ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES: A DISCUSSION PAPER
Our world today is a troubled place with violent conflicts, resulting in the exodus of unprecedented numbers of people seeking refuge elsewhere. At the end of 2011, the UN estimated there were 15.2 million refugees and 895,000 asylum seekers worldwide, plus another 26.4 million internally displaced people.
Australia is far removed from most refugee-source countries, but it is inevitable that with numbers on this scale and the means to travel, Australia hasn’t, isn’t and can’t be immune from this global issue washing up on its own shores.
Historically, Australia has a long and relatively generous record in upholding its obligations under the UN Refugee Convention. It was one of the first countries to sign the Convention in 1951. Its refugee resettlement program is the largest per capita in the world. And, in a speech in Australia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Gutteres, remarked at how successful has been the integration of refugees into Australian society.
The LCA has played its part through Lutheran Community Care/SA’s involvement inresettlement schemes, as well as congregational and individual involvement in supporting refugees to make a new life for themselves in Australia.
The current debate about asylum seekers is to place at risk this history of which Australia can take some pride, and is out of all proportion to the scale of the problem. The number of asylum seekers coming to Australia, especially those arriving in unsafe fishing boats and usually without visas, is very small in global terms. And, over the past decade when Australia has applied a ‘tough’ asylum seeker policy regime, those attempting to come to Australia by fishing boats as asylum seekers--mostly from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka--have eventually been justified in their claims for refugee status.
It must be acknowledged, though, that asylum-seeker issues are complex. People’s concerns that manifest themselves in the political, social and spiritual spheres can’t be dismissed. And there are genuinely difficult public policy decisions that must be taken. But, in addressing these issues,
it’s not helpful to wilfully misrepresent the facts or reduce the problems and proposed solutions to simple mantras, on either side of the debate.
An important starting point is that Australia, under theRefugee Convention, owes people the right of protection if their fear of persecution is well-founded. Asylum seekers who arrive on our shores are not doing so illegally, but in fact exercising a right under international law to seek our protection. Nor can they said to be ‘queue jumpers’, because most of them come from situations where there are no ‘queues’. The related claim that asylum seekers are self-selecting Australian citizenship is also not correct. To be granted refugee status in Australia, asylum seekers must prove to government agencies that if they return home they face persecution, imprisonment or harm for reasons of race, religion, nationality, their social group or political opinion.
When the Australian government assesses such claims, the rights and dignity of each and every person must be respected. It is reasonable for Australia to exercise its right to establish whether or not asylum seekers pose a health or safety risk. But, it is not reasonable to use long periods of detention as a tool of deterrence. Australia’s principles of justice must be upheld, including for the fair hearing of claims and their processing in a timely manner. And, when claims are rejected, the removal of asylum seekers to their home countries must be done with sensitivity and care.
The Australian government has the right to determine how large a humanitarian program Australia can reasonably manage. This is not an easy question to resolve because of the large number of refugees globally seeking resettlement in third countries such as Australia, and the number of asylum seekers coming to Australia directly. However, it is essential that our policy is motivated by a concern for the rights of the unprotected and what is determined to be a ‘fair share’ of the burden.
It should not be based on purely our own selfish self-interest. There is no future in this approach because durable solutions to the global refugee and asylum seeker issues are dependent on a concerted global effort. This will require significant ‘burden-sharing’, which currently falls mainly on poorer countries that host most of the world’s refugees and asylum seekers. It is not a durable solution to push the problem away to neighbouring countries, or negotiate temporary, piece-meal agreements. It requires a comprehensive approach working in partnership with our regional neighbours to find real solutions. It will require significant resources, but will be a better investment than spending money on trying to make the ‘problem’ go away.
Our concern and responsibility for refugees, asylum seekers, displaced and stateless people is consistent with our Christian faith and experience.
First, the bible gives us guidance. The Old Testament is replete with exhortations to protect and aid widows and orphans and to show kindness and mercy to the oppressed. The Israelites are frequently reminded of their own periods of exile and therefore commanded to protect and provide assistance to refugees in their midst.
