol) It is why I chose light topics in my blog. Keep the interesting blog topics rolling pal. ;)
Hi JP,
Thank you very much for the kind words which I took as a compliment.
Your blog is also one of my favorites.
Actually what I wrote on my blog is mild compared to the topics that I have when I started blogging i.e. legal matters. After a while, I got bored, so I write about other things which different from my daily routines.
An interesting post, Harry.
I agree with the many comments. NZ had to take in a container ship full of young Afghanis a few years ago; refused by Aussie. Most of these youngsters have done well here. But we are not in a position to take in many, perhaps Australia too?
But the people responsible are those who supply many of the boats and charge the people on them - usually paid for by gold and jewels.
peter
Hi Peter/Kiwi,
I agree that those who take advantage of those refugees by taking money from them in exchange for boats etc. are should be responsible. But in case of Iraq and Afghanistan, there would not be so many people who want to refuge is their country is safe to live, if security is good.
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