Saturday 23 June 2012

Are you an asylum seeker? No? Then I don't want to hear about your 'problems' today.


I can't bear this anymore. I can't even read or write about it without crying. How can my country, as I believe it to be, what I believe it stands for, allow this to continue? These are people who have already suffered so much, who are so desperate that they will get in a boat that more resembles a colander than something seaworthy. The irony of the acronym SIEV (Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel) overwhelms me! How can we continue to maintain "policies" that allow them to take such risks and die in this way after everything they have already endured? I have no problem with them coming here, hell, I even have a spare room. But I have a very big problem with them being allowed to try to come in a way that is so dangerous. Shame on our politicians, shame on us, shame on me.

I have talked about this a fair bit in my time, but now I can't not try to do something. I am horrified.

Update 28/7/12: I wrote unique letters to 13 elected representatives of all persuasions straight after I wrote this post. To date I have received one sanctimonious hard copy form letter from Christine Milne (leader of the Greens, but not the only Greens member I wrote to) reiterating their refusal to compromise their stance, and one very grateful and encouraging email from Independent Rob Oakeshott's staff outlining further action I could take to encourage a break in the impasse and providing links to useful facts and figures. From the rest? Nothing but the sound of crickets! Hmmm.

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