| by Gajalakshmi
Paramasivam
( October 23,
2012, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) Due to the war in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka has
become an important part of Australia. This is not always confirmed by the
leadership but in real terms, more Australians are aware of Sri Lankans than
they were before 2009. Today’s news says ‘Sri Lankan police ask Interpol to
find a fishing trawler stolen to transport asylum seekers to Australia.’
The report
states also ‘Sri Lankan authorities say they have detained over 1000 people who
have tried to leave for Australia illegally this year. Australia hopes the prospect of years in
detention on remote Pacific islands will deter asylum seekers from attempting
the dangerous sea voyage, which has cost hundreds of lives over the past
decade. Sri Lankans pay up to $US3000 ($A2925) for a place on trawlers which
take around two weeks to make the treacherous crossing to Australia’
Australian
Government’s ‘hope’ that years in detention would deter asylum seekers is based
on their own investment in the issue of Sri Lankan war. The asylum matter cannot be
separated from the main issue if we are seeking long term solutions. Once the
human component is greater than the visible objectively measurable outcomes,
the issue becomes a program by insiders and should not be looked at as a
project for the direct consumption of outsiders.
More and more
Australians of non-Sri Lankan origin – (for example – Professor Damien
Kingsbury , Director, Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights, at
Deakin University ) are engaging at the
human level in the Sri Lankan issue. The real value of such engagement cannot
be objectively measured – largely due to confidential sharing. Relative to
Transparency, this Confidentiality has lesser value in Democracy. In terms of Sri
Lanka, the investment in Democracy is
far weaker than the investment in Autocracy. Hence who says something is of
greater value than what is being said. The more Equal the Opposition we have –
the closer the matter gets to the democratic level. That’s when it is ready to
be measured objectively. That is when it contributes naturally to the system of
Democracy.
The real
opposition to Australian Government’s investment in preventing boat arrivals is
the Community of migrants themselves.
They are the predecessors of these new
arrivals and by now they have a voice in Australia and beyond. The level at which we hear such opposition is
the level at which the matter has earned
the support of Democratic resources, including Democratic policies. Like
Professor Kingsbury, most migrant leaders from Sri Lanka are busy taking up the
position of Opposition of the Sri Lankan Government headed by the President of
Sri Lanka. There are however, a few who invest at the level of the People.
Alana Rosenbaum
of Brisbane Times whose article ‘Australia bound ... at any cost’ was published
on 17 October 2012, states ‘During Sri Lanka's 30-year civil war, India took in
more than 100,000 ethnic Tamil refugees, many of whom are now seeking to take
their asylum claims to Australia. In the past year alone, police in Tamil Nadu
say they have stopped 17 boats from setting sail and 900 people have been
arrested.’
Relative to the
Sri Lankan authorities – the Tamil Nadu authorities seem to be doing a better
job in ‘stopping the boats’. To my mind, a key reason is that ‘confidential’
sharing between the authorities and the community that these would be asylum
seekers are part of. An event is
received differently by different persons/groups due to the deeper investment
in the issue/environment in which the event happened. Insiders would tend to
view the event as if they were the participants. This is the advantage that the
Tamil Nadu authorities have over the Sri Lankan authorities most of whom do not
have this ‘deeper’ human and ownership link with the perpetrators. This would continue until we have self-governance
with appropriate systems through which Democratic outcomes are produced to
confirm one’s eligibility to that independent status.
As per the Sri
Lankan newspaper Daily News – ‘Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa will meet External Affairs Ministry officials shortly to
discuss how Sri Lanka could coordinate efforts with the Australian government
to address the illegal immigration problem also involving Sri Lankans.
Defence Ministry
sources yesterday said, the External Affairs Ministry has requested a meeting
in this regard with Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa. External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunathilaka Amunugama said,
they made the request consequent to a proposal by the Australian government to
set up a committee comprising officials from the Sri Lankan and Australian
governments to look into the illegal immigration issue.’
To my mind, each
government would use this committee to make statements and take actions to
satisfy their voters. This would not get through to the officers, leave alone
the would-be refugee community.
Through my own
experience, the better way is for ‘Australians’ (those who feel Australian) to
take themselves to their counterparts in Sri Lanka. Academics to Academics;
Politicians to Politicians; Administrators to Administrators and most of all
Refugees to Refugees. How many Australians who have gone through the refugee
experience have engaged directly with these communities from which the refugees
come? That is the only part that would result
in real solutions. The rest are quick answers for easy consumption by lazy
voters.
 Due to the war in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka has become an...){kind=link}