Remember - Julian Burnside's Speech for Refugee Week

LAUNCH OF REFUGEE WEEK, 22 October 2006
 
Remember what you were doing last night at 7.00 pm?  When you try to reconstruct it, it’s quite a long time ago.  Perhaps you had dinner with friends, a few drinks and a show, a cosy night in a warm bed;  a long sleep-in and the Sunday papers, a relaxed breakfast and an easy day before battling with the traffic to get here.  It’s 22 hours ago. 
Twenty-two hours can seem quite a long time:  try standing motionless for 22 hours without food or water.
When the SIEV X sank on the 19th October, 2001 it took 22 hours for 353 people to drown.  Most of them were women and children.  There were just 45 survivors.

Twenty-two hours is a very long time floating, crying, praying … drowning.

The Australian Government is responsible for those deaths.  Of course they didn’t kill the 353 refugees, but they knew that they were setting out;  they knew they were boarding a dangerous, overcrowded boat;  they knew which way the boat would be heading.  Operation Relex had the area under surveillance but, amazingly, did not see anything:  it did not see the boat as it sank, it did not see 353 drowning over the course of 22 hours.

The reason those people embarked on their dangerous voyage was to join their husbands and fathers who were already living in Australia, already recognized as refugees, already on protection visas.  But the protection visas they had were only temporary protection visas, which carried the condition that they were not eligible for family reunion.  Despite their claimed support for family values, the Coalition Government denied these families the opportunity to be reunited and so the families did what families do:  they tried to get back together by any means available.  Three hundred and fifty-three people drowned as a result.

The Government recognized the responsibility it bore, so it lied.  First it lied about the place where the boat went down, and then it lied about whether it knew the boat was coming at all.

Remember the 353 who died that day:  they are our conscience.

Remember Shayan Badrie.  Shayan Badrie was the little six year old Iranian boy who had been reduced to a state of helpless paralysis by his experiences in detention.  Each time he got to the point where he could not eat or drink anymore, he would be removed from Villawood and sent to a psychiatric hospital.  As soon as he was well enough, he was sent back to detention against the advice of psychiatrists.  Shayan Badrie’s fate was first seen on television because a brave refugee advocate smuggled out secret video footage of Shayan, lying like a limp rag-doll in his father’s arms.  He was a pathetic sight.  Confronted with these images on public television, Mr Ruddock five times referred to Shayan as “it”.  He said that “it” was like this not because of detention but because “it” had a stepmother.  All that from the man who still has the effrontery to wear the Amnesty International badge.

Remember the Iranian family who were moved from Woomera to Maribyrnong in early 2002.  They were moved because their experiences in Woomera had reduced them all to the point of psychiatric collapse.  Worst in the family was the 11 year old girl who, as the psychiatrists had said, desperately needed immediate psychiatric care.  Despite the advice of the psychiatrists, the Department did nothing to help that child and on a Sunday evening in May 2002, while she was alone in her room, she took a bed-sheet and hanged herself.

Remember the report of HREOC which condemned every aspect of Australia’s system of holding children in indefinite mandatory detention.

The two people who bear principal responsibility for these things are John Howard and Philip Ruddock.  They personally oversaw, encouraged and took political benefit from the cruelest refugee regime this country has ever seen;  a system crueler than that known in any other Western country. 

Remember John Howard and Philip Ruddock. 
Remember their role.
Remember the lies they have told and remember the truths they have concealed.
Remember them:  they are our representatives.
Remember how hard it is to be a refugee, especially a refugee in a land which has treated you with open hostility until eventually, reluctantly it gives you temporary protection. 
Remember the difficulties and confusion of dealing with a petty bureaucracy.
Remember the hardship of trying to live on a bridging visa E, denied the right to work or to study or to receive Centrelink benefits;  denied even the right to do voluntary work for the simple dignity that work can bring.
Remember that getting out of detention is not the end, it is the beginning.
Remember the refugees in our community and remember what we have done to them.
Remember them: because they are our future.

As we launch into Refugee Week 2006, remember.

Remember.

Some Photos

My friend Felicity is here visiting from Melbourne and we are having a great time! Today we saw Zach Braff's new movie, The Last Kiss, which was really amazing.

Last night we went out to the pub with a bunch of people from my course, including a couple of lecturers! Lots of fun. Anyway, I won't write much now, but here are some photos.

Oh and for those of you who have been requesting more about the course... I will definitely write some more soon.

Cheers!

:) Jess

Why my friend Fatima is a legend!

This letter is at the top of The Age letters section today... Well said girl.

