desperate iraqi refugees
Ashley's grandparents escaped Nazi Germany in the 1930s and the stories they tell her about the terrible effects of war on civil populations have made her a champion of refugees everywhere. She is appalled by the way Iraqi refugees were treated by Australia in 2001, and now Greece is doing the same thing in 2007 -- turning away boat people to sink or starve on deserted islands.
"As soon as George W. Bush came to power the movement of refugees out of the Middle East became obvious to everyone," says Ashley. "People in those countries knew his focus was going to be his daddy's unfinished business in Iraq and they were getting out as fast as they could by whatever means they could."
"The most spectacular of these refugee movements occurred in September 2001 when a sinking boatload of Middle Eastern refugees heading for a save haven in Australia was rescued by the Norwegian container ship, the Tampa."
"The Australian authorities requested the captain of the Tampa to return the refugees to their port of origin, Indonesia, but instead he headed for Australian territory because the refugees were agitated and did not want to go back."
"A stand-off for a considerable length of time occurred while Australian, Norwegian and Indonesian authorities passed the buck, during which distraught refugees, some sick, some pregnant, some very old, some very young, were trapped in the scorching heat on the deck of the Tampa."
"The Australian authorities claimed that the refugees were queue jumpers -- illegals who forced their way into a country ahead of those who waited for official processing of their claim for refugee status -- and eventually the refugees were offloaded at Nauru, a tiny Pacific island, where they were processed by United Nations officials and then either farmed out to whatever country would take them or returned to the misery of the country from which they had fled."
"A short while later, another sinking boatload of Middle Eastern refugees heading for save haven in Australia was not so lucky," sighs Ashley. "Every person on board, an estimated 350 people, lost their lives."
"The whole scene was reminiscent of my grandparents' story," says Ashley. "Thousands of people tried to flee Germany in the early 1930s when Hitler came to power, but they were refused entry by country after country because they they did not enter with official permits."
"As a result of the world's indifference to refugees, millions of people were exterminated in Europe, mostly Jews but also people who were considered undesirable by the Nazis -- gypsies, homosexuals, disabled people and political dissenters."
"In Australia, not even the demise of the second boatload of refugees, softened the black hearts." says Ashley. "On the contrary, the feeling at the time was that their watery end was their own fault."
"Apart from the simple fact that everybody in Australia who is not aboriginal is either a boat person themselves -- or a plane person, illegal or otherwise -- or descended from such a person or, worse, a convicted felon," says Ashley, "the lack of compassion for the Middle Eastern refugees was shocking."
"It was difficult to comprehend that the self-proclaimed 'lucky country' could treat refugees so badly," says Ashley. "Only a year before, in 2000, Australia had hosted the Olympic Games in Sydney and the world was applauding the warm hearted Australians."
"It's difficult to imagine how the black hearted people responsible for this so-called War on Terror crime go to sleep soundly at night," sighs Ashley. "How can they look at a future full of splendid opportunities for their children when they have effectively diminished their own humanity by treating the Middle Eastern refugees so inhumanely?"
"As soon as George W. Bush came to power the movement of refugees out of the Middle East became obvious to everyone," says Ashley. "People in those countries knew his focus was going to be his daddy's unfinished business in Iraq and they were getting out as fast as they could by whatever means they could."
"The most spectacular of these refugee movements occurred in September 2001 when a sinking boatload of Middle Eastern refugees heading for a save haven in Australia was rescued by the Norwegian container ship, the Tampa."
"The Australian authorities requested the captain of the Tampa to return the refugees to their port of origin, Indonesia, but instead he headed for Australian territory because the refugees were agitated and did not want to go back."
"A stand-off for a considerable length of time occurred while Australian, Norwegian and Indonesian authorities passed the buck, during which distraught refugees, some sick, some pregnant, some very old, some very young, were trapped in the scorching heat on the deck of the Tampa."
"The Australian authorities claimed that the refugees were queue jumpers -- illegals who forced their way into a country ahead of those who waited for official processing of their claim for refugee status -- and eventually the refugees were offloaded at Nauru, a tiny Pacific island, where they were processed by United Nations officials and then either farmed out to whatever country would take them or returned to the misery of the country from which they had fled."
"A short while later, another sinking boatload of Middle Eastern refugees heading for save haven in Australia was not so lucky," sighs Ashley. "Every person on board, an estimated 350 people, lost their lives."
"The whole scene was reminiscent of my grandparents' story," says Ashley. "Thousands of people tried to flee Germany in the early 1930s when Hitler came to power, but they were refused entry by country after country because they they did not enter with official permits."
"As a result of the world's indifference to refugees, millions of people were exterminated in Europe, mostly Jews but also people who were considered undesirable by the Nazis -- gypsies, homosexuals, disabled people and political dissenters."
"In Australia, not even the demise of the second boatload of refugees, softened the black hearts." says Ashley. "On the contrary, the feeling at the time was that their watery end was their own fault."
"Apart from the simple fact that everybody in Australia who is not aboriginal is either a boat person themselves -- or a plane person, illegal or otherwise -- or descended from such a person or, worse, a convicted felon," says Ashley, "the lack of compassion for the Middle Eastern refugees was shocking."
"It was difficult to comprehend that the self-proclaimed 'lucky country' could treat refugees so badly," says Ashley. "Only a year before, in 2000, Australia had hosted the Olympic Games in Sydney and the world was applauding the warm hearted Australians."
"It's difficult to imagine how the black hearted people responsible for this so-called War on Terror crime go to sleep soundly at night," sighs Ashley. "How can they look at a future full of splendid opportunities for their children when they have effectively diminished their own humanity by treating the Middle Eastern refugees so inhumanely?"
"And now Greece is going the same thing!" sighs Ashley. "Is there something about holding the Olympic Games that makes nations heartless?"
Ashley's story first apppeared as boat people and is reprinted with permission.
Labels: australia, greece, hitler, immigration, iraq, refugees, tampa, war on terror
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