Do you believe asylum seekers should be allowed to stay?

I asked this question as I have recently worked with some of these people who came from a horrible background.
I did not believe they should stay until I met some -too long a story for here, but some of the stories are horrific and all the ones I have met are excellent charity workers, and friendly, nice people who appreciate being here.

by Finy

If they are given refugee status then absolutely they should be allowed to stay. It would be disgraceful (not to mention against international law) to send refugees back to the countries that were persecuting them. They can become valuable members of our community, as so many already have.

by Jennifer Muirhead

We are about to push our elderly citizens to the brink by removing the pension and forcing them to work until 70 years of age.
Imagine a 70 year old person pushing a barrow or competing with a young person for a job. People over 50 cannot find work now because of age discrimination.
Adelaide has the highest death rate from hypothermia in the world generated by the elderly not being unable to turn on the heater because of the high cost of power that has been multiplied x 8 while the pension failed to meet inflation.
Let’s solve our own counties social problems before thinking we are able to cure the world’s issues.

by kstew

Yes! I have met several wonderful people who have not just told me of,but shown me photographic evidence of the turmoil they have endured in their home lands.It is unfathomable that there are human beings in so many regions who can treat their fellow human beings so appallingly. It is definitely criminal behaviour as far as I can see. 'Asylum' seeking should give us the answer in a nutshell!! These folk are trying to escape a life of absolute terror, and find a SAFE place to live and raise their families. We would be no better than the ones they are escaping from,if we are unable to see their plight and process their claims as soon as we can. Australia is the fantastic multicultural nation it has become,thanks to people who have come from all walks of life in many other countries. When these people have previously lived in absolute terror ,it is so hard to even consider the horrors they endured before finding a safe haven here in this wonderful country.We have gained so much from so relatively few!

by Jules

YES!
Once they have been found to be stable and able.

I have a idea that the Government has not really worked things out as well as they should.
Australia is a huge country, and we have parts that 'if' asylum seekers are willing....could be made into little towns for them.

All the detention centres are just jails.How dreadful to treat human beings in such a way, and the children....don't get my started!Even the innocent are locked up, with no end in sight.
Living in a detention centre after one week, is a slow path to depression, and despair.
When this first started to show it's self....the Government should have looked long term.It's not as if we don't have the space,they can stay as long as they are willing to live outside the big cities, and not put a bigger need for accommodation, where there isn't much.
I live in a mobile home, have done for the last 7 years, and they are fine for a family, they come on the back of a huge truck....and can be permanent accommodation for 3 decades or more.

Anything is better than their country...and may I say a detention centre!

by jonaja

p.s. The picture is of the Australian detention centres.

jonaj -I have said somewhere else that a young refugee friend of mine says she would rather be in the detention camp as she had like people ot talk to.
Most of the refugees who i know now, all say there is nothing wrong with the detention centres, it is only OUR ideas that make them wrong. If you hear where/what they came from, to them, a detention centre is not so bad -you get all necessities plus many more they are not used to from their own country. And the genuine ones were previously only in there for about 6 months.
To us Australians, they look like prisons, but to them, they are far better than being shot at and bombed because they look a bit different.

"Stable and able" Um, you're not suggesting we refuse visas to the mentally ill or disabled are you? Because that seems horribly cruel.

Good point about accomodation, though I would think there might be a problem with finding work away away from the big cities.

What about the man who was murdered in a detention centre recently? Or the women having to ask male guards for tampons one at a time because they refuse to hand out more than one at once, and not being provided with underwear, having their glasses, hearing aids and medication taken off them, or the woman who miscarried because she did not receive prompt medical care etc? Sure, it's better than being shot at but I certainly wouldn't say there was "nothing wrong with them". I haven't been there myself, but I wonder if their experience was recent. It sounds like things have been getting worse.

It is really sad if people are feeling isolated being housed in the community though. More needs to be done to help them make new connections in this country and access the support they need. Organisations like QPASTT (the Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma) do some wonderful work in that area.

http://www.qpastt.org.au/

I mean Stable as in non-violent ideas.Abel, to help make it a home for their family.

As for the detention centres, I have first hand news! they are dreadful!
Don't be fooled, and people are very depressed, and the conditions are not good.
All kinds of awful things are happening to them, inside.I won't go into it...but it is true.

Yes, without a doubt! The clue is in the title; 'Asylum< seekers'. People seeking asylum, (safety), are fleeing from something threatening in their (usual) home. It is only natural to want to save your family, and thus you move to another country, naturally. I'm pro removing borders and letting people travel freely, more so if you're escaping warfare.

by Jamie0liversgirl

I believe asylum seekers should be allowed to obtain Visas and stay in the country. As others have already stated, these are men, women and children desperately seeking to escape difficult circumstances. Everyone deserves the chance to make something of their lives. Lucky are we who are born into peace and freedom.

by Vee

No! You want to live here, come into this country the legal way, like many others' have done!

by donjo

Yes of course! Australia needs to find a more humane method of dealing with asylum seekers not too many are found to be illegitimate. I understand that many argue that they are taking our jobs however I do believe and have done research that leads me to think this way that the refugees are often well trained people that have spoken against what is happening such as doctors etc (it's expensive to get on a boat or plane) or they are just ordinary people; either way most are so grateful that they are away from the torture and violence that they will do any job for work and appreciate the opportunity to do so whilst we ourselves are quite fussy in what we will do and leave certain areas always looking for work - refugees are also well involved in charities and some of the nicest people you will meet.

by Valadhiel