Why he must go

DEAR Sheikh Hilali. As a young Muslim woman, I have had to deal with the ubiquitous news reports that misquote Islam. I avoid trying to "make people understand" because I find reassurance in the belief that negative comments come from those who do not understand Islam. However, I am deeply angered by your views, on one level because they are out of touch with even the most Neanderthal society; on another because they come from a man holding a high position. How sad that you used your platform to preach these ideas. How useless that you hid behind the Arabic language and used a translator to give a different meaning to your words. Those who speak Arabic cringed at this disgusting ploy. Muslims face enough discrimination and misunderstanding. They need positive role models. You are not such a leader, and must resign immediately.

Fatima Abdullatif, Balwyn North

http://www.theage.com.au/news/letters/sheikh-hilali-why-he-must-go/2006/10/27/1161749315684.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Am I Normal...?

Whooookay. I just had an interesting experience! Rode a bike for the first time in 10 - 15 years. Yikes! I've purchased a rickety old bike (I didn't know quite HOW old or rickety...!) from a strange little bloke called Paddy, and today my bike and I were introduced for the first time. At first sight, I was beguiled by its cute blue frame and endearing skinny wheels, its rams-horn shaped handle bars held together with green electrical tape, and its antiquarian braking system. Then I tried to ride the little sucker! The gears are weird, my ass hurt within about 50 metres, and let's just say I'm not used to riding up hills.

Aaah but I really must tell you what Jessie-On-A-Bike looks like, for it is quite a spectacle. Up top we have a dashing pink, black and white zebra striped helmet which sits waaay too high on my head. Down low, we have the right pant-cuff tied securely around my leg with a shoelace so as to prevent it getting caught in the chain. HOT and ATHLETIC would be two words that should spring to mind. Unfortunately, though, the words that sprang to the mind (and lips) of my classmate Kelly were "off to the Special Olympics, are we??" Gold! I would have taken a photo, but I don't think my pride could have handled it. Maybe tomorrow :)

So, the "am I normal" title of this post owes its existence to my question to all of you cyclists out there: is it normal to be nervous (AKA borderline terrified) the first time one rides a bike in traffic? It was fine, I was safe, it's only a short distance, there are bikelanes all the way, and I know I'll get used to it, and I guess I can expect to feel a little underconfident at this stage. But by the time I was halfway home my heart was beating like mad, and I couldn't tell if it was adrenalin, or just the fact that I was trying to go up a hill in first gear! Anyway, I hope it will get easier and less scary soon. And I think I won't ride every day - just days that I know I'll be at uni until late.

School is getting quite full-on. Heaps of assessments due, and 4 out of 5 are group work, which is unusual, and not something I'm used to, as a law student. What happened to 'every potential articled clerk for himself'?! Thankfully that law school mentality is a thing of the distant past in this course. I had had a few nasty things going at home, and was a sorry little muffin for a fair chunk of the weekend. But on Saturday night, (the crapness pinnacle of the whole weekend) I *wanted* to go out and see my classmates, which I considered quite an indication of how great they are. Not only that, but they surpassed my expectations by being understanding and supportive and altogether lovely. They didn't even mind when I fell asleep on the couch. In fact, they even put a blanket on me! If you fell asleep on a couch at a law party you could expect to be woken up by people sitting on your head making out, or projectile vomiting, or by a loud, violent, shrill catfight (*all* things I have witnessed at Law students' parties... the latter two in the same night! Rool elegant...).

I was having a conversation with a girl in the cafeteria today, and we got around to discussing what is the difference. Why is this group of people so caring, nurturing, concerned with each other's wellbeing, and ready to look after one another? It took us about 2 seconds to realise it may be because they are all the kind of people who want to go and spend 18 months studying humanitarian assistance! There is such a richness and depth of compassion and concern in this group of people that it makes them all a pleasure to be around. To spend time in an environment with 20 people of 17 different nationalities (yes! that's right! unbelievable!) who are all bound by common goals and principles (otherwise known as brainless idealism and pie-in-the-sky do-gooder-ness!) is a privilege. When I should have felt far from home, lonely and homesick, I felt loved, looked after and cared about. To say that the people in my class restore my faith in humanity may be overstating the case (cue violins...!), but they certainly bolster my optimism in some way. I'm sad to be leaving them in February :(

Anyway I think that's it from me for now. I'm off to sizzle me up a chicken kiev and watch Commander in Chief (has it started in Australia yet?? I like it. Geena Davis for President!).

There you go, I finally blogged :)

JT x

Sorry!!

Hi everyone,

whoa, major blogging hiatus. Sorry! My mum told me off this weekend for posting information about everything *except* myself and what i'm doing! But it's 11pm right now so now is not the time. But i do promise to post soon!

