Religion & Ethics: Content from Across the ABC




Date/Time 14 Mar 2014 5:24:10am
I think if we're confusing asylum seekers with migrants of any other stripe then we could be losing sight of what a refugee is. Somebody with a well founded fear of persecution needs help and often tries to get it wherever they can find it. Australia is supposedly one such place of sanctuary.

As for assimilation, I can't rightly tell whether you're saying that you'd prefer it or that because it is what may others might want then things would possibly be easier for refugees who accommodated bigotry by abandoning their cultural roots. Either way I dislike the bigotry of many Australians and feel deeply ashamed when racist incidents like the one in the news last week on a Melbourne tram take place.

So I don't know about easier, but I feel sure it would be better if we took a step back from knee jerk reactions to people of difference and recognised how many different races and waves of refugees we've already taken, having established a proud history of being able to help.