Mark Thomson worked for 20 years with the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and "had been proud to represent Australia in the arenas of international development. We have a good record of support for human rights." He no longer feels proud of Australia's attitude to asylum seekers and has started a blog detailing the "view of Australia's detention of asylum seekers." (Congrats to Tim @ Road to Surfdom for alerting readers to this.)
When people of conscience risk their reputation and career to speak out, we should read about it. Thomson was "Director of the aid program to Nauru [so] I had a window seat on to the prosecution of these policies" in relation to the "Pacific Solution". For overseas readers, the Howard government has in the last years sent asylum seekers to Pacific islands for "processing," and always to countries desperately in need of foreign aid. Colonialism with a kinder face.
When people of conscience risk their reputation and career to speak out, we should read about it. Thomson was "Director of the aid program to Nauru [so] I had a window seat on to the prosecution of these policies" in relation to the "Pacific Solution". For overseas readers, the Howard government has in the last years sent asylum seekers to Pacific islands for "processing," and always to countries desperately in need of foreign aid. Colonialism with a kinder face.
2 Comments:
Yes I read Mark's comment and I really identified with it.
I had some identity of crisis of sorts when I suddenly realised that the country where I migrated that I thought was travelling towards being open, welcoming and republican was nothing of the sort. Lots of beliefs about Australia and my place in it had to be changes since then.
There is an interesting article that Martin Flanagan wrote in The Age last Saturday which makes a link between the state of Australia and the world and how many feel psychologically.
Guido,
It's been a hard road over the last years, discovering what kind of country Australia has become, and possibly always was. Even more reason to continue fighting for a better place, always achieveable, somehow.
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