In the meantime I have attached a photo I took last weekend when my friend Meg came to visit me. This photo was taken at a bus stop, while we were waiting for a bus that never came. We had a great time together and it was lovely to see her after many months. This week I'll be receiving another glorious Melbournite - my friend Felicity whom I can't WAIT to see! yay :)

Anyway bed calls, I'm sorry for being so completely crap at blogging and I promise i'll be back soon!

Cheers

:) Jess

The 5th Anniversary of the Sinking of the SIEV-X...

This is a day to be remembered for a long time. Arnold Zable has written a beautiful opinion piece on it. Here it is below. It made a tear run down my cheek in the computer lab at uni!

If you are interested in more info about events happening for Refugee Week (this week), you can go to http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/docs/current/VIC%20RW%20events.pdf If you're somewhere other than Victoria, your state's Refugee Week activities can also be found by following the links on the Refugee Council website - www.refugeecouncil.org.au - go to news and events.

And now, a reflection by Arnold Zable...

---

A reminder of how we treat people who come to us for help

Five years ago 353 people died in the ocean trying to reach Australia, writes Arnold Zable.

TODAY marks the fifth anniversary of the largest maritime disaster off Australian waters since World War II. At 3.10 on the afternoon of October 19, 2001, a 19.5-metre fishing boat carrying 398 refugees sank en route to Australia. A total of 353 Iraqi and Afghan asylum seekers drowned, including 146 children and 142 women desperate to join fathers and husbands living in Australia on temporary protection visas.

There were 45 survivors. On the morning of the fourth anniversary, I met one of seven Australian-based survivors, Amal Basry, at Melbourne Airport. We were to fly to Canberra to take part in an event marking the fourth anniversary of the tragedy. I had first met Basry in mid-2002 soon after her arrival in Australia. She saved her life by clinging to a corpse for hours.

As we waited to board the plane, Basry recounted an anecdote I had not heard before. She could not sleep the previous night because she was haunted by the memory of the sinking. When her son Amjed arrived home after midnight, they tried to remember what they were doing four years ago at that hour.

Basry recalled that in the early hours of October 19 the winds began to rise. The boat rose and fell in deepening troughs. Many passengers panicked. "God, save us. The ocean is angry," some cried. The cries of frightened children filled the air. Amal noticed a group of women on the crowded deck writing on a piece of paper. They were composing a letter to the angel of the ocean, they told her. "Angel of the ocean please protect us," they had written. "Angel of the ocean look after our children. Angel of the ocean, do not abandon us." They folded the letter and threw it into the water. That afternoon they were no longer alive.

This is one of many stories I have heard from survivors over the past five years. Each one records moments that sear the imagination. Survivor Faris Kadhem remains tormented by the memory of his seven-year-old daughter, Zahra, and wife, Leyla, slipping from his sight into the ocean.

Sondos Ismael lost three daughters, Eman, 8, Zahra, 6, and Fatimah, 5. As she grieved in Jakarta in the months after the tragedy, her husband, Ahmed al-Zalimi, was not granted a permit to join her, despite pleas to the Howard Government, since it would have breached the conditions of his temporary visa. Ahmed had arrived in Australia in 1999, in flight from Saddam Hussein's brutal regime. Like many other SIEV-X passengers, Ismael and her daughters were determined to reunite with him, even though he had begged them not to risk the sea journey.

In listening to these tales we come to know the human face of the tragedy. We learn the fate of individuals and come to know their aspirations and the reasons for their desperate flight from tyrannical regimes.

There also remain many questions to be answered. Why did the crews of three boats not respond to the screams of survivors who paddled towards them clinging to debris during the night? Former Australian diplomat Tony Kevin contends the boat sank in international waters, 50 to 60 kilometres south of the Sunda Strait, in Australia's declared border protection zone. He asks what the Howard Government knew of the disaster.

Basry died of cancer in March this year. She was an ardent supporter of a project to erect a memorial on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin. The design features a life-size outline of the boat and a procession of 353 poles decorated by community and school groups in honour of each victim. Inspired by author Steve Biddulph and the Uniting Church of Australia, it is based on designs submitted by students in an Australia-wide competition in schools.

The SIEV-X sinking is our Australian story writ large. It highlights the trauma and dangers that flow from placing asylum seekers on temporary visas that prevent them from seeing their loved ones for years. It is a reminder of the good fortune of those who made it, and the tragedy of those who did not. It is a testimony to all who have undertaken perilous journeys in search of freedom, and it remains a searing reminder that we assess who we are as a nation by the way we treat those who come to us in a search of a better life.

---

Arnold Zable joins Actors for Refugees and Julian Burnside, QC, to commemorate Amal Basry's life and launch refugee week on Sunday at 5pm in the Carillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne.

The Justice Project Forum - you may have missed it, but all is not lost!

