Demonising the Desperate
Shock jocks have
always raised my hackles. So have the weasel words that dominate the spin of
politicians. But I am totally over the demonising of desperate people displaced
by political persecution, civil war, religious factionalism, invasion, famine
and the range of atrocious situations encountered by many who are not fortunate
enough to have been born into a free, stable and democratic life.
This week I’ve:
·
listened to a program on Radio National about
NATO responses to a refugee boat on
which over two thirds of people died while potential rescue boats stood
by and did nothing
·
read about attacks on immigrants and refugees in
Greece
·
Watched the SBS’s latest version of Go back to where you came from.
And what do
they have in common?
-
People using language that dehumanises the
desperate by referring to them as criminals,
queue jumpers, illegals, and security
threats. Even the holding places are referred to as detention centres .
I’m over hearing
about the queue
I’ve come into
Australia at a number of airports and I while I see queues for Australian passport
holders, foreign passport holders, diplomats and air crew, I haven’t yet see
the queue line marked refugees.
I’m over hearing
the catchcry: Stop the boats.
I can
understand that no one wants to see desperate people taken advantage off by
ruthless others who pile them on to unseaworthy vessels for profit. But I have
to believe that no one willingly jeopardises their own life and safety and that
of their families, if their reasons are not absolutely compelling.
I’m over the scaremongering that wants
us to think that our whole national security and way of life is at risk from
invading hordes. I’m still getting over the Reds
under the Bed scare of my childhood.
So, my advice is
ditch the detached rhetoric and political spin and start talking about real
human beings who are in desperate need so we can find sensible solutions to
assist them.
In the end, it’s
about who we are as a civilised society. And it’s how we deal with the most
vulnerable and desperate around us that determines who we are as a culture.
New Art works this week:
I am currently preparing works for entry in the 2012 Rotary Outdoor Art Show to be held in City Walk Canberra opening September 29.
www.qarts.com.au
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I couldn't agree more! Well put.
ReplyDeleteI thought Peter Reith was portrayed as genuinely trying to understand the refugee issue. Good on him...lesson for many!
ReplyDeleteWell spoke - I avoided "Go back to Where you came from" - even though it had rave reviews from many and mainly because regardless of how realistic reality shows try to make it - there is always a camera crew and security etc and the realism somewhat defeated. Having been educated with and then worked with people who have entered this country as refugees from far flung places, talked for hours with a Tamil man learning the fate of his family and being granted access to under cover Sri Lankan news reports , watched documentaries on forced marriages of children in Afghanistan and India, witnessed the persecution of Palestinians forced from their own lands under a system similar to the decisions made on Sri Lanka by outsider politicians - I rue the so called "civilised societies" we live in and the lack of real compassion - the gap between the haves and the have nots - and the arrogance of a world where one race can still believe their superiority over another - simply because they may have been born to freedom and privilege ------------ i need not go on - tis your blog -
ReplyDeleteThanks for contributing!
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