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Keywords: Jesuit Refugee Service Australia

  • INTERNATIONAL

    Another date on the refugee tragedy calendar

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 17 December 2010
    12 Comments

    Let's hope Wednesday's tragic events are not exploited for political advantage. We remember those who died and offer prayers and condolences for their families. For the living, they need to be treated with dignity.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Thirty years of Jesuit Refugee Service

    • Mark Raper
    • 17 November 2010
    3 Comments

    May I tell you about one refugee whom I met during the 20 years I lived and worked JRS? The story has no happy outcome, indeed far from it. But it may help to communicate some of the feelings that inspire many who accompany the refugees.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Asylum seeker decision tests Government sportsmanship

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 12 November 2010
    6 Comments

    A litmus test for the health of a democracy is what a Government does when it loses cases in the highest court in the land. The first consequence of yesterday's High Court decision regarding the cases of two Tamil asylum seekers is that many cases will need to be reconsidered.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Time for detention reform

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 24 September 2010
    9 Comments

    The recent tragic death of a man in Villawood Detention Centre has again raised questions about the need for Australia's harmful detention policy. Strong leadership is required to reform the process and abandon the 'race to the bottom' we saw during the election. 

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    A modern approach to refugee resettlement

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 20 August 2010
    5 Comments

    According to the Coalition, 'bad refugees' who come on boats take places that could otherwise go to 'good refugees' who wait patiently in camps. Labelling refugees as 'good' or 'bad' according to how they arrive in Australia reflects an insular opinion that does not reflect what is happening worldwide.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Bishops' voting advice needs grounding in dignity

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 12 August 2010
    18 Comments

    In an election campaign characterised by the avoidance of commitment to any principle that might cost votes, the Bishops' advice avoided bagging particular political parties and enunciated broad humane criteria to guide voters. It could have offered more.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Putting border protection into perspective

    • Tim Kroenert
    • 05 August 2010
    6 Comments

    Mother Fish recreates the journey by sea of a group of Vietnamese refugees. During an election campaign where both major parties are trying to win votes with prejudicial rhetoric about 'border protection', a bit of truth and humanity is just what's needed.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Asylum seeker focus should be protection, not punishment

    • Jesuit Refugee Service
    • 06 July 2010

    Jesuit Refugee Service Australia says Labor's new policy on asylum seekers should be focused on the protection of vulnerable people rather than the elimination of people smugglers.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Coalition's new nasties for asylum seekers

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 31 May 2010
    22 Comments

    The Coalition's new asylum seeker policy returns to the policy it put into practice under Mr Howard, adding new nasties. The Government's asylum seeker policy is bad; the Coalition's is worse. It is designed to appeal to human baseness, not to human generosity.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Abbott's immigration paranoia

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 17 May 2010
    25 Comments

    Abbott's 'red arrows' asulym seeker ad is reminiscent of the 'reds under the beds' hysteria of the '50s and '60s. With an election on the way, the immigration policy reform agenda has been put aside as both Government and Opposition harden their policies.

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  • RELIGION

    Why Ali fled Afghanistan

    • Frank Brennan
    • 07 April 2010
    21 Comments

    On Monday night on ABC1's Q&A, Tony Abbott was asked about the recent wave of boat people including Hazaras fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan. At the end of one recent meeting in Indonesia, a 15-year-old Hazara named Ali came and told me his heart wrenching story.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Immigration control versus human rights

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 30 March 2010
    4 Comments

    Once again the coalition is inflaming passions about what is actually an insignificant number of people arriving in Australian waters and claiming asylum. Unfortunately the Government is getting caught up in this debate because it insists on maintaining the excision and Christmas Island Centre.

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