Last week on October 12th, Melbourne based organisation The Justice Project Inc. organised a forum with the title 'Human Rights in the age of border protection'. It was a hit, and there will be many more such events to come in future.

SBS radio covered the event, and has put excerpts from the speeches made by Julian Burnside and Malcolm Fraser up on its website at http://www9.sbs.com.au/radio/language.php?news=news&language=World%20View

You can go to that page and download 12 minute excerpts from each speech. Here are a couple of lines about their content. ENJOY!...

Human rights being eroded says top QC: 16.10.2006

The unpopular and the powerless are losing their human rights in Australia.
That's the conclusion drawn by human rights and refugee advocate, Julian Burnside Q.C.

Mr Burnside made those comments during a speech he delivered in Melbourne at a forum organised by The Justice Project.

In 2004, the Melbourne Q.C was among 12 individuals who established The Justice Project, which is a human rights lobby group that's particularly concerned about Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.

Here's an edited portion of Julian Burnside's speech where he sets out the ways in which he believes people are losing their human rights.

Fraser rejects citizenship tests: 16.10.2006

An abomination is how the former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser sums up the federal government's plans to introduce citizenship and language tests for new migrants who want to become Australian citizens.
Mr Fraser criticised the proposed tests during a speech he delivered in Melbourne at a forum organised by The Justice Project.

In 2004, Malcolm Fraser was among 12 individuals who established The Justice Project, which is a human rights lobby group that's particularly concerned about Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.

Here's an edited portion of Malcolm Fraser's speech which begins with his thoughts on multiculturalism.

FANTASTIC NEWS!!!

Labor's big shift on refugees

Michael Gordon
October 16, 2006

THE Labor Party is set to abandon its policy of giving refugees who attempt to come to Australia by boat only temporary protection, in a fundamental shift in its attitude towards asylum seekers since the Tampa episode of 2001.

Opposition spokesman on migration Tony Burke is expected to announce today the shift to permanent protection — which represents a sharp contrast with government policy — after it is endorsed by the shadow cabinet.

The decision will mean Labor will go to next year's election opposing the two key aspects of the Government's policy — offshore processing in foreign countries, Nauru and Papua New Guinea, and temporary protection visas (TPVs).

More than 900 mainly Afghan and Iraqi refugees remain on the temporary visas after being found to have genuine fears of persecution if returned to their countries.

They are unable to leave Australia and return or seek to be reunited with immediate family members.

Labor's shift could also have implications for the small group of Burmese asylum seekers who were sent to Nauru for processing last month if their claims for protection are found to be genuine.

The decision will end several years of emotional internal debate within Labor on the visa system that was introduced in 1999 in a bid to deter unauthorised boat arrivals.

Mr Burke has refused to be drawn on the imminent shift, but gave a clue to his thinking at a Labor for Refugees dinner in July when he said: "If there is a reason for us to take a TPV policy to the next election, I am yet to hear it."

He declined to comment yesterday, confirming only that he had received a report from Labor's social policy committee. "I'll be responding to the report to the shadow ministry and will have more to say after that," he told The Age.

One of those rescued by the Tampa and living in Melbourne said yesterday the uncertainty about when he might be able to see his family had caused him to be treated for depression last year. The young man had suffered three years' offshore detention, been on a TPV for three years and has another two years before it expires.

Under the visa he has to pay full fees to study, with no certainty that he will eventually be granted permanency. "It's very hard," he said yesterday.

A push to end Labor's support for TPVs was defeated at Labor's last national conference by a vote of 226 to 164 after then leader Mark Latham put his authority on the line. Existing Labor policy provides for two-year temporary protection visas, with an expectation that permanent protection will then be granted.

The 14-page report of the policy committee, obtained by The Age, argues that TPVs should be abolished. "If an applicant is found to be a refugee that person should be given permanent protection immediately," it says.

The report challenges the Government's assertion that temporary protection visas are a deterrent to unauthorised boat arrivals, asserting the system encouraged women and children to risk their lives and follow their husbands and fathers.

The report also argues that uncertainty inherent in the temporary protection system has exacerbated mental health problems for many asylum seekers and that having to re-apply for protection when temporary visas expire forces the refugee to relive past trauma.

Sources say there is now a recognition on Labor's front bench that conditions have remained unsafe in Iraq and Afghanistan for several years, undercutting one of the Government's main justifications for the regime.

The Immigration Department's website justifies the system by asserting that recent experience of changing country situations shows the value of being able to reassess whether a person has a continuing need for protection before conferring permanent or continuing protection.

One source conceded that the policy shift was less radical than it would have been three years ago, when several thousand refugees were on TPVs. The source said Mr Burke had no plans to reconsider the other controversial plank of Labor's policy, support for the Government's excision of Christmas Island from Australia's migration zone.

