Australia as refuge?
John Howard has made many comments over the past month about the need for
East Timorese people for security and stability. His concern about East
Timorese people in Australia's backyard is welcome, but he appears to have
forgotten those who are currently sitting in our living room.
East Timorese Asylum Seekers in Australia have been waiting for up to ten
years for permanent refuge. The Federal Government has consistently
maintained that they are dual nationals of Indonesia and Portugal and has
denied them refugee status. Now is the time to end this lie.
As the situation in East Timor worsens, the lives of East Timorese asylum
seekers here in Australia are overshadowed by fear, uncertainty, poverty and
ill-health. As televisions around the world show images of the increasing
violence that has wreaked havoc upon their people, they are reminded of
their own experiences of trauma, displacement and torture.
On top of their very real fear for friends and family still in East Timor is
their fear of deportation from Australia. At present, the Government cannot
guarantee that this won't happen. Until they are granted permanent
residency, few from the East Timorese asylum seeking community are willing
to speak out about their experiences - in East Timor or Australia.
This situation affects the daily lives and futures of 1,650 East Timorese
people living in Australia. Their community cannot bear the strain of the
uncertainty of waiting much longer. Many asylum seekers arrived in Australia
in poor physical and mental health, only to have their problems exacerbated
by poverty, poor housing and limited access to health care and employment.
Given the Australian Government's involvement in the quickly changing events
in East Timor, it is timely to question why nothing is being done to
facilitate a sense of security amongst East Timorese Asylum Seekers here in
Australia. In the context of the current violence and uncertainty in East
Timor, now is a particularly appropriate time to give these people a
permanent right to reside in Australia.
East Timorese asylum seekers need a good chance to recover from the
devastation brought about by their experiences in East Timor and Australia.
Permanent residency will enable them begin the process of healing, to plan
for their futures and to build links with other communities. It will offer
hope and meaning to a community which is at present overcome by fear,
vulnerability and loss.
Few East Timorese Asylum Seekers have any confidence that there will be
meaningful change in East Timor in the foreseeable future. In the longer
term however, should the security situation in East Timor stabilise and the
territory secure its independence, asylum seekers should be able to choose
whether to remain in Australia or return (temporarily or permanently) to
East Timor.
Some may feel able or willing to participate in the onerous building of the
East Timorese nation, but others may not. Sadly, many have nothing left in
East Timor except memories. Many East Timorese people now have strong
relationships with people in Australia: they have married here, given birth
to children here, built links in their local communities here. Individuals
and families must be able to make their own decisions about whether to
return, and if so, when and in what circumstances.
A resolution of the status of East Timorese asylum seekers in Australia is
well overdue.
The Howard Government has the power to immediately guarantee the security of
over 1500 East Timorese people living in Australia. It must act at home as
well as abroad if it is to fulfil its historical obligations to East
Timorese people.
* # * # * C A L L T O A C T I O N * # * # *
Last September a Federal Court judge in Melbourne decided in favour of an
East Timorese refugee seeking permanent residence in Australia. He said that
there was no evidence to support the Government's assertion that the
Portuguese authorities would offer Timorese "effective protection". The
Government has appealed this decision before the Full Federal Court and will
make its oral presentation to the Court next Monday.
Be there to show your support for the asylum seeker, Kon Tji Lay and for all
other East Timorese Asylum Seekers.
MONDAY 24TH MAY
9:30AM FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
CNR LATROBE & WILLIAM STREETS, MELBOURNE
(Phone / fax messages of support are always appreciated. Sanctuary Network
can be contacted at 22 Pitt St Carlton 3053, Tel/Fax 9348 1261)
--
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