Persuasive Speech On Asylum Seekers

Hundreds of people have marched in Brisbane to show their support for an innocent Iranian student who was sent to an immigration detention centre after spending two years living in the community. Mojgan Shamsalipoor had just been months away from completing high school, but her application for a visa to live in Australia had been rejected. Ms Shamsalipoor will now accept her year 12 certificate behind bars of Darwin’s Wickham immigration detention centre, where here on her life will never be the same again. What is life really like inside a closed detention centre? Well imagine a life torment with anxiety and depression or being surrounded by people with their lips sewn together on hunger strikes. There are people willing to die due to the immense torture inside what can only be described as hell. These are the devastating reality described by those who are forced by the Australian Government to live in.

Australia must change its attitude towards these underprivileged, helpless asylum seekers, as the current policy is a dark spot in Australia’s history.

The continuous abysmal and brutal treatment against asylum seekers is a direct violation of human rights and the convention of torture. This ultimately leads to severe mental and physical health problems for the victims and in which Australia is to blame. The current policy forces people to live in an indefinite detention centre where they are unware of their future. As a result of the cruelty and brutality of the system, suicide is the only option for many of the detainees. Are we providing protection for asylum seekers or are we helping traumatised people suffer more than they already ever had. Therefore, it is time for a new solution that does not breach the international laws and conventions and protect the

community.
There are reports on Manus Islands, an offshore processing centre, that the detainees are constantly exposed to harsh conditions, the frequent unrest and outbursts inside the centres and the failure to protect certain individuals. Statistics reveals that more asylum seekers have died on detention centres than they have been resettled. The latest report confirms that an alarming 253 detainees have attempted self-harm acts off shore and a disturbing 706 cases of self-harm acts onshore. What will it take to shock us? On Nauru detention centres, there have been numerous amount of sexual abuse of women and children. Aren’t we meant to protect asylum seekers? Are these detention centres any different from where these asylum seekers have escaped? As a result of the inhumane and cruel treatment, there are many psychological and physical damages done to people detained for indefinite periods of time. These practices regarding Australia’s relation to asylum seekers are at extreme risks of breaching international laws and conventions, in which Australia are bound to.

As of 2012, approximately 38, 000 distressed and desperate asylum seekers have come to Australia in search for protection and freedom. But in reality, it is the complete opposite. The truth is that majority, if not all are locked up in detention centres surrounded by barbwires, like a prison. There are insufficient protection and absolutely no freedom at all. The system is nothing short of pure cruelty and as result; suicide is the leading cause of death amongst the detainees. However, the Australian Government is obliged to provide the same standard of health care to detainees as the general population. But, this isn’t the case either and there can be little doubt Australia is in breach of that convention. It is also appalling to find that asylum seekers are deliberately mistreated by labelling them falsely as illegal. Therefore, the current policy is unsuccessful in protecting asylum seekers and the policy is nothing short of a shameful failure. It is time to rethink our treatment of asylum seekers as Australia is failing to meet certain standards, failing to prioritise protection, human life and human dignity.
There are alternatives to Australia’s callous system of mandatory and indefinite detention. A new solution is needed that would ensure protection of the community from risks, and at the same time ensuring that people are treated humanely. The solution must be in line with internationally approved human rights standards. A new system could be immigration residential housing or immigration transit facilities. This would allow asylum seekers to live in the community while their immigration status is resolved. This can be achieved by transferring people into community detention, or granting them bridging visas. An alternative to closed detention must be used as prolonged and indefinite detention has a shocking impact on the mental and physical health of detainees and also risk breaching international human rights obligations.
As a result of the failure of the Australian asylum seeker policy, the government’s practice of detaining asylum seekers must be abolished. By law, the Australian Government is required to consider other arrangements for people before placing them in detention centres. Each person must be accessed thoroughly to determine if it is absolutely necessary to hold them in detention centres or permit them to live in the community. The only use of detention centres should only be under special circumstances such as establishing the identity of a claimant and or if they are found by the magistrate to be a serious risk to the community. However, the conditions of detention must still meet certain standards. This would also allow the government to control entry into Australia without punishing genuine asylum seekers seeking their basic human rights and protection. It is time for us to reconsider our treatment against asylum seekers, especially the case of an Iranian student who was detained after living in the Australian community for two years.