As at October 6, 9875 temporary protection visas had been granted since 1999, an Immigration Department official said. In addition, 830 temporary humanitarian visas had been granted to unauthorised arrivals in Australia's offshore excised places, such as Ashmore Reef .

About 8450 of these TPV and temporary humanitarian visa holders have since been granted permanent protection.

The official estimated that about 1430 people still held temporary protection and temporary humanitarian visas.

Nauru makes it to Danny Katz's column!

The Age Satirist Danny Katz has made a comment Australia's detention policy in his column this week. Katz was talking about the strange title of the comedy improvisation show 'Thank God You're Here', and decided on a few variations, including 'Thank Jehovah You're Here', 'Thank Buddha You're Here' and 'Thank Karl Marx You're Here'. The one i've taken an extract from here is the one I found interesting...!

Thank gods you're watching
By Danny Katz
October 12, 200
...
THANK ALLAH YOU'RE HERE
This zany new improvised TV show is staged in an Australian refugee detention centre, before a captive studio audience, who are locked behind 12-foot-high razor-wired cyclone fencing. Each week, a Muslim refugee enters the centre through a padlocked door, and is greeted by another Muslim refugee saying: "Thank Allah you're here! I don't know what horrors you're fl eeing from, but I'm telling you, it can't get any worse than this." Then the refugee must improvise their way through the rest of their stay at the centre, which can take anything up to seven years - and the winning refugee gets an all-expenses-paid longterm tropical holiday in Nauru.
...

Scathing! Gosh he's risque sometimes...!

A story about a friend...

'Will This Man Lose the Will to Live?'
THE AGE - Opinion
By Michael Gordon
October 11, 2006



The funeral service for Olympian Peter Norman on Monday raised an intriguing question. Why is it that stories about some people capture the public imagination while others that may be just as compelling do not?

John Carlos, one of the black runners who shared the dais with Norman at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, observed that the sprinter should be as well known in Australia as Steve Irwin. Such, said Carlos, was the power of his role in their famous stand on human rights.

Yet while the image of the barefoot Tommie Smith and Carlos giving that black power salute is considered one of the most influential of the 20th century, the story of Norman's role in the protest is unknown to a great many Australians.

"You guys have lost of great soldier," remarked Carlos. "Go and tell your kids the story of Peter Norman."

A similar point can be made about Mohammed Sagar, an Iraqi refugee who has been detained offshore since he was rescued five years ago yesterday in the "children overboard" episode, and David Hicks.

While Hicks' detention without trial on Guantanamo Bay has, quite rightly, prompted expressions of outrage from a cross-section of Australians, from church leaders to former prime ministers, Sagar's situation has gone largely unremarked.

Of course, Sagar has not endured anything like the conditions that have been inflicted upon Hicks for 41/2 years and he is not an Australian. But his situation should alarm Australians who believe in notions of natural justice, the rule of law, compassion and a fair go.

After suffering physically and mentally under Saddam Hussein's rule and being found by Australian officials to have a genuine fear of persecution if he returned to Iraq, he has been held against his will on the tiny, near-bankrupt island of Nauru.

When I visited him on the island late last month, he told me how he wanted to have his life back, whether it be happy or sad. "I want to be alive, that's all, because now I'm feeling like a dead living thing."

Fran Kelly on the ABC's Radio National pursued the story for three days last week, culminating with an interview with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer about the $100,000-a-month visa fee Nauru has set for Sagar, to encourage Australia to find a solution for him.

When Kelly pressed Downer on Nauru's concern for Sagar and another Iraqi who had been held there, he displayed a singular indifference to their plight, observing that "one of them, I think, has been dealt with".

This was a euphemism for the decision several weeks ago to evacuate the second Iraqi, Mohammad Faisal, to a Brisbane hospital after his despair led him to become suicidal. He is said to be recovering well and may soon be released into a form of community-based care.

There are at least two explanations for the lack of pressure on the Howard Government to address the situation of Sagar on Nauru.

The first is that Nauru is a very long way away and communications are patchy at best. Sagar is out of sight and out of mind.

The second is that he, along with Faisal, received a negative security assessment from ASIO that meant Australia no longer had any obligation to offer him protection under the United Nations refugee convention.

While a lack of sympathy for a person considered a security threat by ASIO is understandable, neither man has ever been told what he is alleged to have done to warrant the assessment, so neither has had the opportunity to defend himself.

Neither Sagar nor Faisal had the benefit of any representation when they were interviewed on Nauru.

Both complain that an interviewing officer was very aggressive during the interview. Both are adamant they represent no threat to anyone.

And there is a bigger problem. There is no capacity for some outside authority, for instance a retired judge, to establish that ASIO's decision was soundly based.

