Emilie Howie – you are way out of line!

You are a journalist, who wants a story and you appear NOT to care if your story is credible or even believable, so you resort to opinion to bring home your point, whilst misusing the facts.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/08/sri-lanka-is-a-refugee-producing-country-heres-why

Of course it is a violation of a Country’s law in leaving the Country unofficially just as it is a violation in the UK or even in Australia so to do. So that fact should not be misused as it is a normal rule in any country.

You then trump up theories that these people are abused on arrival back or when returned once they have been caught by the Australian authorities in the high seas. There may be instances where this happens and is no more or less than that which happens if one is unfortunate to be taken in to the custody of the SL police force which has yet to come into the 21^st Century! Now with the latest batch of 41 returnees from Australia, we read of abuse by the Australians, so they get it both ways! They are the victims yes of a scam, not of a status of refugee!

The Australian High Commission has done extensive studies to show that the people leaving for Australia, are NOT those who would have faced abuse if they were in Sri Lanka, and simply put they are taking a calculated gamble for a better life! This calculated gamble can only have fewer takers when the Australian Govt. takes steps to ensure ALL asylum seekers are returned. They then making the claim they will be tortured when they return, is a little rich in the extreme, as it is them who put themselves in harms way!

In short it is an excellent policy on the part of the Australian Govt. who are the winners, and Sri Lanka can remain neutral here as the behavior of the refugees only brings a bad name to SL, where it seems like a Country where their citizens only want to leave, even on a rickety boat out of here. That is a separate issue that the dictatorial state must deal with if they are to remain relevant. 

I am a huge critic of the SL Govt. and know there are thousands whose lives are at risk, who deserve to get asylum status. However these deserving cases DO NOT get asylum, and know it and struggle against the odds to survive many an incident within Sri Lanka as they have NO chance of getting out. They are NOT the people the smugglers target, and so do not get out on a boat!

The current preferred route is to get a boat out of here, but it must be shown by way of example that this route is bound to fail, and it is best avoided, as the only beneficiaries are people smugglers who make a killing out of the misery of others, and in the end let them down badly, due to the misinformation that is conveyed. 

Once it hits everyone all round that they are merely pawns in a game, this people smuggling racket will stop, and we will not have refugees anymore trying to make it to Australia or NZ. The people who really have to worry about their safety, should be allowed to go to the Australian HC in Colombo and ask for asylum.

ALL BOAT PEOPLE are economic migrants, and thats that. These migrants are needed in Australia to do the dirty work, but is politically NOT acceptable for the party in power! 

Having them languishing in Papua NG or anywhere else for that matter is what SHOULD STOP. Productive people should NOT be left to twiddle their thumbs due to the incompetence of the policies of the Govt. that intercepted the boats they came in.