An aberration of compassion

Has Australia lost its sense of kindness for the plight of desperate refugees seeking a better life?

, BY -~ ·\ YESHAJOSHI '

Aus rralia was the sixth country ro sign and ratify tl1e Internation al R efugee

Co n ven tion in 1954 u nder Liberal P rimel'vliuisrer Robert Me nz ies

Ou Jauuarr 22, 1954, Au stralia's rep rese n tative co the U nired I atio n s said, "l am g lad now ro offer further eviden ce of o ur com passion ate co n cern witl1 this pro b lem by form ally stating our binding adh erence to conven tion which will eleva te the sta ndard of rreatm ent of refugees to the stai:I.L5 of in ternatio n al legal obl iga tion"

Our nation al an the m crafts a na ti o n of compassion an d we pro udly sing these lines, "For tl1ose who' ve co m e acms s t he seas we've bouadJess plains to sh are, with courage l et us all combine co Ad va nce Au stralia Fait"

These words are n or meaningless Our governme nts in t he past under for me r Liberal

P rim e Minister Malco lm F raser acted on the m b y o pening ouibord ers on com passio nate groun ds ro V ietnamese refugees w h o fl ed

INDIAN LINK during tl1e Viemam Wa r between the 1 950s and 1 970s , U nder PM Fraser's leade rship, Australia saw an intake of about 200,000 migrants fro m As ian countries with nearly 56,000 Vie m amese r efugees settling in A u stralia. They all call Australia h ome, and h ave co n tribu ted g r eatly to t he advan cen1e n t of A u stralia as a nation

We once unders tood mat com passio n was importa nt \'</ e h ad policies b ased o n humanitarian ground s. We h ad cr ue leadership.

But roclay; Australia's intake o f refugees i s not in the hundreds of thousand s, which com pares poorly to UN figures sh owing Canada witb a n in take of 170,000 r efugees each year, or Ger m an y where approximatel y 600,000 refugees are resettl ed

Our i mmigration system is crip pled, and dete n tio n cen tres are a plac e of cruelty and mental harm.

Thi s mon m we beard the sh ocking news of a young In d ian studen t who commi t ted suicide in : Melbourn e's Mari bymong immigration deten tion. The 27-year-o ld lndia n uruversiry student hu ng him self o n Februar y

13; he h ad been detained by the Immigration D epar tment for ove rstaying beyo nd bis visa

This follows the report of th e l\fanu s l slan d derenti o n c en tre b reakout whic h saw Reza Barati, a 23-year-old as ylum see ker fro m lran fatall y s hot, alo ng wi th an oth er 63 asylum seekers injured.

W hile our Immigration Nliuisrer is sketchy o n tl1e in formation abom Manu s Is lan d, refugee advocates have argued tl1at mental health is a p ress ing issue in Australian dete ntio n cen tres. Yee, tliis is increasingly b eing ignored b y our governme n t

The degradation of people's me ntal health is inevi table unde r a mandatory d e te n tio n po licy mat lo c ks up people's fumre for political gain. To put i t simply, Australia has a harsh deterren ce policy w hi ch supp orts indefi ni te detentio n of men, women and c hildren w h o seek refuge and asylum.

Brad Chilcott, D irecto r of Welcome co Australi a says, " For over a decade we've been told to suspect tl1ose arriving by b oat of havi ng malicious intent and bei ng of devious d ,aracte r We've been encomaged to fear, to e.,clude and to accept sim ple cruel ty as a solution to a co mplex problem

This is slowly eroding our character as we've n orm ali sed this kind of beh aviour as acceptable for our leaders We've rewarded peopl e wbo h ave d ehu manised asylum seekers and promised us brutali ty if we'd vote for them

Australia can be, and is, a welco mi ng, kin d an d gen erous n atio n J see it wherever people turn tl1eir values into action, wh erever a community is set free from fear, w h ereve r peop le lift tl1eir eyes from their own situati on and see the humanity in another Th is is th e Austr a lia th at is possible"