Moreover, in their time on Nauru, neither man has caused any problems. On the contrary, both are highly regarded. Faisal was virtually adopted by a Nauruan family while Sagar has earned high praise for his voluntary work at the Nauru campus of the University of the South Pacific.

Indeed, while I was on Nauru he seemed to be regarded as a kind of voluntary help desk for the Nauruan Government and Australian officials working to tackle that country's considerable problems.

If there was a case to answer for some past deed or connection - and both men say there is not - their exemplary behaviour on Nauru surely should count for something.

Both men do have supporters in Australia who have been working hard on their behalf. Lawyer Julian Burnside, who characterises the treatment of both as "calculated cruelty", has launched a legal challenge to the ASIO assessments. But this is likely to be a very long process.

Susan Metcalfe, a researcher who has visited Nauru several times, has written letters to ministers pleading for some resolution and been a constant source of comfort. So have many others.

But time is running out. Recently, Sagar quit his part-time job at the university and withdrew from his studies. He likened himself to a dish that had been cooked and, instead of being removed from the stove, had been subject to even greater heat. "I'm done," he said.

It is time for some hard questions to be asked of those who have for too long considered the ASIO assessments a reason to do nothing.

The bottom line is whether the intention is to wait until Sagar, like Faisal, loses his will to live before someone decides he should be "dealt with".

Inside the world view of 'islamists'...

I think this quote is an AMAZING little mind bender. i have never before come across something which so profoundly reveals the possible reasons underpinning a world view, and challenges us to think about them seriously.

OH! please note... 'islamist' doesn't mean 'muslim'... 'islamism' is a problematic and controversial term, but one which is typically taken to mean the adherence to the dictates of Islam in a way which is fundamentalist, extremist and potentially damaging. in *no way* does this article purport to equate all muslims to fundamentalist or extremist 'islamists'.

This article was written in response to the rage of Americans after 9/11, asking "what have we ever done to them? why would they want to harm us?". well, read it and see what you think...

"If by this stage we still find it hard to get inside the world-view of
Islamists, it may be helpful to listen to these words of an American,
Paul Kennedy, writing in the Wall Street Journal in October 2001 (a month
after 9/11), which represent a powerful appeal by an American to
fellow-Americans to ‘see ourselves as others see us’:

How do we appear to them, and what would it be like were our places in
the world reversed… Suppose that there existed today a powerful, unified
Arab-Muslim state that stretched from Algeria to Turkey and Arabia – as
there was 400 years ago, the Ottoman Empire. Suppose this unified
Arab-Muslim state had the biggest economy in the world, and the most
effective military. Suppose by contrast this United States of ours had
split into 12 or 15 countries, with different regimes, some conservative and
corrupt. Suppose that the great Arab-Muslim power had its aircraft
carriers cruising off our shores, its aircraft flying over our lands, its
satellites watching us every day. Suppose that its multinational corporations had
reached into North America to extract oil, and paid the corrupt,
conservative governments big royalties for that. Suppose that it
dominated all international institutions like Security Council and the IMF.
Suppose that there was a special state set up in North America fifty years ago,
of a different religion and language to ours, and the giant Arab-Muslim power
always gave it support. Suppose the Colossus state was bombarding us
with cultural messages, about the status of women, about sexuality, that we
found offensive. Suppose it was always urging us to change, to modernize, to
go global, to follow its example. Hmmm…. In those conditions, would not
many Americans steadily grow to loathe that Colossus, wish it harm? And
perhaps try to harm it? I think so."

Take some action for the Lombok Asylum Seekers... 5 years and counting...

Hi guys, this is from Felicia di Stefano, Rural Australians for Refugees... I will paste the text of the letter she mentions below, so that you can copy and paste it into your own document. If you want a copy of the petition, EMAIL ME!! put the petition in your work kitchen, or pass it around your small group, anything!! jessie@thejusticeproject.com.au

J x



Dear All,

Thank you for your support in writing letters to politicians and returning signed petitions to help the asylum seekers
trapped on Lombok. With your help we sent in almost 3,000 signatures in support of the Lombok asylum seekers to
Amanda Vanstone via Senator Bartlett. "Pease say thank you very much to all those people who are helping us poor refugees".
writes Mohammad, our friend from Lombok.

Now we have a similar petition, this time addressed to the House of Representatives to enable it to be tabled in Parliament.
We also have a new form letter. Please find them attached. We desperately need your help again. Thank you to the
people who have already sent singed petitions. We have about 500 signatures so far.

October 2006 marks the fifth anniversary of the time the Lombok asylum seekers were towed from Ashmore Reef
to Indonesian waters by our navy. The 45 or so Afghan women men and children have been living in the Lombok
camp without basic human rights, on charity provided by Australia, for five years. The years of detention have taken
their toll. The people feel frustrated and often depressed.

