Dave Andrews

Benjamin Meyers says ‘When Abbott advocate(s) simplistic policies – closing borders, turning back asylum seekers, constructing camps – one feels that his correct perception of the moral ambiguities of politics has degenerated into a cynicism that has given up on the hard responsibilities of neighbour-love. But nothing is gained when Christian commentators respond to Abbott’s one-sided cynicism with an equally one-sided sentimentality. It is not enough merely to assert that we must love our neighbours, or to insist that our policies should embody the compassion of Christ’s teaching. Such assertions only confirm the impression that religion has no relevance to the sphere of practical politics.’
Meyers says ‘If Christian commentators want to contribute to political life, and not simply to condemn it, then they will need to say something about how one form of neighbour-love is to be balanced against others. They will need to account for the trade-offs involved in any attempt to create compassionate policies. They will need to explain how imperfect approximations to love can still be worthwhile in spite of their…costs.’
Well the Uniting Church has put forth a proposal that is neither cynical nor sentimental, but sensible – balancing neighbour-love for Australians and their concerns with neighbour-love for asylum seekers and their needs – in terms of a practical compassionate policy. They propose humanitarian programme numbers should be increased to at least 25,000 for 2015–16, and increased over the following two to three years to 50,000.
– The offshore and onshore programme intakes should be de-linked.
– The decision to not accept refugees from Indonesia should bereversed and a regional intake programme instituted as part of the development of a regional framework which prioritises the rights ofasylum seekers and refugees and which can serve as an international‘best practice’ model for regional cooperation and collaboration.
– All refugees, regardless of visa class, should have access to familyreunion through the Special Humanitarian Programme
This is doable. We’ve done it before. After the Vietnam War Australia settled more then 100,000 refugees, 2,000 who came by boat.
One of them was Tri NguyenIn 1982 Tri Nguyen came to Australia as a boat person, seeking asylum, after fleeing the war and its aftermath in Vietnam. On his arrival he remembers being welcomed by Australians. His family ‘stayed at the Midway Hostel in Maribyrnong “where there was no barbed wire”. Locals ‘taught them English, gave them clothes and meals, and helped his father find a job at Australia Post’. And a group from Moonee Ponds Baptist Church helped bring the rest of his family to Australia eight years later. He says 60 Aussies went to the Melbourne Airport at 2am in the morning to welcome them!
Some time ago I joined with Tri for the last day of 35 days when he walked from Melbourne to Canberra towing a home-made wooden boat as his own gentle plea for better treatment of Asylum Seekers. When we got to Canberra Tri addressed a large gathering, saying when we arrived ‘we were traumatised, but were immersed in hospitality’. I feel ‘very sad the [asylum seekers] coming now don’t experience the same welcome that (we) did’. Tri says we need ‘to change the national conversation about asylum seekers’, which is too negative. ‘We are at our best when we show compassion and work for justice for those who are oppressed’.
We need to allay people’s fears. We need to explain to them, in spite of the government’s rhetoric, according to the governments own records, the reality is that the overwhelming majority of asylum seekers are not illegals’, not ‘queue jumpers’ and not ‘security threats’ for us to fear.Then we need to introduce people to refugees face to face. When we arrange for people to meet refugees, most Aussies can’t help but see ‘boat people’ like Hieu Van Lee as ‘people’ much like themselves, and find themselves moving from fear to something ocker akin to acceptance and respect. Hieu Van Lee came by boat from Vietnam. He was welcomed to Australia has settled in Australia and has contributed to Australia. He is now the Governor of South Australia.
We have done it, and before we can do it again.