Arguably, i t isn't abom ope ning o ur b ord e rs to simply a nyo n e seeki ng to settlein Austr alia; its ab o u t committing to our international oblig ation s ro the R efugee Cotwe n tion. It's a bou t making sure we p ro cess t he fiJes of refugees an d en sure char genuin e refugees have me righ t to settle and co n tribuce to di e advan cem ent o f Australia

.Moscin1porta ntly, it's abour compass io n. Because fo r as long as we have wars, the p ro secu tion of inno cent s and gross i nequali ty, we will always h a ve desperate people willing ro do an ything for a ch an ce at a better life

Men tal illness is p r evalent in o ur d e te n tion cen tres After a U, o n e can only im agine w hat die mental toll must be to have fl ed a wa rtorn cou n try in search of a ho m e chat is prom ised co be kin d , carin g and acc epting; o nly to find t he experienc e to be t he e..,act opposite.

A trip from the country's southern tip to its capital is an adventure -filled rustic experience

soon fully loaded with provisions so heavy, the axle broke. A rudimentary repair gor us going again, witb motorbikes, farm equipment and furniture strapped on top, bags of sand, luggage and briq uettes underneath.

hether iLwas my eyebrows that had been left unattended fo r several weeks or some other curiosity, the Lao wo man seared on the bus beside me intently scrutinised my face for six hours, a U the while screwing up her nose suggestive of disapp roval. The VIP bus promine n tly disp layed on posters across the small city of Pakse had morphed into a l ocal bus with hard seats which , whe n all we re occupied , led to the productio n of plastic stools fo rming seats for passengers al ong the aisle. Periodically women vendors would board, sq u eezing themselves past, peddling the veritable mobile feast they were selling of bottled soft drinks, sliced tropical fruit, sticky rice and BBQ chicken pressed between bamboo sticks

I never e.xpected that the jo urney from Pakse in southern Laos to Vie n tiane 685 kil ometres north would take 10 hours as tl1e posters had indicated, so I b roke the journey midway at Savann akher, a city on the Mekong and one of the majo r crossroads of south-east Asia, with traffic bound fo r Hanoi and Bangkok.

He re I met an elderly Frenchman riding h is bicycle who directed me to my guestl, ouse, the website conveying somewhat enhanced images as tl,e inte rior had peeling paint and cl.tips from the ceiling collecting into a bucket. Savannakhet is a sleepy, languid city with honey- coloured Frend, colon ial villas, their crumbling facades showing their age. l gathe red together market provisions of ra111b11ta11s, bananas a nd a baguette for the next day's journey and faced with a restaurant men u I was unable to dec ip h e r, settled oo a tasty bowl of French fries.

Next morning I set off by local bus with only two other passengers, a student an d a young enginee r who worked for an Australian company. Stoppi ng for a n yone who waved , the bus was

The scene ry was flat, unli ke th e mountainous terrai11 of the n orth wi th fields of cice and corn and small villages After an 11 -bour bus rid e, I was relieved to arrive at tl1e d elightfo.l :11ali Namph u Guesthouse and was s hown to my room ove,rlooking a lush courtyard t\ ciry ,vith no hi gh- rise buildings, Vientiane is laid back, providing a pleasant lifestyle for its inhabi tanrs including several iliousand interna tional aid workers Ma ny cafes a nd restaurants have been establi shed in recent years by expatriates Vientiane has wide tree-lined avenues an d im posing F re nc h colonial architecmre interspersed with monuments, Chinese shop houses and sprinkled with gracious Buddhist temples le i s a city that is ideal for exploring o n fooc.

Vientiane, the capital of Laos i s onJy beginning to awaken to rhe possibilities of tourism, and while it offers travellers much to see, tbe first place 1 a lways head fo r is the Joma Baker y for a delic ious rye bread , cheese and salad sandwic h , befo re strolling on the promenade alongside the Mekong, a place w here locals gather to exercise in the early evenings.

The next day I visi ted the \Xiat Sisaker, a temple d ating from 1818 with thousands of Buddha figures of silver, wood, and bronze, some from the 15' " cenmry, and minutely detailed murals.