The married men have been denied the means to provide for their families, the single men feel stranded.
All feel powerless as their fate is decided by others. They do not know from day to day what will happen to them.
Yet their lives are in grave danger if they return to Afghanistan. Please help us make our government realise the
inhumanity of keeping these people imprisoned on Lombok. Send in signed petitions, send off form letters, or write your own.

Thank you,

Felicia Di Stefano, member South Gippsland RAR, 125 Bateson Road, Glen Forbes, Victoria, 3990, (03) 5678 3294




Print name:

Print address

Date:

Senator Amanda Vanstone
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600



Dear Senator Vanstone,

I write to you in the hope that, in view of the recent increase of violence in Afghanistan, you will reconsider your policy towards the Afghan asylum seekers on Lombok. That you will allow them to return to Australia to live, work and study in our community while they are assessed for refugee status.

The 45 or so Afghan women, men and children remaining on Lombok, came to Australia to escape persecution and to save their and their children’s lives. October 2006 is the fifth anniversary of the time the Australian navy towed them back to Indonesian waters.

The five years the Afghan asylum seekers have lived in the Lombok compound on scant charity paid for by our government, without basic human rights of work, travel, family reunion or study, have taken their toll and the people are frustrated and often depressed. The married men have been denied the means to provide for their families, the single men feel stranded. All feel powerless as their fate is decided by others. They do not know from day to day what will happen to them.

I plead for compassion on behalf of the Afghan people trapped on Lombok. Their lives continue to be in grave danger if they return to Afghanistan, yet we cannot force these people to live in their present state of lack and uncertainty any longer. Please allow the Afghan asylum seekers to share their culture and work skills with the Australian society as they are assessed for refugee status and become valuable, contributing members of our community.




Sincerely yours,





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KO-SO-VO: Laugh, Then Cry!

OK I seem to have turned into the blogging QUEEN! Must be the weekend.

I want everyone to watch this video. Not only is it funny and clever and they clearly put in a lot of effort (oh the choreography...!), but it also makes a pretty valid point about what happens when things just sort of fall apart and an occupying (did I say occupying?) force withdraws from a trouble spot.

I apologise for the weirdness of the last 10 seconds of the video.. try to forgive that.


PS YouTube is completely amazing... I love it.

Where Am I???

About fifteen minutes ago I was sitting on the couch in the lounge room of my house in Dublin, in front of the (fake) open fire, trying to do some homework. The doorbell rang. Curiosity won over wardrobe, and I decided to see who it was rather than simply hide because I was wearing pyjama pants. I opened the door on a cold, blustery day, to find two people standing on my doorstep. The younger was a little boy of about 5, with flaming red hair and freckles, wearing a blue parka and munching on a 'fun-size' chocolate bar. The older was clearly his mother. She same complexion and fiery hair, but looked stressed and drawn and impatient. She unleashed a gush of words in an accent so think I struggled to understand it, but the effect of it was that she was looking for "clothing, food, money, anything you can spare ma'am"... I was somewhat surprised because I'd never experienced this before - sure, kids come around door-knocking all the time for 40 hour famine, or MS readathon, and those kinds of things, but I had never experienced door-to-door 'begging' of this kind.

I hate being faced with beggars (good grief I hate that word) . I know most people do. But the reason is that I simply don't understand why my initial reaction is to make the situation go away! Why is my first instinct to say no?? Why is it that so many people immediately default to suspicion and distrust? I almost never say no to someone who is begging, regardless of what they ask me for, but when I was having lunch with my mum in Dublin last week, something happened. We were sitting at a table in a little italian street-cafe, when a woman walked past with a scarf over her head and a baby in her arms. She began asking us for money in that almost sing-song, chanting kind of way which always draws attention and makes people at nearby tables glad that it's not them being asked. My mother - seasoned traveller - replied brusquely "no, thank you. no", and the woman (only a girl, really) walked away.

That got me thinking. My mum and I disagree on a lot of things, and this is probably one of them. But my concern wasn't so much about my mother's and my divergent opinions - it was more about the fact that I am on a ridiculously generous scholarship studying humanitarian assistance in a great country, yet still struggle to deal with need, poverty and crisis in my own environment.

I don't think anyone would disagree that when you see a person 'begging' in your own home town or when travelling, it is an unpleasant thing to see. Whether you're gallivanting around Florence on a fun european holiday, or in Melbourne jabbering on your expensive mobile while rushing off to your expensive car to drive back to your expensive house, it always serves (for me, anyway) to highlight the massive gap between the haves and the have nots. And it is always uncomfortable to be so blatantly shoved in to the category of the haves, even if that's where you would ultimately choose to be. However, every time, you are faced with a choice. You can avoid eye contact, put your head down, grunt and rush past (to feel bad about it for at least the rest of the day, possiby longer), or you can smile, say hi, see if we've got a couple of bucks to spare, and walk away happy in the knowledge that the $5 you just handed over will not be missed in any significant way.

