Australia and Indonesia Fight People Smuggling
Sri Lankans and Afghan Boat People Expected in Increasing Numbers
Oct 26, 2009
Recently there has been an increase in asylum seekers coming to Australia by boat and current estimates suggest there has been a tenfold increase in the number of asylum seekers reaching Australian waters this year. Many people are being brought into Australia’s northern waters by people smugglers who deliberately sabotage boats once found by Australian Customs so that Australia is forced to take them in.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met in Jakarta on Oct. 20, 2009 and agreed to increase cooperation to fight people smuggling. People smugglers charge exorbitant fees to refugees and transport them across international borders in overcrowded and frequently unsafe boats where deaths regularly occur.
The Reason for the Increase in Asylum Seekers
Refugees are people who are fleeing from war and persecution to find a better life in a safe country. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2008 Global Trends Report there are 42 million people worldwide who have been forcibly displaced. This includes more than 15 million refugees driven from their homelands by continuing or escalating conflicts.
In recent times, worsening situations in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have forced thousands of people to flee those countries and seek refuge elsewhere around the world. About 1500 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Burma and Iraq have arrived in Indonesia from Malaysia this year and registered for refugee status, with a similar number arriving and not registering. Malaysian immigration support group Tenaganita says up to 10,000 asylum seekers in Malaysia are planning to come to Australia.
Why Do Asylum Seekers Want to Reach Australia?
Once displaced people reach Malaysia or Indonesia they have already got away from the conflict they wished to escape and reached a free country, so why are they willing to pay large amounts of money to people smugglers to reach Australia? Many believe it is because as well as having a humanitarian refugee policy it is because Australia gives refugees access to social security and medical assistance.
The current Rudd Government has made changes to previous policies that have made Australia a more desirable destination to asylum seekers. These include no longer charging detainees for their detention costs, abolishing transportation of asylum seekers to detention centres in other countries and the scrapping of temporary protection visas (TPVs) in 2008. These required a refugee's case to be reassessed after three years after which they could be sent home.
Regional Cooperation on People Smuggling Between Indonesia and Australia
Australia is seeking Indonesia’s help to cut the number of refugees who arrive by boat in Australian waters. Australia has already spent $12 million on building and refurbishing Indonesian detention centres including the provision of medical facilities and diesel generators. Another $8 million has been spent on border control management programmes for Indonesian officials.
It is estimated that it will cost Australia around $50 million to cover costs for training and processing and detention of boat people if it wants Indonesia to stop a wave of illegal immigrants reaching Australia. The Rudd government is also planning to increase assistance to two key international refugee agencies, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and International Organisation for Migration, to help meet the challenge posed by a surge in asylum seekers across the region.
This is a hot political issue as Australians are divided on both the immigration policies and the amount of aid Australia already gives to Indonesia. Although most people are against people smuggling per se, many believe refugees should use whatever means available to reach a safe country while others say it is a way for terrorists and undesirables to reach Australia. There is also the division on being able to decide who comes to a country versus taking anyone who can get there.
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