David Marr asks the obvious question: Minister, what law are refugees who arrive by boat breaking? As he says, calling them illegals has been used before. The British in the 1930s called Jews trying to get into Palestine “illegals” and hunted them down. So much of what we do now was pioneered then. There was a naval blockade of boats. Remember Exodus? And the British dumped Jewish refugees in camps offshore, not in Nauru of course but Cyprus. And they branded them illegals;. Let’s not reflect on the outcome of the strategy – not a British strategy alone – that trapped the Jews of Europe behind the lines in the war. It’s why we have the Refugee Conventions. They are the world’s way of apologising to the millions who died...So let’s put it to the only test of illegality that matters in a lawful society. Let’s arrest the next boatload of refugees who arrive here after surviving corrupt officials and criminal people smugglers and treacherous seas and let’s take them before a magistrate. The case would be thrown out of court. Scott Morrison isn’t speaking the language of the law this week. It’s the language of fear and hate, the official language for now of Australian politics. theguardian/commentisfree/2013/oct/22/iillegals-refugees-immigration-australia
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 09:27:34 +0000
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