Welcoming Refugees

The definition of an asylum seeker is someone who as fled their country and applied for protection as a refugee. The definition of a refugee is someone who was forced to leave the country to escape war, persecution or even natural disaster. According to the Refugee Council of Australia between 2013 to 2022 the most common refugees were from Malaysia, China and India. The reason why they come from these countries is because they are fleeing from political persecution, violence and fearing for their lives and their family, and living in Australia, or another safer country, is their only option.

Because they are fleeing from their home country, often they don’t have the resources or money to apply for a permanent visa, which may lead to using very dangerous methods such as a boat. This travel is extremely dangerous and people have lost their lives trying to get to Australia. If they do arrive in Australia, they can be placed in Detention Centres for an unknown period of time, which have been described as being ‘harsh, punitive and degrading’ in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report. The report showed unnecessary handcuffing of women, children, people in wheelchairs, people with mental illness and no history of violent behaviour, and other people needing medical care. These detention centres are comparable to prisons. People who are seeking asylum and safety shouldn’t have to go through this.

But there are things we can do to help. We can support organisations such as Cultura who work with asylum seekers and refugees and help them immerse into Australian society. We can condemn the state of Australian detention centres and put pressure on the government to improve the processing of their visas. Most importantly, we can listen to their stories and make them feel safe and welcome in our community. Society is better with diversity and Colac is a perfect example of that. So, let’s all make an effort to make asylum seekers and refugees feel welcome and safe.