Asylum News and Analysis

Farshad Hoseini

16 December 2002

41 Afghan refugee children have died as a result of cold: From 4 December until now, 41 Afghan refugee children have died as a result of the sub-zero cold in three makeshift camps along the Pakistani border. 1200 children under eight are at serious risk of dying. In this cold, more than 100,000 people living in camps along the border lack proper warm clothes and adequate shelter.

This is a painful tragedy in this region. If this happens to one British or American soldier, it will create uproar and those responsible will be held accountable but when the lives of tens of thousands of asylum seekers and thousands of innocent children are threatened, no one is made accountable. This is the fate of the victims whose lives have been caught between Islamic and USA terrorism. The Pakistani government as well as the UNHCR are responsible for this great human tragedy. Afghan refugees must be given proper shelter and protection.

Torture of asylum seekers by Australian soldiers: According to a recently published Human Rights Watch report, asylum seekers were beaten with electric batons, subdued with capsicum spray and kept in excessively cramped conditions below deck on boats intercepted by the Australian navy last year. In its 94-page report, the organisation said Australian soldiers threatened to shoot asylum seekers, denied hospital treatment to a woman bleeding severely after childbirth, and deserted barely seaworthy vessels in high seas just beyond Indonesia. The report disputes the Australian Federal Government's assumption that asylum seekers could receive effective protection in countries where they first sought asylum, such as Iran and Pakistan, or that they could obtain protection in countries they passed through en route, such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The report also notes that two female asylum seekers died in the course of an interception operation on October 8, 2001, which is now the subject of an inquiry.

This report reiterates what the International Federation of Iranian Refugees and other advocates have been saying for a long while. It clearly shows that there is no difference between the threats and suppressions of Australian soldiers and the police and security forces in Iran, Iraq, etc. The nature and essence of both are the same. In both, human beings have no place in their system and policies. Therefore, you can be beaten, abused, and denied your basic rights. The situation in Australia places additional tasks before us. We must bring an end to violations of asylum rights. It is a difficult task but one that is vitally important in today's world.

Denmark to slash payments to asylum seekers: The Danish government is planning to cut allowances for asylum seekers by a quarter, threatening even lower allowances if refugees refuse to work in asylum centres.

This new anti-asylum policy is a policy which has already been defeated in the UK. In 2000, the British government introduced a voucher scheme but was forced to scrap the discredited scheme in February 2002 and replace it by cash payments on 8 April 2002. This was a significant victory for the asylum and anti-racist movement. The UK government’s retreat was made possible only after a massive and collective struggle on the part of progressive and freedom loving people and groups in that country. This victory has proven that changes and improvements in the conditions of refugees and asylum seekers can be attained if we stick to our just demands and steadfastly pursue them. We have to be victorious in Denmark too. If European governments reproduce anti-asylum policies, human and civil rights activists will reproduce their successful experiences and struggles. This is not just a Danish struggle. Any struggle on asylum and civil rights is a universal one. The Danish government must be defeated as well.

Greece's new asylum regulation is anti-human: According to recent Greek regulation, asylum seekers entering Greece illegally are to be subject to arrest, imprisonment and fines, despite the fact that most asylum seekers are forced to flee persecution without proper documents. Those unable to pay the fine are to remain in prison until deported to their countries of origin. Imprisoning and fining asylum seekers are a travesty of justice and a violation of the rights of asylum seekers. These new regulations in Greece only serve to humiliate and swindle asylum seekers and deny them access to determination procedures. Because of this regulation, many asylum seekers are languishing in prisons.

Following the International Federation of Iranian Refugees' campaign in defence of 8 Iranian asylum seekers imprisoned under this regulation, the Greek government contacted the said asylum seekers and told them they could apply for asylum if they wished! We must expose this policy even further so that the Greek government ends its policy of detention and extortion.