As a baby, Jesus was taken by his parents to Egypt to seek asylum, due the tyranny of Herod. During his ministry, Jesus was a wandering rabbi, dependent upon the hospitality of others. He had no hesitation in showing mercy to non-Jews, including healing them. Peter and Paul both had visions calling on them to include ‘outsiders’ in their kingdom work.
Second, we recognise that many in our Australian Lutheran family are descended from people who came here for refuge, from the Lutheran dissenters in the mid-19th century to those who came from Central Europe after the devastations of World War II.
Third, in our own time many of us have been involved in giving assistance and extending the hand of friendship to those who came from Indochina in the late 1970s up to the present time with the arrival of refugees from Bhutan and Sudan into our communities, many from refugee camps where our ownAustralian Lutheran World Servicehas been providing much needed assistance. We recognise that these are the powerless, the persecuted, the outcast—the ones who deserve compassion and fair treatment.
Our approach to asylum seekers and refugees, both here in Australia and overseas, must be in the light of the words and actions of Jesus. He taught us that the Kingdom of God was among us, a community based on love, righteousness and concern for the well-being of each other. Caring for asylum seekers and refugees is an important part of our commitment to furthering his Kingdom.
February 2012 (updated April 2013)
LCA General Convention of Synod 2015
2015:0212 RESOLVED that Synod encourages congregations and individuals,
and affirms those who are already active in their support, to welcome new
arrivals from refugee backgrounds to their communities and that they work to
understand their specific needs and actively support them in their resettlement.
REASONS FOR THE PROPOSAL
The biblical encouragement is for us to welcome strangers and sojourners. Our church, through its members and its agencies, supports those fleeing violence, war and discrimination. In Australia we have a diversity of cultures which enriches our society. Many of those coming to Australia from refugee backgrounds identify the Lutheran Church as providing support and safety. Many new arrivals have experienced hospitality from our congregations and community services.
This proposal encourages all church members to advocate for the vulnerable and to speak out against injustice, as well as providing hospitality and community support.
SECTON 3 – SUBMITTING BODY AND AUTHORISATION
Respectfully submitted on the 15th day of May 2015 by
Commission on Social and Bioethical Questions
Australian Lutheran World Service
CSBQ Discussion paper
Approved for website, and with the author’s permission, May 2002
Lutheran Church of Australia
(see also Discussion Paper on What you Can Do and Refugees Fact Sheet)
PASTORAL STATEMENT ON ‘BOAT PEOPLE’
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me (Matt 25:35 ff)
The plight of refugees right across our globe needs to be faced by all nations.
The injustices and oppressions forcing people out of their homes and countries must be addressed.
Trading in refugees cannot go unchecked, and we urge our government to play its part in curbing this immoral practice.
Governments charged with keeping law and order and protecting their constituents have a responsibility which may properly include guarding their borders and attending to orderly immigration. We pray for all authorities who are accountable for our wellbeing.
Jesus has special compassion on the poor, the needy, and the disenfranchised.
Lives are precious gifts of God. People were created in the image of God. Because the image was lost, the Son of God went to the cross to redeem all people. Those who have drowned at sea may never have need of that hope.
All people need to be accorded dignity. We do not wish to contribute to more injustice by criminalising refugees or treating them as criminals.
Refugees ought not to be judged on account of those who, as radicals and extremists, may seek to infiltrate their number with the intent of destabilising a society.
We must urge governments to work to find a more effective and efficient way to expedite the checking process for those who now live as captives in our land.
As church, we are called to reflect the mercy of Christ and to show love to those who know nothing of, or who may even be enemies of Christ.
We, as Ephesians 2:19 reminds us, who ‘are no longer strangers and aliens, but are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God’, can do no less on this earth than ‘show hospitality to strangers’ (Hebrews 13:2) who may have been given residency in our country. In the face of this vexed issue, and a time of political decisions and high feelings, this is a service well pleasing to God.
(Rev’d) MICHAEL P SEMMLER
President, Lutheran Church of Australia (24 October 2001)