Any Port in a Storm

After she was accidentally burnt whilst in a detention centre a Nepalese baby named Asha was flown to Brisbane in order to ensure she received the appropriate medical treatment. After Asha had recovered several of the doctors at Lady Cliento Hospital refused to discharge her. The doctor’s rationale was that to release the child would have placed her into an abusive situation thus breaching their ethical obligations to their patient.

The doctor’s stance was supported by the Australian Medical Associations President Brian Owler. In a speech delivered on Sunday 21 February Mr Owler said “There are times, in any nation, where the medical profession must act in the interests not only of our patients as individuals, or for patients in a health system, but it must act in the national interest.” (1) 

Mr Owler continued, stating “Some commentators have seen this as a form of political protest. But as a doctor working in a paediatric hospital, who deals with the consequences of physical abuse, I know that there is no reasonable other option for these doctors and nurses to take. There is an absolute ethical, not to mention moral, obligation to that patient who is in their care. The obligation is to not release a child back into a situation where they have reason to believe that there is a risk of harm, whether that be physical or psychological.”

One can only wonder if the same heady words do not also apply to the many battered wives and abused children doctors and social workers across the country regularly release back into the care of their abusers? Such musings highlight that the doctor’s stance and Owlers comments are quite clearly a political protest,

The refugee debate frustrates me. This is mostly because there are not many easy answers to what are the complex problems surrounding the issue. Also I feel there is something perverse in the idea that a nation largely founded by prisoners is now imprisoning those who are trying to come here.

I am uncomfortable with the business model employed by people smugglers. It results in deaths at sea. To say nothing of the financial, physical and sexual exploitation of those people who use people smugglers.

I’m disappointed that we detain refugees. I’m upset that refugees are sometimes exposed to violence and abuse while they are detained. I find it difficult to dispute however that by detaining these people and preventing them from coming here it does ‘break’ the people smugglers business model. This results in fewer deaths and less misery.    

I’m particularly confused by how some refugee advocates can be so upset by the abuse that occurs when in detention, yet they don’t seem to acknowledge the harm people smugglers cause. Allowing people smugglers to provide a practical way to come to Australia condemns far more people to all manners of abuse than detention does.

For this reason, as uncomfortable as I am with the idea of detaining refuges, I am supportive of the policy. The question then becomes one of how to process them in the most reasonable manner. As is often the case I have an idea that is both novel and impractical. I think Australian citizens should be able to ‘adopt’ a detainee.

It’s really very simple and it relies upon the goodwill of existing Australian residents. The first part of the model requires people to volunteer to act as resettlement liaisons. So what the hell is a resettlement liaison? Sounds a little like an imaginary role in the latest ABC mockumentary.

Kidding aside, by nominating to act in this role existing citizens are pledging to house and act as the support person for a single detainee or for a family of detainees over a period of six months. This role is important because people should have assistance to not just settle into Australia, but to also integrate with our existing culture.

It will also give the government an accurate measure of public willingness to take on detainees or even new refugees. I suspect it will also clarify exactly who are genuine refugee advocates willing to help and who are simply grandstanding. Surely Senator Hansen-Young would be one of those who would be keen to assist in this area given her strong opposition to detaining asylum seekers.  

It’s important to note that these new Australians would have full access to government services while they are living with their liaisons. They would also be subject to the same requirements of an Australian resident. They would need to seek employment and operate within the Federal and State laws which are in force in the community they are living in.

If the program was particularly successful, so successful that we ‘ran out’ of detainee’s the program could even be extended to include those seeking asylum. In this way the initiative would truly usurp the people smugglers business model. If the Australian people can offer refugees a safer, better deal than the people smugglers, we won’t have to stop any boats or detain anyone.

Given that the costs of detaining illegal arrivals are significant I’m not sure why the government wouldn’t want to at least consider an initiative such as this. These new Australians will increase the demand for services in their local communities. That means there are opportunities for new job’s and genuine growth in these areas. There are a lot of positives. 

It would also be showing genuine leadership on this issue which is a global one. Australia has been criticised by some groups for our policy on refugees. I’m not sure how any of the groups offering those criticisms could continue to criticise if this policy was successful. Perhaps other western countries would follow our lead. Perhaps this is the blueprint for managing the mass migrations of people displaced from the enlarging warzone which is the middle east.

I’d like to think that Australians would be keen to participate in this initiative. Past polling on refugee issues suggests that this might not be the case. At the very least by adopting this approach we give those who would help the opportunity to do so.

 1-  https://ama.com.au/media/ama-speech-prof-owler-ama-asylum-seeker-health-forum