Our refugee shame

In the race to the bottom by both major parties over asylum seekers, the Gillard gov has been sending newly arrived boat people to Nauru even before it's anywhere near ready for them. We now have this from Amnesty, via a Dr Graham Thom, a "refugee policy expert".

We still don't have answers to some fundamental questions. Why were these men taken to Nauru before appropriate accommodation had been built, before leases had been granted by local landowners, before processing arrangements had been finalised, before staff were hired and accommodation found, and before the visa conditions allowing freedom of movement had been put in place? 

Negotiations with the Nauruan government on several issues are continuing. But the decision to send vulnerable men to Nauru without finalising such basic, fundamental issues is not only extraordinarily ill-conceived but cruel. 

Detainees said to us: ''What is the point of keeping us here when everyone else will be processed in Australia. It doesn't make sense. What have we done. Why us?'' 

I agree that it makes no sense at all. The damage we are causing to their physical and mental health is already apparent. History has shown that most will be found to be refugees. While Australian taxpayers foot the bill to keep them hostage on Nauru in the vain hope it will send a signal to others fleeing war and violence not to come, ultimately, after up to five years of living in squalor, they will be brought here, broken. They are then expected to rebuild their lives. Lives we have wasted. 

Offshore processing will only serve to break vulnerable people who have fled unimaginable circumstances. These individuals should be processed in Australia, in accordance with our international obligations. It is time the Australian government stops playing politics with the lives of these men. They deserve better. Read more

Fuck man we're going right back to the Howard years. What a disgrace for this country. What a dark stain on the Labor party. Using people's lives for political gain. People who're in no position to fight back. 

I dunno WTF is wrong with people in this country to agree with shit like this. Australia is two thirds the size of the US, with only 22 million people, per capita one of the richest countries on earth, and we treat people who need our help like this? Break them to get votes from racists?

Terrible. Absolutely terrible.