The latest controversy regarding Australia’s refugee crisis has been embodied by 267 men and women seeking refuge, 37 Australian born infants and one prime minister. Despite immense backlash from the Australian public and 4 of 6 state and territory premiers offering to house the refugees, they will continue to be “sent back to a life of physical and emotional trauma” (Daniel Andrews, Victoria State premier).
During an address to ABC’s Insiders1 Turnbull defended the government’s stance on deporting the refugees back to Nauru by stating, “if we don’t take a firm line, we know what the consequences will be.”
The PM theorized that consequences of not deporting refugees will include an influx of maritime asylum seekers arriving via boat. Turnbull’s claims reaffirm remarks made by the president of the Australian Human Rights commission, Gillian Triggs2 last year, stating “children and their parents are being used as a form of deterrence.”
The 267 asylum seekers have already been housed on Nauru for an unstated period of time. The average length of time refugees are detained for has risen from approximately 9 months in 2014 to an average of 450 days3 as of 2016. In the US, the average processing time4 is 30 days, Canada 25 and France, only 10. A paper, Beyond Operation Sovereign Borders5, written for the basis of discussion regarding Australia’s asylum seeker policies it is speculated that “decisions to be made on all [asylum seekers] might be three years” by the end of June next year.
The World Health Organisation6 has previously described a “lack of privacy… of meaningful activity, isolation from social networks [and] insecurity about future prospects” as catalysts for negative mental health effects. This dangerous game the government is playing with refugees may be coupled with mental illness, trauma, difficulty regulating emotions and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of their detention. Turnbull continuously emphasized maintaining the “security of the border” was paramount, yet the fallout of inhumane detention will likely put the nation at more risk in the future. Dr. Zachary Steel, Clinical Psychologist within the University of New South Wales states that eventually “85% of people detained in detention centers will become Australian citizens.” The problems permitted to fester in detention centers will follow them into society as a result of the government’s “firm line.”
A report7 by the UNHCR in 1997 found that when asylum seekers are effectively and humanely integrated into society “incidence of crime may rise no more than would be expected in a population group of the new size.”
Countries such as Australia have not permitted enough refugees to enter its borders for effective studies of what the “consequences” Turnbull describes may be. Unless Australia is willing to integrate a higher number of refugees into society, the government possesses little evidence on the effects of providing asylum seekers refuge in the Australian context.
As a result, studies have been conducted in countries such as Uganda, where the ability to interact and work with refugees is remarkably higher.
In such a study, titled, Refugee Economies: Rethinking Popular Assumptions8, it is found that 83% of refugee business owners purchase goods and services from the host country. Choosing to benefit the host economy as opposed to cheaper emerging economies such as India or China. In studying urban refugee business owners, it was found that almost half of their employed workforces consist of citizens from the host country. The remaining numbers consisted of employing and providing opportunities to disenfranchised refugees. A common misconception within Australia is that refugees are self-isolating and refuse to integrate. Via this study, it is evident that refugee business owners seek to create an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace.
A refugee business owner from the study stated, “the majority of the employees are Ugandans…We are hosted by Uganda so I think we should give [employment] priority to members of our local host.”
Detaining asylum seekers offshore is costing Australian tax payers over $1 billion9 a year. “More than five times the United Nations refugee agency’s entire budget for all of South East Asia” (Daniel Webb, director of the Human Rights Law Centre). A study10 conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in conjunction with the UNHCR have found that, for every dollar spent accommodating refugees, an additional $.50 cents is injected into the economy. If the Australian government were to circulate the funds it spends on integrating refugees into society, rather than detaining them, the Australian economy would see up to $1.5 billion dollars flow into the nation’s slowing economy.
An overwhelming amount of Australians are attempting to prevent the deportation of the refugees back to Nauru, rallying in protests across the nation. The protests aim to prevent the psychological fallout of detention, secure the future of the nation’s economy and support the Aussie ethos of a “fair go.”
All Australian citizens have to rely upon in Turnbull’s decision are theories without evidence and hope in a government that has currently failed to meet 70%11 of its promises since 2013.
References:
1 Turnbull, M. (2016, February 7). Insiders. (B. Cassidy, Interviewer)
http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/content/2015/s4401825.htm
2 Ting, I., & Walters, C. (2014, May 2). Asylum Seekers’ Time in Detention Soars. Retrieved from Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/asylum-seekers-time-in-detention-soars-20140503-zr3eg.html
3 Anderson, S. (2016). Immigration detention times on Nauru and Manus Island blow out to 450-day average under Liberals. Sydney: ABC.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-13/immigration-detention-times-blow-out-to-almost-450-days/7085264
4 Global Detention Project: World Detention Processing Times
http://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/americas/canada
5 Hughes, P., & Keksi-Nummi, A. (2014). Beyond Operation Sovereign Borders – A Long Term Asylum Policy for Australia.
https://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Final-Policy-Paper-Beyond-Operation-Sovereign-Borders-03.06.14.pdf
6 Beynon, J., & Drew, N. (2007). Mental Health and Prisons. World Health Organisation.
http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/development/MH&PrisonsFactsheet.pdf
7 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (1997). Social and Economic Impact of Large Refugee Populations on Host Developing Countries. United Nations.
http://www.unhcr.org/3ae68d0e10.html
8 Betts, A., Bloom, L., Kaplan, J., & Omata, N. (2014). Refugee Economics: Rethinking Popular Assumptions. Humanitarian Innovation Project.
http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/files/publications/other/refugee-economies-2014.pdf
9 ABC Fact Check. (2015, July 14). Cost of Offshore Processing United Nations Fact Check. Retrieved from ABC Fact Check: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-14/cost-of-offshore-processing-united-nations-fact-check/6609764
10 Beirut. (2015, June 11). The Benefits of Hosting Refugees. Retrieved from Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN): http://www.irinnews.org/report/101624/the-benefits-of-hosting-refugees
11 ABC Fact Check. Promise Tracker: The Coalition Government’s 2013 election commitments. Retrieved from ABC Fact Check: http://www.abc.net.au/news/factcheck/promisetracker/
*Jaydan Holmstrom Jay is an aspiring writer living in the island home of Tasmania. Be it microwave instruction manuals or high-risk exposes, give him a pen and an agenda and he’ll cover it.
• PLOS Medicine: The Health Consequences of Australian immigration policies
• SMH: Australian doctors should boycott working in detention centres Working in immigration detention is contrary to the medical code of ethics.
