Stephen De Tarczynski
9 October 2007
Melbourne — Comments by Kevin Andrews, Australia's minister for immigration and citizenship, singling out Sudanese nationals as a group having problems integrating into Australian society, have set off a storm of protests.
Andrews has been under fire since Oct. 1, when 'The Age' newspaper quoted him as saying: "I have been concerned that some groups don't seem to be settling and adjusting to the Australian way of life as quickly as we would hope and therefore it makes sense to put the extra money into providing extra resources, but also to slow down the rate of intake from countries such as Sudan."
The minister was speaking about the bashing in late September of 18-year-old Sudanese refugee, Liep Gony -- he died later in hospital -- near a suburban Melbourne train station where young Sudanese often congregate.
Andrews -- who has committed an extra Australian 209.2 million dollars (186 million US dollars), over four years, for refugee settlement programs -- was apparently speaking before it emerged that Liep Gony's attackers were not from Africa. Nonetheless, his comments have provoked outrage and concern among community groups and political opponents.
In an effort to subdue his critics, the minister released a statement last week which included a summary of feedback received by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship "from various ethnic organisations" and which purported to justify Andrews' concerns about African refugees.
The statement included concerns regarding the establishment of race-based gangs; altercations between African groups at nightclubs and community functions; tension and conflict between African families; and "a developing trend of young African males congregating in parks at night, often to consume alcohol."
But Andrews' statement seems only to have fanned the flames.
Abeselom Nega, Chairperson of the Federation of African Communities Council (FACC) says that the FACC is disappointed with Andrews' comments.
"The statements that the minister has put out to justify his actions are baseless and as such are just rumours and innuendo," says Nega, arguing that Africans do not have a problem integrating into Australia.
"There is no evidence that the rate of altercations amongst Africans is higher than any other group," Nega told IPS. He questions Andrews' concerns about the establishment of race-based gangs, referring to comments made by Victoria's police commissioner, Christine Nixon, who says that Sudanese refugees are convicted of less crime per capita than the general population of Victoria, representing one percent of offenders.
Reacting to the concern regarding African youths drinking in parks at night, Nega says they are no different to other groups in society. "Young people will always be young people. They will test the water," he says.
The minister's comments come more than a month after he announced changes to Australia's refugee intake for 2007-2008. While the total number of visa recipients under the Refugee and Humanitarian Programme remains at 13,000, the African intake was reduced to 30 percent from a high of 70 percent four years ago.
"The intake from the Africa region reflects an improvement in conditions in some countries and an increase in the number of people returning to their country of origin," Andrews said in a statement released on August 18, in which he indicated that his decision came after consulting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and "many groups and agencies across Australia."
The reduction in the African quota is matched by an increase in Australia's intake of refugees from the Middle East and Asia to around 35 percent for both regions, with Iraqi, Burmese and Bhutanese refugees taking priority.
Nega says that Andrews has the right to vary the composition of Australia's refugee intake.
"It was his government in the first place that pushed the refugee intake from Africa to 50 percent and then to 70 percent," Nega told IPS, adding that African community leaders can acknowledge that refugees from other regions may be of more immediate concern.
"As people who know the refugee situation in Africa we would always advocate, but we would also be decent enough to understand where there is an immediate need for a country to be paid attention," he says.
While the FACC expounds this view, the Chairperson of the Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria, Phong Nguyen, has strongly opposed the reduction in the intake of African refugees, calling on the Government to reverse its decision.
"At the moment millions of Africans are stuck in refugee camps without hope. The greatest need remains in Africa," says Nguyen.
However, it is the subsequent revealing of Andrews' views on the inability of Africans -- in particular, Sudanese -- to settle into the Australian society that has been the main focus of the disquiet.
Race discrimination commissioner, Tom Calma, from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), an independent statutory body, is concerned at what the consequences of singling out the Sudanese community could be.
"I'm worried that recent statements by the Government could add to the hardship of our African communities by providing official credence to already existing prejudices against African refugees," says Calma.
Calma's colleague, Human Rights Commissioner, Graeme Innes, says Australia should continue what he calls its "humanitarian approach" to refugee settlement.
"The Government's decision to cut African refugee numbers because they are not settling and adjusting to the Australian way of life is at odds with the primary concern of the (United Nation's) Refugee Convention. That is, providing a safe haven for people who are fleeing persecution in their country of origin," says Innes.
Nega says Andrews' views will damage Australia's reputation. "What he doesn't understand is that the statements he has made will be shared, not only just among communities here, but in Africa and also around the world," Nega told IPS.
"The denigration that the immigration minister has used will never disappear from the minds of many Africans for many, many years to come. He will be remembered as a black hater," he says.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
