Refugee Highway Partnership

Australia’s “pacific solution” of processing refugees in Nauru is now abolished under the new government leaders. Relief workers hope that processing now on Christmas Island represents hope for better refugee treatment. Read report by UNHRC below:

CANBERRA, Australia, February 11 (UNHCR) – One of the most controversial chapters in Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers and refugees drew to a close this month, when 21 Sri Lankan refugees were removed from the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru and taken to live in Australia.

The Sri Lankans were the last refugees left on Nauru and their relocation last Friday signals the end of a deterrence policy dubbed the “Pacific Solution,” under which 1,637 asylum seekers were diverted by Australian authorities to Nauru, or Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, to have their refugee claims processed.

The policy was introduced in 2001 to deny asylum seekers access to Australian territory to lodge their claims. The then government led by Prime Minister John Howard adopted the Pacific Solution after Australia refused to allow a Norwegian freighter, the MV Tampa, to enter Australian waters to disembark 433 mainly Afghan boat people rescued at sea.

“Many bona fide refugees caught by the policy spent long periods of isolation, mental hardship, uncertainty and prolonged separation from their families,” Richard Towle, UNHCR’s Canberra-based regional representative, said.

“The prompt decision by the new government [of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd] to close the Nauru centre and bring the refugees to Australia is very welcome and shows Australia as a humane society in keeping with its international obligations,” Towle added.

The last 21 refugees left Nauru on Friday morning and will be settled in the Australian cities of Adelaide, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. They were among a group of 83 Sri Lankan boat people intercepted on their way to Australia a year ago and later taken to Nauru. The other Sri Lankans were moved to Australia in recent weeks.

With the end of the Pacific Solution, current Australian policy is to process so-called unauthorized asylum seekers – those who arrive without a visa and usually by boat – on Christmas Island, located off Western Australia.

Christmas Island is one of the islands excised from Australia’s migration zone by the Howard government, which means asylum seekers don’t have full access to the refugee determination processes followed on the mainland.

UNHCR is urging the Rudd government, which won power last November, to ensure that any continuation of offshore processing on Christmas Island is developed within the letter and the spirit of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

“We hope that the asylum procedures on Christmas Island will mirror those that apply to people who have gained access to Australia’s onshore protection system,” Towle said.

“This would include appropriate reception arrangements that avoid detention if possible, a refugee status determination that includes independent appeal rights, and timely solutions in Australia for those found to be refugees.”

Of the 1,637 asylum seekers subject to the Pacific Solution between 2001 and this year, 1,153 were found to be refugees or in need of protection for other compelling humanitarian reasons. Of those, 705 (approximately 61 percent) were resettled to Australia; 401 went to New Zealand; 21 to Sweden; 16 to Canada, six to Denmark and four to Norway.

A further 483 residents of the centres in Manus Island or Nauru returned voluntarily to their countries of origin or residence, following negative refugee determination decisions.

By Ariane Rummery
in Canberra, Australia

Multicultural Gospel choir - an oasis along the highway
Christian Intercultural Association in Norway

Imagine 20 persons in yellow T-shirts moving with the music, clapping, and dancing - singers who are black, white, tall, short – and some who are not in rhythm at all. But all of them are brothers and sisters in the Lord. And though sometimes musically weak, the choir brings a scent from heaven and thoughts of what is to come with the multitude – in the large choir in heaven. Something special happens when brothers and sisters from all over the globe worship together – and it is even more special when many of the singers are asylum-seekers and refugees.

KIA’s multicultural gospel choirs are places for asylum seekers, refugees, majority Norwegians, international students, and other immigrants to worship together to Latino, African and gospel rhythms.

Many bring songs from their home church, and many of the choir’s songs are written by KIA referring to the stories, needs and prayers of refugees coming to KIA’s different projects. The choirs sing of hope from God and of the comfort God can bring. The choirs are popular both in churches and in non-Christian gatherings. By singing in many different situations, the choirs bring hope from God to a wider audience than one visiting only churches in Norway.

The choirs give refugees along the highway a place to have Christian fellowship and worship. And they give an opportunity for Norwegians to make friends and prepare for the choir in heaven. These choirs also give refugees a chance to give out something – to make a difference and to use what they have. That is also a blessing since fleeing often means loosing a part of oneself on the way: being able to participate in a choir, even if for only a short period of time, can re-establish the ground beneath their feet. It can give friendship and fellowship, and bring hope from Him who knows us all no matter where we are coming from or going to.

For more info on these multicultural gospel choirs, help on planning, and inspirational seminars to get started, please feel free to send an email to Sigrun Lauvland at info@kianorge.no. Visit our website: www.kianorge.no or KIA (English)