Obviously, when you get into the field of humanitarian assistance you need to have much more strongly developed boundaries. But what I am learning more and more from studying the philosophy of aid work and humanitarian assistance is that I had better bloody get used to my uneasy place among the 'haves'. As humanitarian aid workers in training, we are being told that we *need* to have boundaries. It is virtually impossible (not to mention horribly patronising) to enter a crisis situation, a warzone, a disaster zone or a refugee camp, and presume that we are all in the same boat, all been dished up the same crap-pie, and all "in it together". Because you know just as soon as the shit hits the fan we will be on the first UN plane out of there, and the locals will be left behind to deal with whatever's left. I think my colleagues and I would like to imagine that in the heat of the moment, we would be stronger and more committed than that. But who can tell? I guess you can't know until you've actually been there.

I'm not really sure what my point is here. I think I like my blog better when I write about spiders and bicycles! I guess I just want to challenge you (and myself) to think more carefully about the way we confront need. We have so much. Why do we find it so hard to part with just a tiny portion of it, even when faced with a desperate woman and a hungry baby? Can we close our eyes that easily? Does our selfishness know no bounds? Or are we worried that if we start giving, we won't know where, when or how to stop?

Anyway, I gave the woman and her son a loaf of bread and a bag of carrots. Two minutes after they left I wished I'd invited them in out of the cold for a hot cup of tea.

Reverse Spider Culture Shock!

Well, after my arachnid-related post a couple of weeks ago I thought it fitting to let you all know that I am now the designated spider guru in my new house. My housemate Claire just said to me "I, er, don't suppose you're any good with spiders...?" and I was thus given the responsibility of getting rid of the one lurking just beside her bedroom door. I did it no worries. I can be tough when I want to :)

It's funny - Australia really does have a reputation for nasties! Donal (another housemate) was telling me that he was talking to someone recently and mentioned crocodiles, only to see that person become quite upset because their son or daughter had been devoured by one in Australia! Donal also told me that he's recently seen a show called something like '183 things that'll kill you in Australia'! good heavens! You can also participate in a kooky quizz of the same name... http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Geography/Things-Thatll-Kill-You-in-Australia-195533.html

Try it out! I got 8 out of 10. Yikes.

And I suppose the recent - incredibly globally recognised - passing of good old Steve Irwin does nothing to help this image.

It's quite extraordinary and makes me wonder how Australia has a tourism industry at all!

Must be pretty good to outweigh all that stuff :)

J x

My Room!

Hey everyone,

Some slightly less grandiose photography for you today... my room in my new house!!



I live in a little place called Goatstown which is very suburban... and i'm told it's the suburb of Dublin in which I am least likely to get murdered, so that's nice...! Haha. My housemates are nice and the place is clean and cosy and nice. I'll be happy here. Oh and I think I'm getting a bike! Maybe tomorrow! so that'll be fun, even though my mother is convinced that that won't end well! But it should be ok.

Alright i better sign off!

See you later :)

J xx

Some More Photos of the Weekend... Beautiful!

'We Will Be Remembered For This'

Coming Soon... www.myspace.com/wewillberemembered

Road Trippin' in Ireland

Well, my mother and I are having an extremely hard time of it, sitting in front of an open fire and chomping on a kitkat. We are staying in this house you can see above - Coolclougher House, Killarney. We are the only guests here at the moment and basically have the place to ourselves. It's quite something! We have just returned from a gruelling day of touring some of the most beautiful scenery Ireland has to offer. Basically there's not too much point me yapping on about it, but will try to insert some photos here.... We drove down along the Dingle Peninsula, and did the Slea Head Drive. Here goes.








As you can see we had a beautiful day and we have seen some pretty extraordinary scenery! I'm sure you will be delighted with tales of our travels when next you see one of us :)

Cheers!

Jessie & Jillian

Watch This Space!

OK I know i'm a terrible blogger and haven't posted in a while! But I have a good excuse! I'm currently in Killarney with me mam (that's irish for 'my mother') and have had little / no chance to post. But I will write a GOOD one in the next few days. In the meantime I shall placate you with a delightful picture of me surrounded by cold, damp, grey Irish countryside. It's pretty beautiful though! (the countryside, not me. check those under-eye bags! yikes.). I have a lot to post about when I get around to it, so I promise there shall be some good readin' right here, very soon.

Cheers!

JT xx