Ir is the o nl y Vientiane tem p le not d estroyed by the Siamese w hen they invad ed Laos in l 828 Opposite is another notable temp le, Haw Pha Kaew, dating from 1565 that was badly damaged, later rebuilt and i s now a muset1m for religious objects. Ancient Buddhas dating from the 6' " - 9'1 centur ies of scone and br onze line the temple exterior, bur sadly the renowned Emerald Buddha, now found in the royal com pound in Bangkok, was once housed here.

Nearby, the Presidential Palace is a vast flamboyant chateau used for ceremonial occasions t ha t was built in 1925 fo r tile French Governor.

The most striking example of the French presence is the Patuxai, or victory gate, a smaller version of the Arc de Triomphe. Completed in 1969, it features distinctl y Laotian ornamentation made from cement that American funds had earma r ked for building a new airport. The French left o ther urban markers, including the Settha Palace Hotel built in cl1e 1930s as an administration building, that opened as a l n..,'Ury hotel in 1999; and Place Namphou, a large foUJ1tain encircled by European restaurants. Lingering culttual in Buences include locally grown coffee and baguettes served by street vendors hi led w ith pate, but adapted to suit wicl1 Lao style vegetables and dressings. The best restaurant for traditional Lao cuisine is Makphet, in a lovely old colonial build ing that provides training for disadvantaged youth.

While travellers head for the orderly Talat Sao Market with its embroidered silks in every form, locals head for Talat Klrna Din with fresh produce, clothing and mm1erous stalls for manicures a nd hair washing There are also several high-end bou tiques along Nokeo Kumman with fine hand woven silk scarves, silver jewellery and wooden carvings.

The most venerated location in Vientiane is Pha That Luang, a gold -coloured chedi with an elongated spire cl1at is said co co nta Ln a relic of the Buddha, and may date to 3BC. Ir was abo badly damaged, pillaged and abandoned for a lmost a centt1r y: Si.nee being restored, it is a pilgrimage site for Buddhists from across Asia.

Change is coming to Laos, but only incrementall y compared with the turbo -charged pace of development beyond its borders i11 Thailand, Vietnam and China.

And while services and infrastructure are basic in most parts of the country, any hardship experienced by the traveller is duly compensated. The Mekong and it~ tributaries provLde life support for much of the country, and several days later as I crossed the Friendship Bridge into Thailand, I thought of the conversation I'd bad with John while enj~1ying a delicious mango, banana and pineapple sbake. At 73, he had worked for 30 yea rs for the United Nations undertaking assignments across Asia and Africa. Unintentionally he had decided that fo r h im , Vientiane was now home Melbourne is busy and bitterly cold in winter, be said, while here it is peaceful. And w id1 that, he hopped on his bicycle and slowly rode off into the night.

GE TT I NG THERE Severa l ights from Austra lia to Vientiane incl ud ing Th ai Airways International and Air Asia. have connecting

GE TTI NG ARO UND The city centre is compact and eminently walkab le. for the adventurous, Grasshopper Adventures offers escorted cycl ing t rips of Laos lwww.grasshopperadventures.com). Travel ling by public bus is cha llenging.

WHERE TO STAY The Ma li Namphu Guesthouse iHharming; clean, centra lly located and moderately priced. Request adeluxe roomticing the courtyard lwww.malinamp hu.com). The luxurious Senha Pa lace Hotel has spacious suites and a club-like amb ience (www.senhapa lace.com).

WHERE TO EAT Many cafesand restaurants have b~nestablished in recent yea rs, many by t'l<patriates, inc lud ing.Joma that has gll'atsoups, salads and sandwiches. Coffee shops offer fll'ew i-fi, with Common Grounds Cafe and Bakery one of the best. Makpetserves flavourful traditional l;Jo cu isine in lovely surrounds.

WHERE TO SHOP Saobanworkswithtradit ional artisans to pll'serveand promote vil lage crafts under fair t rade princip leslsaobaocrafts.com). Be careful when choosing silk such asatlalatSao Market, to ensure it is lka nd hand-woven.

INS ID ER'S Tl P English is not widely spoken. Avisa is requ ired for entry into Laos. W: www.laoembassy.net E: laoemb@b igpond.net.au