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There have been some strange News items today. One was about an Irish Lady being freed from jail after an alleged rape by her on a woman in a toilet. The mind boggles but here is the item: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/21/3249367.htm?section=justin
I was lucky to get the article about the hospitable Turks up and running on the Drum but, gee, it was gone in a flash together with MacCullum’s piece. Many of the answers seemed to draw comfort from the fact that Turkey and Syria are neighbours and as Australia hasn’t got that problem it is therefore not a good comparison. I thought my piece was more about how Turkey declared to accept all those fleeing violence. Their minister from immigration declared. “They are human being in distress; we will not turn them away”. I might be wrong but I have yet to hear any Australian minister declare any empathy, a warm welcome or understanding of the plight of refugees.
In the face of this refugee flow, Turkey has taken action without involving international institutions in the process. However, international cooperation will be inevitable if the number grows. Large camps, mobile hospitals and residential areas have been created in response to the fundamental needs of the refugees; thanks to preliminary preparations, Turkey is now able to host 800,000 refugees. International human rights organizations welcome Turkey’s generous attitude. Despite the fact its stance will further encourage others to flee and take refugee, Turkey’s preference not to close the border is extremely humane. At this point, the people of Güveççi village deserve particular credit and thanks; they have been mobilized to help out the refugees and given away everything they had to extend support for even those who stayed on the other side of the border, teaching humanity a lesson.
http://www.news.az/articles/turkey/38741
It seems amazing how the issue of so few numbers of refugees in Australia have excited so many. It still remains unanswered why Australia is getting so worked up about so few that end up on our shores. We are really slack and lacking in our humanity. Perhaps it is due to our education. So many, despite many nationalities having settled here, seem ignorant of the world’s geography or different cultures.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/21/3249679.htm?section=justin
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
Gez, sorry I missed you piece over at the Drum. Just no time to go searching. If you (or any of our other friends) do get stuff up over at the ABC, please let us know. Otherwise I just don’t bother going there.
As far as Australian refugee policy and national attitude goes, it’s a bloody disgrace. I have a friend whose Dad was a young refugee out of Hitler’s Europe. He spent two years in an Italian refugee camp before coming here and working on the Snowy Mountains Scheme (along with a huge number of others). It was OK, then when Australia had a nation-building vision. Now we have f*ckwit politicians with no vision beyond winning the next election and sucking up to the Americans.
The great irony is that the bloke who came here so many decades ago as a refugee (and who learnt the terms “reffo” and “wog” hers) has as his major source of information, shock jocks and other pond scum – and has therefore adopted the familiar mindset of regarding new arrivals to the wide brown land with suspicion and disdain.
Short memories.
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Yes, it was very good. How terrible the remark by the older woman on the drownings at Chrismas Island, with, “serves them right”!
Hard to believe that they were a ‘normal’ cross section of society. The eating by hand of that lovely looking food prepared by the African family. It seemed an almost unsurmountable task by the young woman with the white T-shirt. I felt like smacking her, especially when she already stated she was racist and did not like Africans.
How much more civilized the African family came through!
To their credit though, the Aussie participants are going through some tough times and they did volunteer to do it.
It was very good TV even though it did have. the ‘Big Brother’ theme.
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Gerard, that woman from Adelaide wrote an excellent piece in Tuesday’s Sydney Morning Herald explaining herself. She’s totally changed. Her remarks had to do with her work with disabled kids and thinking about what the refugees were getting and the kids were not etc. Worth checking out.
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Anyone watch Go Back Where you Came From last night on SBS. I thought it was fantastic and was thinking of Gerard’s piece at the same time. I’m recording the series and then putting on DVD to keep for posterity and reference.
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Viv, I gave it a miss because I’ve become somewhat averse to seeing people so desperately up shit creek – and I was expecting that people who seem to have been selected for their inherent redneck stupidity will either see the errors of their ways, or retain their mongrel prejudices.
I do hope that the trussed-up documentary format – the “reality TV Mk II” thing gains some traction. Mocking xenophobes though, seems little more productive than a prurient interest in poor fat bastards trying to lose weight in some televised competition.
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